Terms you need to know about respiration and oxygenation
Ventilation |
The movement of air in and out of the lungs |
Perfusion |
The movement of blood into and out of the lungs |
Pulmonary circuit |
The path of blood from the heart to the lungs and back again |
Surfactant |
The soapy coating that lines the alveoli, making them easier to inflate |
Dead space |
The parts of the respiratory tract that don’t pass O2 to the blood |
Accessory muscles |
The muscles besides the diaphragm that are used to inhale and exhale |
Pleural cavity |
The cavity the lungs are in |
Pleurae |
The two layers of membrane round the lungs |
Parietal pleura |
The layer of membrane that is attached to the body wall, lining the pleural cavity |
Visceral pleura |
The layer of membrane that is attached to the surface of the lungs, covering them |
Pleural space |
The space between the visceral and parietal pleurae |
Pleural fluid |
The fluid in the pleural space |
Alveolar ventilation |
The amount of air entering the alveoli in one minute |
Myoglobin |
The protein in red muscle that holds stored oxygen. Made of a protein chain wrapped around a heme group. Can hold one oxygen molecule |
Hemoglobin |
The protein in red blood cells that carries oxygen. Made of four protein chains, each one wrapped around a heme group. Can carry 4 oxygen molecules. |
Heme |
A ring of atoms around an iron atom. The part of myoglobin or hemoglobin that holds the oxygen. |
Alpha and beta chains |
The protein chains that make up normal adult hemoglobin |
HbA or a2b2 hemoglobin |
Adult hemoglobin, made of two alpha and two beta chains |
HbF or a2g2
hemoglobin |
Fetal hemoglobin, made of two alpha and two gamma chains |
Oxygenated hemoglobin |
Hemoglobin that is carrying oxygen - red |
Deoxygenated hemoglobin |
Hemoglobin that is not carrying oxygen - blue |
Oxygen saturation |
The amount of oxygen the hemoglobin is carrying, divided by the maximum amount it could possibly carry. Given in %. |
Oxygen capacity |
The amount of oxygen a blood sample could carry, in mL O2/100 mL of blood |
Oxygen affinity |
How hard the hemoglobin holds on to the oxygen it has picked up. |
Oxygen unloading |
When hemoglobin drops oxygen off in the tissues that need it. |
Oxygen loading |
When hemoglobin picks oxygen up in the lungs. |
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