Lung Function

PE revision
The Mechanics of Breathing

 Air is a mixture of gases – oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide, inert gases and some water vapour.
 Air enters the mouth and travels through the naval cavity, through the larynx, down the trachea, into the
right or left bronchus, and then into the alveoli.
 The lungs are two spongy sac-like organs that lie in the chest. They are surrounded by a membrane called
the pleural membrane and bordered on the bottom by a sheet of muscle called the diaphragm.
 Air moves from areas of higher pressure to areas of lower pressure, and it is necessary for the air pressure in
our lungs to be lower than the atmospheric air pressure.
 Atmospheric air pressure is 100 kPa (kilo Pascal – a measure of pressure), and in the alveoli it is 99.74 kPa.
Inspiration at rest

Chest cavity is lifted up and

Diaphragm muscle flattens
out by the intercostal Air is pushed into the lungs
and contracts (moves down),
muscles, increasing the from the higher outside
increasing the volume inside
volume inside the chest pressure
the chest cavity
cavity
Expiration at rest

Diaphragm relaxes and Internal intercostal Pressure inside the lungs

moves upwards, muscles relax, decreasing increases and air is foced
decreasing the volume of the volume of the chest out of the lungs to the
the chest cavity cavity lower outside pressure
Inspiration and Expiration During
Exercise
During exercise:
Inspiration:
 The rate and depth of breathing increase.
 The depth of breathing is caused by a greater expansion of the chest cavity. This is
caused by the action of three other muscles:
 The sternocleidomastoid raises the sternum.
 The scalene and pectoralis minor lift the ribs further.
 The greater expansion of the ribcage stretches the lungs further and allows for and
allows for a larger inspiration of air.
Expiration:
 During exercise expiration is more active, with the internal intercostal muscles
contracting to pull the ribcage inwards and downwards, the abdominals also contract
which helps to push the diaphragm up with a much more rapid reduction in the volume
of the chest cavity.

Specific example changes between rest and exercise:

 Tidal volume (amount of air in one breath) can vary from 0.5 Lat rest to 3.5 L when
exercising.
 Rate of breathing can increase from 11-14 breaths per minute up to approx 45.
Lung Volumes and Capacities
Volume name Description/equation Value at rest (ml) of an Change during exercise
average male
Tidal volume (TV) Amount of air breathed in or 500 Increases
out per breath (like a tide)

Inspiratory Reserve Volume Maximal amount of air 3100 Decreases

(IRV) forcibly inspired in addition to
tidal volume

Expiratory Reserve Volume Maximal amount of air 1200 Decreases

(ERV) forcibly expired in addition to
tidal volume

Vital Capacity (VC) Maximum amount of air 4800 Slight

exhaled after a maximal
inspiration
(TV+IRV+ERV)
Residual Volume (RV) Amount of air left in the lungs 1200 None
after a maximal expiration

Total Lung Capacity (TV ) Total amount of air that could 6000 None
ever be in the lungs, vital
capacity plus residual volume
(TV+IRV+ERV+RV)
Spirometer Traces
Minute Ventilation
 Moving air in and out of the lungs is known as ventilation,
or more specifically minute ventilation.
 Minute ventilation (Ve) = the amount of air that is moved
in and out of the lungs in one minute.
 It is a function of our depth of breathing (tidal volume)
and the frequency or rate of breathing (breaths per
minute).

Ve = Frequency of breathing x Tidal volume (ml)

Gas Exchange
Diffusion:
 Definition of diffusion = the movement of gas molecules from an area of high concentration or
partial pressure to an area of low concentration or partial pressure.
 Definition of partial pressure (PO2) = the pressure a gas exerts in a mixture of gases.
 Diffusion will only occur if there is a diffusion gradient (difference in pressure). The movement
of the gas distributes the molecules more evenly until they are all evenly distributed and there
is no pressure difference.

