Radutu Roxana Ioana

AMG 2

The respiratory system

The respiratory system, also called the gas exchange system, is the body getting rid of
carbon dioxide and taking in oxygen. Carbon dioxide, a waste product, goes out of the body.
Oxygen, which the body needs, comes in.
The first step in this process is breathing in air, or inhaling. The second step is gas exchange
in the lungs where oxygen from the air is diffused into the blood and the carbon dioxide diffuses out
of the blood. The third process is cellular respiration, which produces the chemical energy that the
cells in the body need, and carbon dioxide. Finally, the carbon dioxide from cellular respiration is
breathed out of body from the lungs.

Breathing
For respiration to happen, the body needs a constant supply of oxygen, which is done by
breathing. Inhalation is the breathing in of air. To inhale, the lungs expand, decreasing the air
pressure in the lungs. This is caused by the diaphragm (a sheet of muscular tissue that separates the
lungs from the abdomen) and the muscles between the ribs contracting to expand the chest, which
also expands the lungs. As the air pressure inside the lungs are lower when it has expanded, air from
outside at higher pressure comes rushing into the area of low pressure in the lungs. Air first passes

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Radutu Roxana Ioana
AMG 2

through the nose and mouth, then through the larynx (voice box), then down the trachea (windpipe),
and into the lungs and comes out
The lungs are made of many tubes or branches. As air enters the lungs, it first goes through
branches called the bronchi, then through smaller branches called bronchioles, and finally into the air
sacs. Gas exchange occurs in the air sacs where oxygen is exchanged with carbon dioxide. The
carbon dioxide in the air sacs now need to be exhaled, or breathed out. In the reverse process to
inhaling, the diaphragm and the rib muscles relax, causing the lungs to be smaller. As the air pressure
in the lungs is greater when the lungs are smaller, air is forced out. The exhaled air has a high
concentration of carbon dioxide and a low concentration of oxygen. The maximum volume of air
that can be inhaled and exhaled is called the vital capacity of the lungs and is up to five liters.

Gas exchange
The inhaled air goes down to the air sacs at the end of each bronchiole. The air sacs are
called alveoli they have a large surface area, and are moist, thin, and close to a blood supply. The
inhaled air has a much greater concentration of
oxygen than carbon dioxide whilst the blood
flowing to the lungs has a more carbon dioxide
than oxygen. This creates a concentration
gradient between the air in the air sacs and the
blood, meaning there is more oxygen in the air
than the blood. As the membrane, oxygen can
easily diffuse in and out. Oxygen at high
concentration in the air sacs diffuses into the
blood where oxygen concentration is low, and carbon dioxide at high concentration in the blood
diffuses into the air sacs where carbon dioxide concentration is low. The oxygen in the blood enters
the circulatory system and is used by the cells in the body. The carbon dioxide in the air sacs are
exhaled out of the body.

Cellular respiration

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Radutu Roxana Ioana
AMG 2

Cellular respiration is the process of cells changing oxygen and glucose into carbon dioxide,
and water, to get energy. It has three stages known as glycolysis, the Krebs Cycle, and the electron
transport chain. This produces ATP which supplies the energy that cells need to do work. When they
don't get enough oxygen, the cells use anaerobic respiration, which doesnt require oxygen.
However, this process produces lactic acid (a poison) and is not as efficient as when oxygen is used.
Aerobic respiration, the process that does use oxygen, produces much more energy and doesnt
produce lactic acid. It also produces carbon dioxide as a waste product, which then enters the
circulatory system. The carbon dioxide is taken to the lungs, where it is exchanged for oxygen.