Respiration
Please complete and submit these in groups of 2
1. Name three functions of the respiratory system.
(3)
2. Consider the primary gases involved in respiration:
a. In what form do we carry most CO2 in our blood?
b. What does carbonic anhydrase do?
c. Where do we carry O2 in our blood?
(3)
3. Consider lung volumes:
a. Define vital capacity.
b. Explain the ultimate reason why tidal volume increases during exercise.
(3)
4. Consider the structures of the respiratory system:
a. What is the function of trachea and bronchi?
b. Which muscles do we use for forced inspiration and which do we use for forced expiration?
c. What happens to the volume of our thoracic cavity when our diaphragm contracts?
d. As a result, what happens to the pressure and which direction does air flow?
e. Where do the respiratory and digestive tubes meet?
f. What two structures keep the tubes separate during swallowing?
g. Why are alveolar membranes so thin?
h. Why are alveoli so numerous (why not just a single large air sac for gas exchange)?
(10)
5. Consider ventilation (external respiration):
(7)
a. Where, in the brain, is ventilation rate set?
b. What two areas are involved in initiating forced inspiration?
c. Outline two pathways of neural modification of ventilation: include the type of sensory receptors, what
specifically they are sensing, where in the brain they project, and the effect of their stimulation on
respiratory rate and depth.
6. Hemoglobin is physiologically designed to deliver more Oxygen to exercising tissues than to resting tissues.
Discuss three pieces of evidence that support this argument.
(6)