Diffusion in the lungs:

 The wall of the alveoli has holes large enough to allow the passage of oxygen and carbon
dioxide molecules because it is semi-permeable.
 The concentration of a gas is known as its partial pressure and is measured in mmHg
(millimetres of mercury).
Gas Exchange in the Alveoli
Oxygen Carbon Dioxide
Gas Exchange in the Alveoli
Gas Exchange at the Muscle Cells
 As the oxygenated blood flows slowly past the muscle
cell, oxygen diffuses from the blood through the semi-
permeable capillary and muscle cell walls, into the cell.
 In the cell, oxygen combines with myoglobin to form
oxymyoglobin and then is transferred to the Muscle cell
mitochondria. pO2 = 105 mmHg
 During a period of exercise, two factors change the pCO2 = 40 mmHg
steepness of the diffusion gradients:
o During periods of sustained or intense exercise, the breakdown of
glucose to provide energy for the reformation of ATP is increased,
using more oxygen in this process. This lowers the P02 in the
Blood capillary
muscle cell and this results in a steeper pressure gradient and
therefore a faster rate of oxygen diffusion. pO2 = 40 mmHg
o The greater breakdown of glucose in the muscle cell to fuel the pCO2 = 45 mmHg
reformation of ATP results in more carbon dioxide being
produced. The PCO2 in the muscle cell can increase from 45
mmHg to 90 mmHg. In the capillary blood it is 40mmHg and this
produces a steeper diffusion gradient and an increased rate of CO2
diffusion from the cell into the blood.
Diffusion
Factors which make the diffusion of oxygen from the lungs into the blood very efficient:
 Permeability of the alveoli and capillary cell walls – if the permeability is high, then more oxygen will be
able to pass through as the holes in the membrane are bigger, increasing the rate of diffusion.
 Short distance from alveoli to capillary – if the distance between the alveoli and capillaries is short, then
the oxygen will take less time to travel and diffusion will be able to happen more quickly.
 Readiness of haemoglobin to combine with oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin – if there is surplus
haemoglobin then this will enable more oxygen molecules to bind to them and decrease the time in which
diffusion takes.
 Diffusion gradient caused by different partial pressures of the gases involved – if there is a large
diffusion gradient then the oxygen particles will travel from the area of high partial pressure (alveoli) to the
area of low partial pressure (capillaries) more quickly as the gradient will need to be evened out, increasing
the rate of diffusion.
 Large surface area of alveoli – if the alveoli have a large surface area (e.g. there are more alveoli) then
there will be more partially permeable membrane for the oxygen to travel through, increasing the rate of
diffusion.
 Slow movement of blood through capillaries – if the blood moves slowly, this will give the oxygen more
time to bind to the haemoglobin in the blood, meaning that there will be more oxygen in a given volume of
blood and therefore increasing the rate of diffusion.
 Moisture layer enhancing the uptake of oxygen – if there is more moisture, the oxygen will travel
through the capillaries more often and increasing the amount of oxygen travelling through the alveoli and
thus increasing the rate of diffusion.
The Control of Breathing
Types of receptors
 Chemoreceptors – found in arteries, detect blood pH (acidity levels – CO2, lactic acid)
 Baroreceptors – detect blood pressure
 Mechanoreceptors – detect movement in muscles
 Proprioceptors – detect movement in relation to other things

Nervous systems
 Sympathetic nervous system (phrenic) – speeds things up
 Parasympathetic nervous system (vagus) – slows things down

Control of respiration
 Respiration is controlled (the rate and depth of breathing) by the respiratory centre in the
medulla oblongata in the brain. The medulla oblongata is located in the brain stem, found
between the spinal cord and the upper brain.
 The respiratory centre controls both the rate and depth of breathing and uses both neural and
chemical control.
Control of Breathing
At Rest:
 There is both an inspiratory and expiratory centre.
 During normal, quite breathing the inspiratory centre sends nerve impulses to the diaphragm
and the external intercostal muscles causing them to contract, allowing us to breathe in.
 After approx 2 seconds, the inspiratory centre ceases sending impulses and the intercostals and
the diaphragm relax, and the elastic recoil of the lungs means we breathe out.

During exercise:
 Carbon dioxide acidity/lactic acid in the blood increases
 This is detected by chemoreceptors
 Baroreceptors detect an increase in blood pressure
 Mechanoreceptors/proprioceptors detect an increase in movement in muscles
 Nerve impulses from these receptors are sent to the respiratory centre/ medulla oblongata
 Nerve impulses are then sent back to the breathing muscles via the sympathetic nervous system
 This results in deeper and faster breathing