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 System http://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 System http://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

Lung Mechanics: Statics & Dynamics

Take a Deep Breath and Have a Go

What's That Smell? - The Nasal Cavity

 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 virus?

The Respiratory System

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.

What is the name for the membrane surrounding the lungs? The Respiratory System

Pleura. The pleura is a thin, moist membrane that allows the lungs and ribs to move smoothly against each other during respiration.

What is the medical term for the Adam's apple? The Respiratory System

Thyroid cartilage. The glottis is the area between the vocal cords the epiglottis covers the larynx during swallowing , preventing food from entering the trachea, or windpipe.

An outward breath is called expiration or exhalation. What is an inward breath called?

The Respiratory System

inspiration . With every inspiration through the nose or mouth, we inhale oxygen, use it, and convert it into carbon dioxide, which is expelled with every expiration.

What is a specialist of the respiratory system called? The Respiratory System

pulmonologist. The respiratory system is composed of the nose, mouth, pharynx, epiglottis, esophagus, trachea, lungs, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli.

Of which type of cancer do the most people die each year in North America?

The Respiratory System

lung. Lung cancer kills more people than all other types of cancer according to both the American Cancer Society and the Canadian Cancer Society.

The test in which a camera is introduced into the lungs via the trachea is called_________?

The Respiratory System

bronchoscopy. Endoscopy introduces the camera into the other end (colon). Spirometry measures lung volumes. Pneumonectomy is the surgical removal of a lung.

The relationship between dissolved oxygen and haemoglobin-bound oxygen and their affinity for each other is known as the what?

The Respiratory System

Oxy-haemoglobin dissociation curve. The oxy-haemoglobin curve is a graphical illustration of the relationship between dissolved and bound oxygen in the blood. The affinity of oxygen is responsible for the position of the curve wherein a given Pao2 yields a predictable oxygen saturation.

In the lungs, oxygen and carbon dioxide move in and out of the alveoli and capillary network by which process?

The Respiratory System

Diffusion. Diffusion is the intermixing of gases or molecules from a higher concentration to a lower concentration so they are equally distributed. Osmosis refers to the movement of fluids from a higher to a lower concentration. Convection is the movement of solutes by an externally driven force. It is used in renal dialysis. Active transport is a renal concept when a substance binds with a carrier in order to cross a semipermeable membrane. 

Here's an easier one. Which respiratory disease do dyspnoea, wheezing and difficulty exhaling most commonly characterize?

The Respiratory System

Asthma. Asthma needs no introduction. The majority of children with asthma experience its onset within the first two years of life, but it can occur in those as young as a few weeks. Attacks can vary greatly from occasional periods of wheezing and slight dyspnoea to severe attacks that almost cause suffocation.

What is atelectasis? The Respiratory System

A partial collapse of some alveoli. Atelectasis may result from imperfect expansion of the lungs at birth, or as a result of disease when the small air passages are narrowed and air cannot reach the alveoli.

At what point does the trachea bifurcate into the right and left main bronchi?

The Respiratory System

Carina. The carina is the keel shaped cartilage at the base of the trachea where it branches into the right and left main bronchi. It sits approximately the level of the aortic arch, the fifth thoracic vertebra, or just below the level of the angle of Louis. 

What is the correct term for a collapsed lung? The Respiratory System

Pneumothorax. When air or gas escapes from the lung tissue into the chest cavity, it forces the lung to deflate, rather like a balloon. It may happen spontaneously in the setting of a pulmonary disease, or it may follow trauma to the chest wall. A haemothorax is a collection of blood in the pleural cavity, and a haemopneumothorax is a collection of air and blood. 

Which is the membrane enveloping the lungs? The Respiratory System

Pleura. The pleura is a double layered serous membrane that covers the lungs (the pulmonary or visceral pleura) and lines the walls of the thoracic cavity (the parietal pleura). The potential space between the two layers is called the pleural cavity. 

Apart from within a human or animal body, is there officially any practical use for mucus that has been extracted?

Mucus, the quiz you'd rather not take

Materials science. The amazing properties of slug mucus, which allows it to climb smooth surfaces, has been investigated as an ultra efficient water absorbing polymer. By studying the way it works scientists have put it to use as a possible solution in many applications "The researchers foresee many potential applications of slug slime technology in materials science and bioengineering: new drug delivery systems, pollutant traps for sewage treatment plants, and water-based lubricants, for example." I hope none of you chose the pizza topping...

How does mucous membrane/mucosa differ from skin? Mucus, the quiz you'd rather not take

It is internal and produces mucus. There is a subtle but definite change between our skin and the mucous membrane, technical term mucosa. The mouth is a good example, all the smooth wet areas inside are mucosa, and secrete saliva in cells similar to mucus producing ones. The vagina and male foreskin are also internal surfaces, producing lubricating mucus rather than skin which always has a layer of epidermis and does not have any mucus producing capabilities. They do produce sweat but this is wet not slimy and a different substance altogether.

Why do men's jackets have buttons on the cuffs (besides the ones to do them up)?

Mucus, the quiz you'd rather not take

To stop people wiping their nose on them. The most accepted designer of this accessory was George Washington, whose army fought and caught colds, and were added to stop them using them to wipe their noses. They may now appear to be fashion accessories as they appear to have no other function, but will deter any attempt to be lazy and use the sleeve. I've also heard Napoleon may have been responsible but people like to blame most things on him!

