13 Control of Breathing Flashcards
Voluntary and automatic control of breathing
- Structures involved in voluntary control
- Structures involved in automatic control
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Structures involved in voluntary control (e.g. breathholding, phonation, swallowing)
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Cerebral motor cortex
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–> Brainstem motor nuclei
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–> Diaphragm & external intercostals
- –> Inspiration
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–> Internal intercostals
- –> Expiration
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–> Diaphragm & external intercostals
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–> Brainstem motor nuclei
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Cerebral motor cortex
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Structures involved in automatic control
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Rhythm generator
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–> Dorsal respiratory group
- –> Inspiratory neurons
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–> Ventral respiratory group
- –> Expiratory neurons
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–> Dorsal respiratory group
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Rhythm generator
Voluntary and automatic control of breathing
- The system that regulates respiration
- The conditions to which the respiratory control system must respond
- The system that regulates respiration
- Does so in a way that will maintain homeostasis under a variety of circumstances that individuals encounter under conditions of health and disease
- Modulates these responses in such a fashion that minimizes the work of breathing
- The conditions to which the respiratory control system must respond
- Physiologic and metabolic changes (e.g. acid-base perturbations)
- Changing environment (e.g. altitude)
- Altered states or disease-related processes (e.g. sleep, obesity, and respiratory diseases)
Voluntary and automatic control of breathing
- Operation of the respiratory control system reflects the integrated activity of a wide variety of…
- Brainstem motor neurons
- Operation of the respiratory control system reflects the integrated activity of a wide variety of…
- Integrators, sensors, and effectors
- Brainstem motor neurons
- Fundamental elements of the system
- Represent the breathing pattern generator
- This generator sends neural signals to…
- The chest wall (the diaphragm and accessory muscles of breathing) as
- The upper airway muscles (to maintain patency of the upper airway during breathing and protect the lungs when swallowing)
- The breathing pattern generator is like a pacemaker, which initiates the process of inspiration and consequently results in lung inflation and ventilation
Voluntary and automatic control of breathing
- As a result of lung inflation, a number of receptors are stimulated, including…
- The magnitude of alveolar ventilation regulates…
- Arterial blood gas tensions and pH…
- Cerebral motor cortex
- Other physiologic factors that may influence the way we breathe
- As a result of lung inflation, a number of receptors are stimulated, including…
- Non-chemical stretch receptors located in the airways and lungs
- Muscle spindles and tendon organs in the chest wall musculature
- The magnitude of alveolar ventilation regulates…
- Arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2)
- Hydrogen ion concentration
- Arterial oxygen tension, PaO2
- Arterial blood gas tensions and pH…
- Feed back on the brainstem respiratory control centers to regulate respiratioin
- Cerebral motor cortex
- Automatic control of respiration
- Provides input to the brainstem motor neurons in order that adjustments in breathing may be made to accommodate voluntary or behavioral activities such as phonation, swallowing, and other activities that use the same structures as does breathing
- Other physiologic factors that may influence the way we breathe
- Temperature, cardiovascular changes associated with exercise, etc.
Voluntary and automatic control of breathing
- The rhythm generator or pacemaker exists in the…
- Other neuronal groups within the pons and medulla responsible for initiating inspiration and expiration
- Output from these neurons ultimately governs…
- Other groups of neurons in the brainstem are responsible for…
- The rhythm generator or pacemaker exists in the…
- Pre-Bötzinger complex within the brainstem
- Other neuronal groups within the pons and medulla responsible for initiating inspiration and expiration
- Dorsal Respiratory Group (activate inspiratory neurons)
- Ventral Respiratory Group (activate primarily expiratory neurons, but also some inspiratory neurons)
- Output from these neurons ultimately governs…
- Activity of the phrenic and intercostal motor neurons
- Activity of the pharyngeal and laryngeal muscles
- Other groups of neurons in the brainstem are responsible for…
- Integrating afferent inputs from peripheral receptors
- Relaying the signals to the inspiratory and expiratory motor neurons, whose activity is consequently modified
Regulation of respiratory centers:
The variety of factors that may stimulate the respiratory control system may be classified as…
- Chemostimuli
- Hypoxemia
- Hypercapnia
- Acidemia
- Mechanical stimuli (e.g.)
