amazing facts about respiratory system circulatory systestem

There are some amazing and interesting facts about human circulatory system.

* The right lung is slightly larger than the left.

*At rest, the body takes in and breathes out about 10 liters of air each minute.
* The surface area of the lungs is roughly the same size as a tennis court.
* The highest recorded "sneeze speed" is 165 km per hour.
* The capillaries in the lungs would extend 1,600 kilometers if placed end to end.
* Half a liter of water a day through breathing. Water vapor when we breathe onto glass
* A person at rest usually breathes between 12 and 15 times a minute.
* The breathing rate is faster in children and women than in men

1. We breathe 13 pints of air every minute.

2. Each lung contains 300-350 million respiratory units called alveoli making it a total of 700 million
in both lungs.

3. More than half a liter of water per day is lost through breathing.

4. People under 30 years of age take in double the amount of oxygen in comparison to a 80 year
old.

5. Yawning brings more oxygen to the lungs.

Read more:Know Your Body - Respiratory

Systemhttp://www.medindia.net/know_ur_body/ressystem.asp#ixzz0c2Ha4O2L

Human beings like other land animals breathe though their nostrils in noses and with the help of lungs. A
pair of lungs are located in the airtight thoracic cavity that is bounded by a convex muscular and elastic
sheet called diaphragm.

Functionally, the lungs are elastic bags resembling rubber balloons. They lack any muscle, which may allow
them to expand or contract by themselves.

In normal breathing, through the nose, air travels through the nasal passages that are lined with ciliated
mucous epithelium. Here, it is cleaned and warmed. Sensory cells detect odours. As air continues through
the pharynx or throat, it crosses the path of food. This is why we can breathe through the mouth. Then, air
passes the epiglottis, enters the larynx or voice box, and goes down the trachea or windpipe. A bronchus
runs to each lung, divides in a tree like manner to give smaller bronchioles and finally deposits the air in the
microscopic thin walled air sacs or alveoli (singular alveolus). A group of alveoli appears like a cluster of
grapes and gives the lungs, a sponge like structure. There are about 150 million alveoli in each lung and
altogether they cover a very large surface area (approximately 70 square metres).

The alveoli are lined by a layer of moist flat epithelial cells and surrounded by networks of blood capillaries.
The blood, which flows to the lungs by pulmonary artery, contains little oxygen and much carbon dioxide.
On the other hand, the air in the alveoli has a high concentration of oxygen and relatively less carbon
dioxide. Thus a 2-way diffusion takes place through the cells of the capillaries. Oxygen enters the blood and
CO2 leaves it. Since enormous breathing surface of lungs is exposed to the external environment the
exchange of gases is computed within a few seconds.

Read more:Know your Respiratory

Systemhttp://www.medindia.net/know_ur_body/respiratory.asp#ixzz0c2HiApUM
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Fun Trivia : Respiratory System

Structure
Sub-topic of: Human Body Quizzes

Interesting Questions, Facts and Information

• There are a total of 50 general entries. We are selecting 30 for

display.

Special Topics

 The Larynx - Nature's Boom Box  What's That Smell? - The Nasal Cavity

 Lung Mechanics: Statics & Dynamics

 Take a Deep Breath and Have a Go

Interesting Questions, Facts, and Information

Respiratory System

What part of the body is also known as the thoracic cavity? The Respiratory System

chest . The thoracic cavity is part of the upper respiratory tract.

What is an examination of the larynx, trachea, and esophagus? The Respiratory System

Laryngoscopy. A bronchoscopy is a visual examination of the bronchi a

tracheostomy is a surgical procedure to make an opening into the throat and
spirometry is a pulmonary function test.

What age group is the most vulnerable to respiratory syncytial

The Respiratory System
virus?

Infants. RSV is a type of virus the causes cells to mesh rather than remain singular.
In adults, in produces only coldlike symptoms, but children can become extremely ill
with pneumonia, an inflammation of lung tissue.
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1. When resting you breathe about 12-15 times per minute.

2. The breathing rate in women and children is faster than men.

3. When you yawn more oxygen goes into your lungs.

4. Most people in North America die from lung cancer.

5. The name for a specialist of the respiratory system is called pulmonologist.

Read more: http://wiki.answers.com/Q/Fun_facts_about_the_respiratory_system#ixzz0c2IRXmly

nteresting facts things about respiratory system

Each lung contains 300-350 million respiratory units called alveoli making it a total of 700 million in both
lungs. More than half a liter of water per day is lost through breathing.
We breathe 13 pints of air every minute. People under 30 years of age take in double the amount of oxygen
in comparison to a 80 year old.

