Respiratory System Lab Report

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Pages: 5

Respiratory System - Fact Sheet
****reference the text book
Purpose
What Does It Do?
Primary function - supply blood with oxygen, so that the the blood may in turn deliver blood to all parts of the body; this is done accomplished the exchange of gases (respiration) - when we breathe, oxygen is inhaled, and exhaled as carbon dioxide.
Gas Exchange
Oxygen will diffuse into the bloodstream from the air that is inhaled, whereas carbon dioxide will diffuse into the air from the bloodstream.
Happens because the concentration of oxygen in air is higher than its concentration and blood, and the concentration of CO2 in blood is high than its concentration of air.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/schools/gcsebitesize/science/triple_ocr_gateway/the_living_body/respiratory_systems/revision/3/#
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How Does it Work?
Exchanges oxygen and carbon dioxide b/w the air outside our body, and our body’s cells.
Subconscious, coded signals from your brain (nerve impulses), are what allow the breathing process, also known as ventilation or pulmonary ventilation; moving air through a series of passages in (inspiration/inhalation) and out (expiration/exhalation) of lungs. This is followed by an exchange of gases b/w lungs and the blood - external transportation - blood takes the gases to and from tissue cells - internal respiration. Cells then use the oxygen to carry out their specific roles in the body - called cellular metabolism, or cellular respiration.

What Moves Air In and Out of The Lungs?
...short answer; because of varying levels of pressure (pressure gradients) - produced by the contraction of the diaphragm and chest muscles (thoracic muscles).
This process involves three specific types of air pressure - atmospheric pressure (the air pressure outside the body), intrapulmonary pressure(pressure inside the alveoli), intrapleural pressure (pressure within the pleural cavity - a space surrounding the lungs, containing connective