Nursing Times [online]; 1, It is also often the first question asked about newborns and the last one asked about the dying. Why is breathing so important? What is in the breath that we need so much? What happens when we stop breathing?
These might seem obvious questions, but the mechanisms of respiration are often poorly understood, and their importance in health assessments and diagnostics often missed.
This article describes the anatomy and physiology of breathing. We need energy to fuel all the activities in our bodies, such as contracting muscles and maintaining a resting potential in our neurons, and we have to work to obtain the energy we use.
Green plants take their energy directly from sunlight and convert it into carbohydrates sugars. We cannot do that, but we can use the energy stored in carbohydrates to fuel all other reactions in our bodies. To do this, we need to combine sugar with oxygen. We therefore need to accumulate both sugar and oxygen, which requires us to work. As a matter of fact, we spend much of our energy obtaining the sugar and oxygen we need to produce energy.
We source carbohydrates from green plants or animals that have eaten green plants, and we source oxygen from the air. Green plants release oxygen as a waste product of photosynthesis; we use that oxygen to fuel our metabolic reactions, releasing carbon dioxide as a waste product.
Plants use our waste product as the carbon source for carbohydrates. To obtain energy we must release the energy contained in the chemical bonds of molecules such as sugars.
The foods we eat such as carbohydrates and proteins are digested in our gastrointestinal tract into molecules such as sugars and amino acids that are small enough to pass into the blood. The blood transports the sugars to the cells, where the mitochondria break up their chemical bonds to release the energy they contain.
Cells need oxygen to be able to carry out that process. As every cell in our body needs energy, every one of them needs oxygen. The energy released is stored in a chemical compound called adenosine triphosphate ATP , which contains three phosphate groups. When we need energy to carry out an activity, ATP is broken down into adenosine diphosphate ADP , containing only two phosphate groups. Breaking the chemical bond between the third phosphate group and ATP releases a high amount of energy.
Our lungs supply oxygen from the outside air to the cells via the blood and cardiovascular system to enable us to obtain energy. As we breathe in, oxygen enters the lungs and diffuses into the blood. It is taken to the heart and pumped into the cells. At the same time, the carbon dioxide waste from the breakdown of sugars in the cells of the body diffuses into the blood and then diffuses from the blood into the lungs and is expelled as we breathe out. One gas oxygen is exchanged for another carbon dioxide.
This exchange of gases takes places both in the lungs external respiration and in the cells internal respiration. Fig 1 summarises gas exchange in humans. Our respiratory system comprises a conduction zone and a respiratory zone. The conduction zone brings air from the external environment to the lungs via a series of tubes through which the air travels.
These are the:. The nasal cavity has a large number of tiny capillaries that bring warm blood to the cold nose. The warmth from the blood diffuses into the cold air entering the nose and warms it. The lining of the pharynx and larynx which form the upper respiratory tract and the lining of the trachea lower respiratory tract have small cells with little hairs or cilia.
These hairs trap small airborne particles, such as dust, and prevent them from reaching the lungs. The lining of the nasal cavity, upper respiratory tract and lower respiratory tract contains goblet cells that secrete mucus. During cellular respiration the cell uses oxygen to break down sugar. What is respiration in simple words? Respiration is the biochemical process in which the cells of an organism obtain energy by combining oxygen and glucose, resulting in the release of carbon dioxide, water, and ATP the currency of energy in cells.
What are the signs that a person needs oxygen? When you aren't getting enough oxygen, you'll experience a host of symptoms, including: rapid breathing. How does the human respiratory system work?
The primary organs of the respiratory system are the lungs, which function to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide as we breathe. The gas exchange process is performed by the lungs and respiratory system. Air, a mix of oxygen and other gases, is inhaled. Once in the lungs, oxygen is moved into the bloodstream. What does the body remove respiration? The cells in our bodies need oxygen to stay alive. The lungs and respiratory system allow oxygen in the air to be taken into the body, while also letting the body get rid of carbon dioxide in the air breathed out.
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Co-authors Respiration takes oxygen and glucose and transforms them to water and carbon dioxide; photosynthesis uses carbon dioxide and water to synthesize glucose for the plants' needs, and releases oxygen. Given the enormous volume of both plant and animal life worldwide, it is certain that if plants all vanished today, animals would soon die off and vice versa.
Plants can engage in respiration, and do so in the dark when photosynthesis is dormant. At these times, the plants break down some of the glucose they have made to fuel growth and other processes. Then, when sunlight is again available, the plant returns to a net accumulation of glucose and releases oxygen via photosynthesis. Kevin Beck holds a bachelor's degree in physics with minors in math and chemistry from the University of Vermont.
Formerly with ScienceBlogs. More about Kevin and links to his professional work can be found at www. Respiration in Mammals.
How the Human Respiratory System Works. For this special section of Integrative and Comparative Biology the authors were asked to depart from the traditional practice of publishing individual symposium contributions and instead to summarize and integrate entire symposia in a single publication.
Thus this issue has contributions from more than 90 co-authors and represents a cross-section of the whole three-day meeting. The articles have been updated and integrated to emphasize the interaction of various contributions within symposia. The result is a unique view into the breadth and depth of respiratory biology today. These are exciting times for respiratory biology, broadly defined. Google Scholar. Google Preview. Oxford University Press is a department of the University of Oxford. It furthers the University's objective of excellence in research, scholarship, and education by publishing worldwide.
Sign In or Create an Account. Sign In. Advanced Search. Search Menu. Article Navigation. Close mobile search navigation Article Navigation. Volume Article Contents Abstract. Significance of respiratory biology. The need for a respiratory biology now: the First International Congress of Respiratory Biology and the special section. Why respiratory biology? The meaning and significance of respiration and its integrative study. Perry , Steven F. Perry 1. Oxford Academic.
Warren W. Cite Cite Steven F. Select Format Select format. Permissions Icon Permissions. Abstract Traditionally the process of respiration is divided into three phases: 1 cellular respiration, 2 transport of respiratory gases and 3 ventilation of the gas exchange organs breathing. Google Scholar Crossref. Search ADS.
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