espiratory System Facts for Kids

Our respiratory system is made up of many organs that work together, like musicians in a symphony, to
make us breathe. Let's get started with our respiratory system fun facts

• Every minute we breathe, we take in 13 pints of air! That is we breathe about 6.15 liters of air
every minute.
• We breathe about 9 to 20 times every minute. Through every breath, we breathe in about half a
liter of air.
• We inhale and exhale air about 22,000 times per day and in the process, transport about 300
cubic feet of air (which is about 8.5 cubic meters of air)!
• Human breathing mechanism is called tidal breathing, as air comes out the same way it goes in.
• We exhale about half a liter of water vapor in a whole day.
 • Breathing is initiated by the diaphragm, which is a stretchable muscle under the lungs. When it
contracts, the volume of the chest cavity rises and the air pressure drops. That is what enables
the high pressure air outside, to enter the lungs and makes them expand like balloons.
• When the diaphragm expands, lungs are emptied of air and we exhale it outside.
• When air
passes
through the
nose and
into the
nasal
passage
called the
windpipe, it
gets filtered,
moistened
and heated.

The Human
Respiratory System

The Pathway

• Air enters the nostrils

• passes through the nasopharynx,
• the oral pharynx
• through the glottis
• into the trachea
• into the right and left bronchi, which branches and rebranches
into
• bronchioles, each of which terminates in a cluster of
• alveoli

Only in the alveoli does actual gas exchange takes place. There are some 300 million
alveoli in two adult lungs. These provide a surface area of some 160 m2 (almost equal
to the singles area of a tennis court and 80 times the area of our skin!).
Breathing
In mammals, the diaphragm divides the body cavity into the

• abdominal cavity, which contains the viscera (e.g., stomach

and intestines) and the
• thoracic cavity, which contains the heart and lungs.

The inner surface of the thoracic cavity and the outer surface of the lungs are lined
with pleural membranes which adhere to each other. If air is introduced between
them, the adhesion is broken and the natural elasticity of the lung causes it to collapse.
This can occur from trauma. And it is sometimes induced deliberately to allow the
lung to rest. In either case, reinflation occurs as the air is gradually absorbed by the
tissues.

Because of this adhesion, any action that increases the volume of the thoracic
cavity causes the lungs to expand, drawing air into them.

• During inspiration (inhaling),

o The external intercostal muscles contract, lifting the ribs
up and out.
o The diaphragm contracts, drawing it down .
• During expiration (exhaling), these processes are reversed and
the natural elasticity of the lungs returns them to their normal
volume. At rest, we breath 15-18 times a minute exchanging
about 500 ml of air.
• In more vigorous expiration,
o The internal intercostal muscles draw the ribs down and
inward
o The wall of the abdomen contracts pushing the stomach
and liver upward.

Under these conditions, an average adult male can flush his

lungs with about 4 liters of air at each breath. This is called
the vital capacity. Even with maximum expiration, about
1200 ml of residual airremain.

The table shows what happens to the composition of air when it reaches the alveoli.
Some of the oxygen dissolves in the film of moisture covering the epithelium of the
alveoli. From here it diffuses into the blood in a nearby capillary. It enters a red blood
cell and combines with the hemoglobin therein.
At the same time, some of the carbon dioxide in the blood diffuses into the alveoli
from which it can be exhaled.

Link to discussion of gas transport in

the blood.

Composition of atmospheric air and expired air in a typical

subject.
Note that only a fraction of the oxygen inhaled is taken up
by the lungs.

Atmospheric Air
Component Expired Air (%)
(%)

N2 (plus inert gases) 78.62 74.9

O2 20.85 15.3

CO2 0.03 3.6

H2O 0.5 6.2

100.0% 100.0%

The ease with which oxygen and carbon

dioxide can pass between air and blood is
clear from this electron micrograph of two
alveoli (Air) and an adjacent capillary from the
lung of a laboratory mouse. Note the thinness
of the epithelial cells (EP) that line the alveoli
and capillary (except where the nucleus is
located). At the closest point, the surface of
the red blood cell is only 0.7 µm away from the air in the alveolus. (Reproduced with
permission from Keith R. Porter and Mary A. Bonneville, An Introduction to the
Fine Structure of Cells and Tissues, 4th. ed., Lea & Febiger, 1973.)

Central Control of Breathing

The rate of cellular respiration (and hence oxygen consumption and carbon dioxide
production) varies with level of activity. Vigorous exercise can increase by 20-25
times the demand of the tissues for oxygen. This is met by increasing the rate and
depth of breathing.

