Respiratory System Q & A

1)Why do we breathe?
Your body produces energy through a chemical reaction that requires oxygen. This energy allows us to move around, and also keeps our hearts beating, our digestive systems moving, and our organs functioning! Humans can’t store oxygen in our bodies, so we need to get it from the environment. The easiest way to do this is to breathe in oxygen from the atmosphere!

First, air travels through the nose or mouth when you breathe in. It then moves down the trachea to your lungs, where it fills tiny sacs called alveoli. These are surrounded by tiny blood vessels called capillaries. Oxygen from the air seeps through the alveoli and into the capillaries. Red blood cells inside the capillaries transport the oxygen throughout your body, delivering it to all the cells that need it. A separate set of capillaries surrounding the alveoli pass carbon dioxide (a poisonous waste gas created by your cells) from your blood to the alveoli. The carbon dioxide is then expelled from your body when you breathe out.

2) How can oxygen pass from the alveoli to the capillaries?
Oxygen moves through the body by diffusion. That’s a form of passive transport, which means that oxygen flows through the membranes of cells without any energy being expended. Diffusion occurs is when molecules move from areas of high concentration, where there are lots of them, to areas of low concentration, where there are fewer. Because there is more oxygen outside the alveoli and capillaries than inside them, oxygen passes into them by diffusion. Once oxygen enters the capillaries, it is transported through the body by blood vessels.

3)How does pollution affect our lungs?
Pollution is the contamination of the environment as a result of human activities. Air pollution is largely caused by the burning of wastes and fuels. Air pollution can contribute to health conditions like asthma, bronchitis, emphysema, lung disease, heart disease, and respiratory allergies. Another thing that can trigger breathing problems is smoke from cigarettes. Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke can cause or contribute to the development of lung cancer, cardiovascular disease, bronchitis, and asthma.

4)Why does your breathing rate increase during and after exercise?
When you exercise, your arms and legs and the rest of your body needs more oxygen to function. Your heart beats more quickly to send oxygen to the rest of your body. Your heart, in turn, requires more oxygen from your lungs, and so you begin to breathe more quickly. When you stop exercising, your breathing rate returns to normal, but it can remain high for a time after you stop.