BIO 326 Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System

Structure and Function of the Respiratory System

Respiratory problems act as a source of immense disease burden to patients and their significant others. Healthcare providers implement evidence-based interventions to facilitate patient’s recovery from these conditions. An understanding of the different physiological changes in respiratory problems is crucial for nurses. Therefore, this essay examines compromised mechanics of breathing in an infant with respiratory distress syndrome and an adult with pulmonary fibrosis.

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Respiratory distress syndrome is a common disorder causing respiratory distress among newborns. It arises from surfactant deficiency, which is caused by lack of surfactant activation or production. Surfactant deficiency result in an increase in the surface tension in the alveoli and small airways. The increase in the tension lowers lung compliance and imbalance in the air-fluid interface in the lungs. The reduced surfactant production also causes atelectasis, which can damage respiratory epithelium if prolonged. The damage also releases inflammatory cells, which impede airflow further and activation of surfactant. There is also the trapping of air within the alveoli, which over extends them causing further damage and reduced air exchange in the lungs (Huppert et al., 2019; Yadav et al., 2022). Pulmonary fibrosis is a condition characterized by scarring and damage of the lung tissue. The damage and scarring result in thickening of the lung tissue impairing its physiological function and gaseous exchange. Severe scaring of the lung tissues impedes further gaseous exchange, leading to symptoms such as cyanosis, loss of consciousness, and difficulty in breathing (George et al., 2020; Moss et al., 2022). The changes associated with respiratory distress syndrome and pulmonary fibrosis demands the use of interprofessional approaches to care.

In summary, the mechanics of breathing are impaired in pulmonary fibrosis and respiratory distress syndrome. The affected patients experience reduced tissue perfusion due to hypoxia and hypoxemia. The focus of treatment in both cases should aim at optimizing respiratory functions.

References

George, P. M., Wells, A. U., & Jenkins, R. G. (2020). Pulmonary fibrosis and COVID-19: The potential role for antifibrotic therapy. The Lancet Respiratory Medicine, 8(8), 807–815. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2213-2600(20)30225-3

Huppert, L. A., Matthay, M. A., & Ware, L. B. (2019). Pathogenesis of Acute Respiratory Distress Syndrome. Seminars in Respiratory and Critical Care Medicine, 40(1), 31–39. https://doi.org/10.1055/s-0039-1683996

Moss, B. J., Ryter, S. W., & Rosas, I. O. (2022). Pathogenic Mechanisms Underlying Idiopathic Pulmonary Fibrosis. Annual Review of Pathology: Mechanisms of Disease, 17(1), 515–546. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev-pathol-042320-030240

Yadav, S., Lee, B., & Kamity, R. (2022). Neonatal Respiratory Distress Syndrome. In StatPearls. StatPearls Publishing. http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK560779/

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Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System

Value: 10 points

Introduction

Two-week-old Tabitha has infant respiratory distress syndrome. Eighty-year-old Anthony has emphysema, and 50-year-old Jenny has pulmonary fibrosis.

Discussion Guidelines

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Initial Post

In your initial post, explain why the mechanics of breathing are greatly compromised in each case.

Response Post(s)

Reply to at least two of your classmates’ initial posts by Sunday.

Submission

Post your initial and follow up responses and review full grading criteria on the Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System page.

Week 11: Respiratory Physiology

Welcome to Week 11. This week, we continue our journey through the organ systems in the human body with a stop-off at the respiratory system. Background material on the respiratory system is presented this week, while disease states that are associated with the respiratory system will be covered next week.

The respiratory system material begins with the Fick equation, which you should make sure to know, and lists the functions of the lung, which go beyond gas exchange. The gas laws are provided, with Dalton’s and Henry’s being very important. You should understand the key respiratory parameters, including the concentration of the gases, partial pressures of the gases, and solubility of the gases, recalling that CO2 is 20–25 times more soluble than O2.

The morphology of the respiratory system, including the muscles that are involved in respiration, is presented, followed by the pulmonary volumes and capacities. Blood flow and pressure to the lung is provided; you should pay attention to the zonal distribution of blood flow, as well as how blood pressures stay the same to the lung when blood flow increases. You will need to be able to describe pulmonary capillary exchange of fluid and understand the importance of the negative interstitial hydrostatic pressure to prevent pulmonary edema. The next content focuses on the movement of the gases and the factors that affect their movement. Finally, control of breathing by specific neuronal areas is presented, as is a discussion of the chemosensitive areas that provide input to the neuronal tracts.

This week we have a single lesson on the structure and function of the respiratory system. You will need to understand the lung morphology, movement of air or gases into or out of the lung, diffusion of gases into or out of the blood, carrying of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood to and away from the systemic tissues, and control of breathing.

Learning Outcomes

At the end of this lesson, you will be able to:

Diffusion and Gas Properties

List the Fick equation and understand the importance of this equation as related to the diffusion of gases and disease states that may alter parameters in the equation

Describe the basic properties of gases in relation to their partial pressures and their pressures in relation to volume and temperature

Respiratory Morphology and Air Movement

Describe the mammalian blood-gas interface

Trace the movement of air through the airways, beginning in the nose and oropharynx and moving into the respiratory tissues of the lung

State the difference between the conducting and the respiratory airways

Describe the muscles involved in air movement during the inspiratory and expiratory phases

Define intrathoracic, intrapleural, and intra-alveolar pressures, and understand how each of these pressures changes in relation to atmospheric pressure during inspiration and expiration

Spirometry

Delineate on a spirometric record the four volumes and capacities that can be discerned on the trace

Differentiate between pulmonary and alveolar ventilation

Pulmonary Blood Flow

Describe blood flow to the lungs in terms of pressures

Understand the concept of hypoxic vasoconstriction

Air and Blood Flow

Compare and contrast atmospheric gas and alveolar gas in terms of specific partial pressures of each gas

Define the diffusing capacity of a respiratory membrane

Explain why ventilation and perfusion must be matched

Cite the difference between dead air space and shunt

Oxygen Dissociation Curves

Explain the significance of a shift to the right and a shift to the left in the oxygen–hemoglobin dissociation curve

Control of Breathing

Compare the neural control of the respiratory muscles, which control breathing, with that of cardiac muscle, which controls the pumping action of the heart

Breathing in Unique Environments

Understand breathing in unique environments and how atmospheric oxygen levels can change

Before attempting to complete your learning activities for this week, review the following learning materials:

Learning Materials

Read the following in your Porth’s Pathophysiology: Concepts of Altered Health States textbook:

Chapter 29, “Structure and Function of the Respiratory System”

Note that the presentation materials do not follow linearly from that presented in the chapter.

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BIO 326 Discussion 11.1: Structure and Function of the Respiratory System