- Stimulation resulting from stretching the lung and chest wall
- Irritant inhalation
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Chemical control of breathing:
Chemoreceptors
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Functions
- Sense arterial PO2, PCO2,a nd pH
- Feed back on CNS controllers and help to regulate alveolar ventilation ot maintain PO2, PCO2, and pH homeostasis
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2 types
- Peripheral
- Central
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Adjust ventilation to…
- Maintain arterial PCO2
- Minimize an excess of H+ in the blood
- Raise arterial PO2 when it falls to dangerous levels
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Resting ventilation
- Proportional to metabolic rate
- Determined by PCO2 and not PO2
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Chemical control of breathing
- Chemical stimuli that evoke a response from the respiratory control system
- These responses are designed to…
- Both central and peripheral chemoreceptors sense…
- Chemical stimuli that evoke a response from the respiratory control system
- Hypoxemia
- Hypercapnia
- pH
- These responses are designed to…
- Maintain blood gas and pH homeostasis
- This reflects the metabolic control of respiration
- Both central and peripheral chemoreceptors sense…
- Oxygen tension (PaO2)
- Carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2)
- pH (hydrogen ion concentration)
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Chemical control of breathing:
Peripheral chemoreceptors
- The peripheral chemoreceptors consist of…
- The aortic body vs. the carotid body in humans
- Type I (Glomus) cells
- Type II cells (sheath cells)
- The peripheral chemoreceptors consist of…
- Carotid bodies located bilaterally at the bifurcation of the common carotid artery
- Aortic bodies located near the aortic arch
- The aortic body vs. the carotid body in humans
- The aortic body is of considerably less importance than the carotid body in terms of the control of respiration
- Type I (Glomus) cells
- The peripheral chemoreceptors consist of Type I (Glomus) cells
- Act as the sensors and contain and release catecholamines from cytoplasmic vesicles
- Type II cells (sheath cells)
- Encircle the glomus cells in a supporting structural role
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Chemical control of breathing:
Peripheral chemoreceptors:
Carotid bodies
- Very vascular
- Facilitate sensing blood gas tensions and making rapid adjustments in respiration
- Send afferent information related to blood gas tensions and pH to the Central Nervous System via the carotid sinus nerve and the glossopharyngeal nerve
- Responsible for most of the ventilatory response to hypoxemia (they are also sensitive to CO2 and pH)
- Rspond to a decrease in arterial oxygen tension (PaO2), rather than oxygen content or oxyhemoglobin saturation
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Chemical control of breathing:
Peripheral chemoreceptors
- Ventilatory response to decreasing PaO2
- With further hypoxemia below this level,…
- Oxyhemoglobin saturation vs. ventilation
- Under conditions when hypercapnia is also present,…
- Ventilatory response to decreasing PaO2
- There is a curvilinear ventilatory response to decreasing PaO2
- Negligible augmentation of ventilation until PaO2 falls to approximately 60 mmHg or below
- With further hypoxemia below this level,…
- There is a progressive increase in ventilation
- Oxyhemoglobin saturation vs. ventilation
- Due to the curvilinear relationship between PaO2 and oxygen saturation, a linear relationship exists between oxyhemoglobin saturation and ventilation
- Under conditions when hypercapnia is also present,…
- There is an augmentation of the ventilatory response to stimulation of the peripheral chemoreceptors, such that ventilation is stimulated at PaO2 levels above 60 mmHg
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Chemical control of breathing:
Central chemoreceptors
- Central chemoreceptors are located…
- The central chemoreceptors are primarily sensitive to…
- Once the CO2 diffuses across the blood brain barrier it…
- H+ ions
- Central chemoreceptors are located…
- Widely throughout the lower brainstem
- The classically described area is in the ventrolateral medulla
- The central chemoreceptors are primarily sensitive to…
- Carbon dioxide tension (PCO2) since CO2 can rapidly diffuse across the blood brain barrier, whereas H+ and HCO3- ions are greatly restricted
- Once the CO2 diffuses across the blood brain barrier it…
- is rapidly hydrated in the brain extracellular fluid and disassociates to form H+ and HCO3-
- H+ ions
- Act as the stimulus to the central chemosensitive cells
- Augment ventilatory drive
- Increase alveolar ventilation
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Chemical control of breathing:
Central chemoreceptors
- Approximately 70-80% of the ventilatory response to PCO2 is mediated by…
- The remaining 20-30% is mediated by…
- The ventilatory response to central vs. peripheral chemoreceptors
- Resting and changes to PaCO2
- The ventilatory response to changing PaCO2
- Interaction between hypercapnia and hypoxemia
- Approximately 70-80% of the ventilatory response to PCO2 is mediated by…
- The central chemoreceptors
- The remaining 20-30% is mediated by…
- The peripheral chemoreceptors
- The ventilatory response to central vs. peripheral chemoreceptors
- The ventilatory response to central chemoreceptor stimulation takes considerably longer than to the peripheral chemoreceptors since the blood flow to the brain is markedly less than to the carotid bodies
- Resting and changes to PaCO2
- The resting arterial carbon dioxide tension (PaCO2) is usually tightly controlled between 35-45 mmHg
- Changes in PaCO2 of as little as 1 mmHg can increase ventilation by 20-30%
- The ventilatory response to changing PaCO2
- Linear within the range of 40-70 mmHg
- Interaction between hypercapnia and hypoxemia
- Positive interaction
- The ventilatory response to hypercapnia is augmented by concomitant hypoxemia
Voluntary vs. automatic control of breathing
Regulation of respiratory centers:
Non-chemical control of breathing
- Receptors that are located in the airways and lungs can affect respiration through…
- There are three main groups of receptors
- Receptors that are located in the airways and lungs can affect respiration through…
- Afferent connections to the respiratory centers from the vagus nerves
- There are three main groups of receptors
- Slowly and rapidly adapting receptors that are both innervated by myelinated vagal fibers
- J (juxtacapillary) receptors that are innervated by unmyelinated vagal C fibers