Free «Respiratory System» Essay Paper

All the systems of the organism are vital and in a healthy state they perform all the functions needed to keep life. The role of the respiratory system in the human organism is extremely important, as all of the organs and tissues need to be fueled with oxygen entering the body with breathing and relieved from carbon dioxide, all of which are transmitted through blood. The special role of the respiratory system is proved by the fact that we cannot last long without breathing, as opposed to other types of energy supply. Oxygen and carbon dioxide transport, as well as pH changes during the processes of hypo- and hyperventilation are described at length in the book by E. Marieb and K. Hoehn.

Gas exchange is one of the functions of the respiratory system. Oxygen and carbon dioxide are referred to as respiratory gases. After entering the body with air and getting into the blood system through alveoli of the lungs oxygen kept in molecules is mostly transmitted through blood cells bound to hemoglobin, and plasma is responsible for transport of a small dissolved part of it. CO₂, produced by the organism in the process of its vital activity on the chemical level, is transmitted by the same routes, although this gas is in majority bound to plasma. Thus, these mechanisms show how closely connected respiratory and cardio-vascular systems of the organism are what concerns transport of respiratory gases.

 

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The role of pH balancing is also performed by the respiratory system. When a human being breathes too slowly due to some physical premises, carbon dioxide is produced in surplus which cannot be eliminated fully, with blood pH falling. This state is defined as respiratory acidosis and called hypoventilation. The opposite phenomenon is hyperventilation (respiratory alkalosis), which implies intense breathing and causes CO₂ toleave the organism very quickly, thus it is not generated in a needed measure. Blood pH rises in this case, it becomes more alkaline. Hypoventilation is treated as respiratory failure, while hyperventilation is a temporary state mostly triggered by a stressful situation.