70 year old woman goes to emergency room with difficulty breathing and discovers she has developed a viral infection of the lungs
Fast, shallow breathing and wet, wheezy cough
As an older person, her body is unable to adjust to the higher altitude like a young person can
She is at a much higher altitude in Denver than she is in Fort Worth
Body tries to use acclimatization, an adaptive response to make respiratory and hemotopoietic adjustments
Age effects
Fast shallow breathing effects
Cerebral blood vessels constrict when carbon dioxide decreases below what it should be in your system
More vulnerable to infections since your immune system is weaker
Elasticity of alveoli decreases, they lose their shape and become baggy
Rib cage can't expand and contract while breathing because the bones are more thin and have changed shape
Pneumonia could result if she doesn't get treatment
Location with higher altitude effects
Lower air pressure at high altitudes makes it more difficult for oxygen to enter our system
Lymphatic system interaction
Lymphatic system protects respiratory organs from bacteria, bacterial toxins, viruses, protozoa, fungi, and cancer
Circulatory system interaction
Blood transports respiratory gases
The two systems work together to circulate blood and oxygen throughout the body
Lung anatomy
Type I cells
Type II cells
Simple squamous epithelium
Make up major part of alveolar wall
Stratified cuboidal epithelium
Secretes antimicrobial proteins important for innate immunity
Secretes surfactant that coats the cells
Surfactant reduces surface tension and prevents the collapsing of lungs
Macrophages
Move along alveolar surface
Eat dust, bacteria, and other debris
Alveolar duct (how they get there)
Alveolar sac (group, alveoli)
Alveolus (one single)
Branches of the bronchi
Primary, secondary, tertiary
Cardiac notch
Space for heart
Inflammation of the respiratory system effects
Asthma
Wheezing
Inflamed alveoli make it difficult for oxygen to pass through
Alveolar level respiratory physiology
Carbon dioxide pressure in alveoli must be lower than the blood
Oxygen pressure must be higher in alveoli than the blood
Carbon dioxide diffuses from bloodstream into alveoli
Oxygen diffuses from alveoli into bloodstream
Travels from alveolar ducts to the alveolar sacs, then into the individual alveolus
Gas laws
Boyle's law
If volume increases, pressure decreases (inverse relationship)
Dalton's law
Nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide all act indepently
Henry's law
Solubility of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide are all different (when in contact with surface of a liquid)
Partial pressure and how elevation affects it
Partial pressure is directly proportionate to the percentage of that gas in the mixture
Partial pressure is the pressure exerted by each gas
Elevation affects partial pressure because the amount of nitrogen, oxygen, and carbon dioxide in higher or lower altitudes is different to sea level
Low altitudes- for every 33 feet of descent below sea level, atmospheric pressure increases by 1 atm
High altitudes- partial pressure declines in direct proportion to the decrease of atmospheric pressure