It is a rising concentration of carbon dioxide — not a declining concentration of

oxygen — that plays the major role in regulating the ventilation of the lungs. Certain
cells in the medulla oblongata are very sensitive to a drop in pH. As the CO2 content
of the blood rises above normal levels, the pH drops
[CO2 + H2O → HCO3− + H+],
and the medulla oblongata responds by increasing the number and rate of nerve
impulses that control the action of the intercostal muscles and diaphragm. This
produces an increase in the rate of lung ventilation, which quickly brings the
CO2 concentration of the alveolar air, and then of the blood, back to normal levels.

Link to a description of experiments that

demonstrate this.

However, the carotid body in the carotid arteries does have receptors that respond to
a drop in oxygen. Their activation is important in situations (e.g., at high altitude in
the unpressurized cabin of an aircraft) where oxygen supply is inadequate but there
has been no increase in the production of CO2.

Local Control of Breathing

The smooth muscle in the walls of the bronchioles is very sensitive to the
concentration of carbon dioxide. A rising level of CO2 causes the bronchioles to
dilate. This lowers the resistance in the airways and thus increases the flow of air in
and out.

Diseases of the Lungs

Pneumonia
Pneumonia is an infection of the alveoli. It can be caused by many kinds of both
bacteria (e.g., Streptococcus pneumoniae) and viruses. Tissue fluids
accumulate in the alveoli reducing the surface area exposed to air. If enough alveoli
are affected, the patient may need supplemental oxygen.

Asthma
In asthma, periodic constriction of the bronchi and bronchioles makes it more
difficult to breathe in and, especially, out. Attacks of asthma can be

• triggered by airborne irritants such as chemical fumes and

cigarette smoke
• airborne particles to which the patient is allergic.

Link to discussion of allergic

asthma.

Emphysema

In this disorder, the delicate walls of the alveoli break down, reducing the gas
exchange area of the lungs. The condition develops slowly and is seldom a direct
cause of death. However, the gradual loss of gas exchange area forces the heart to
pump ever-larger volumes of blood to the lungs in order to satisfy the body's needs.
The added strain can lead to heart failure.

The immediate cause of emphysema seems to be the release of proteolytic enzymes as

part of the inflammatory process that follows irritation of the lungs. Most people
avoid this kind of damage during infections, etc. by producing an enzyme inhibitor
(a serpin) called alpha-1 antitrypsin. Those rare people who inherit two defective
genes for alpha-1 antitrypsin are particularly susceptible to developing emphysema.

Chronic Bronchitis

Any irritant reaching the bronchi and bronchioles will stimulate an increased secretion
of mucus. In chronic bronchitis the air passages become clogged with mucus, and this
leads to a persistent cough. Chronic bronchitis is usually associated with cigarette
smoking.

Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD)

Irritation of the lungs can lead to asthma, emphysema, and chronic bronchitis. And, in
fact, many people develop two or three of these together. This constellation is known
as chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).

Among the causes of COPD are

 • cigarette smoke (often)
• cystic fibrosis (rare)

Cystic fibrosis is a genetic disorder caused by inheriting two defective genes for
the cystic fibrosis transmembrane conductance regulator (CFTR), a transmembrane
protein needed for the transport of Cl−and HCO3− ions through the plasma membrane
of epithelial cells. Defective ion transport in the lung reduces the water content of the
fluid in the lungs making it more viscous and difficult for the ciliated cells to move it
up out of the lungs. Precisely how defective CFTR function produces this effect is still
under investigation. In any case, the accumulation of mucus plugs the airways and
provides a fertile breeding ground for pathogenic fungi and bacteria. All of this
damages the airways — interfering with breathing and causing a persistent cough.
Cystic fibrosis is the most common inherited disease in the U.S. white population.

Some mutations that cause cystic

fibrosis.

Lung Cancer

Lung cancer is the most common cancer and the most common cause of cancer deaths
in U.S. males. Although more women develop breast cancer than lung cancer, since
1987 U.S. women have been dying in larger numbers from lung cancer than from
breast cancer.

Link to lung cancer

data.

Lung cancer, like all cancer, is an uncontrolled proliferation of cells. There are several
forms of lung cancer, but the most common (and most rapidly increasing) types are
those involving the epithelial cells lining the bronchi and bronchioles.

Ordinarily, the lining of these airways consists of two layers of cells. Chronic
exposure to irritants

• causes the number of layers to increase. This is especially apt

to happen at forks where the bronchioles branch.
• The ciliated and mucus-secreting cells disappear and are
replaced by a disorganized mass of cells with abnormal nuclei.
• If the process continues, the growing mass penetrates the
underlying basement membrane.
 Link to illustrations of the cellular changes in developing
lung cancer.

• At this point, malignant cells can break away and be carried in

lymph and blood to other parts of the body where they may
lodge and continue to proliferate.
• It is this metastasis of the primary tumor that eventually kills
the patient.