Is blue mucus an urban myth? Mucus, the quiz you'd rather not take

No. It's rare but the two common colouring bacteria in mucus usually even out to green. But in the rare cases where the Pseudomonas aeruginosa/pyocyanaea (cyan meaning blue) outnumber enough Staphylococcus aureus which is yellow, the bogies produced are a cyan shade of blue. I've yet to actually see any though.

What is the difference between phlegm and sputum? Mucus, the quiz you'd rather not take

Sputum is anything coughed up including phlegm. A doctor or nurse needs to know these differences. In respiratory diseases many clues can be gained from analysing the sputum coughed up, and it describes any substance ejected from the lungs, which is most frequently phlegm but you can probably imagine the alternatives.

What is the similar word mucous used as? Mucus, the quiz you'd rather not take

An adjective. Although it galls me every time someone spells the substance with an o, the o makes it a description rather than a substance. The commonest usage is in 'mucous membrane', the membranes in the body that are lubricated with and produce mucus.

Mucus is a useful substance which protects and lubricates the body systems. But which system shouldn't have any inside it?

Mucus, the quiz you'd rather not take

Circulatory system. Of course the mucus we're most familiar with is respiratory mucus, especially from the nose and lungs. But without a mucus lining the stomach would digest itself, and it lubricates and protects all three systems. In the circulatory system it would simply block the flow.

What difference is there between pulmonary arteries and other arteries in the body?

The Respiratory System and Pulmonary Circulation

They carry deoxygenated blood. Every artery in the human body except pulmonary arteries carries oxygenated blood. For this reason, the definition of an artery is a vessel which carries blood AWAY from the heart. Every vein in the human body carries oxygenated blood, except for pulmonary veins. As above, for this reason, the definition of a vein is a vessel which carries blood TOWARDS the heart. Pulmonary arteries divide, following branching patterns of bronchi, i.e. to the lungs, to the lobes, to the segments. This means each lung segment is an independent unit with its own air and blood supply. 

The human body has dual circulation: systemic circulation and pulmonary circulation. What does pulmonary circulation transport?

The Respiratory System and Pulmonary Circulation

Deoxygenated blood to the lungs, oxygenated blood to the heart. Deoxygenated blood is pumped from the heart to the lung capillaries. Here, gas exchange takes place and carbon dioxide is removed and oxygen binds to haemoglobin. The blood, now oxygenated, goes back to the heart. This is known as pulmonary circulation. When the oxygenated blood reaches the heart, it is pumped to the tissue capillaries in the rest of the body. Here, gas exchange takes place, with oxygen being delivered to the tissues. Finally, the deoxygenated blood returns to the heart and the cycle begins again. This is known as systemic circulation. 

The respiratory system has a strong link to which other system in the body?

The Respiratory System and Pulmonary Circulation

Cardiovascular System. As the respiratory system provides oxygen, it does have links with the function of everything in the human body. However, it has a strong link with the cardiovascular system, as blood acts as the transport medium for oxygen and carbon dioxide. It brings deoxygenated blood to the lungs and transports oxygenated blood back to the heart, ready to be pumped around the

body.

What do secondary bronchi lead to? The Respiratory System and Pulmonary Circulation

To the lung lobes. The trachea first splits into two primary bronchi which lead to the left and right lung. Primary bronchi then divide into secondary bronchi, which lead to the lobes of the lung. The right lung has three lobes (superior, middle and inferior) and the left lung has two lobes (superior and inferior). The left lung only has two lobes as the area where the middle lobe would be is home to the heart instead. Secondary bronchi then divide into tertiary bronchi which lead to the subdivisions of the lobes, known as segments. Tertiary bronchi divide into bronchioles which eventually divide into terminal bronchioles, leading to the alveoli where gas exchange takes place. 

The respiratory system has two functional parts: a conducting portion and a respiratory portion. The conducting portion transports inspired air, but what is its other function?

The Respiratory System and Pulmonary

Circulation

All of these options (It warms the inspired air, It moistens the inspired air, It filters the inspired air). The conducting portion of the respiratory system warms, moistens and filters inspired air. This is known as conditioning. Body temperature is 37 degrees Celsius, but inspired air is rarely at this temperature, so this is why the air is warmed. The air is moistened as it helps with absorption and diffusion, hence why breath is very humid. It is filtered to remove anything harmful to the lungs and body. The respiratory portion of the respiratory system contains thin, moist delicate membranes across which gas exchange occurs. 

The primary function of the respiratory system is gas exchange, but it also involved in speech and smell. Which part of the respiratory system does air pass over to give rise to our sense of smell?

The Respiratory System and Pulmonary

Circulation

Olfactory Mucosa. Gas exchange is where oxygen is transported from the air to the blood so it can be delivered to our organs. It is also the removal of waste carbon dioxide from the blood, where it is the expirated into the air. The gases move by diffusion between blood capillaries and alveoli. Speech and smell are secondary functions of the respiratory system. When air passes over the olfactory mucosa it gives rise to our sense of smell. Air passing through the larynx is responsible for speech, hence why it is also known as the voicebox. 

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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 KidsOur 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!).

BreathingIn 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.

Component Atmospheric Air (%) 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

PneumoniaPneumonia 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.

AsthmaIn 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.