15. 11. 2011
Respiratory system
Respiratory system
 The main role of the respiratory system is
to work closely with the heart and blood to
extract oxygen from the external
environment and dispose of waste gases,
principally carbon dioxide.
 This requires the lungs to function as an
efficient bellows, expelling used air,
bringing fresh air in and mixing it efficiently
with the air remaining in the lungs.
 The lungs have to provide a large surface
area for gas exchange and the alveoli
walls have to present minimal resistance
to gas diffusion. This means the lungs
have to present a large area to the
environment and this can be damaged by
dusts, gases and infective agents.
 Host defence is therefore a key priority for
the lung and is achieved by a combination
of structural and immunological defences.
The trachea, bronchi and bronchioles
 The trachea is 10-12 cm in length. It lies
slightly to the right of the midline and
divides at the carina into right and left
main bronchi.
 The carina lies under the junction of the
manubrium sternum and the second right
costal cartilage.
 The right main bronchus is more vertical
than the left and, hence, inhaled material
is more likely to pass into it. The right
main bronchus divides into the upper
lobe bronchus and the intermediate
bronchus, which further subdivides into
the middle and lower lobe bronchi.
 On the left the main bronchus divides
into upper and lower lobe bronchi only.
Each lobar bronchus further divides into
segmental and subsegmental bronchi.
There are about 25 divisions in all
between the trachea and the alveoli.
Structure
Of the first seven divisions, the bronchi
have:
• walls consisting of cartilage and smooth
muscle
• epithelial lining with cilia and goblet cells
• submucosal mucus-secreting glands
• endocrine cells - Kulchitsky or APUD (amine
precursor and uptake decarboxylation)
containing 5-hydroxytryptamine
In the next 16-18 divisions the bronchioles
have:
• no cartilage and a muscular layer that
progressively becomes thinner
• a single layer of ciliated cells but very few goblet
cells
• granulated Clara cells that produce a surfactantlike
substance.
Structure of the wall: bronchus, bronchiolus a alveolus
• Anatomical dead space
 nose (mouth), larynx
 trachea, bronchi & bronchioles
- Filtration & warming
- gas exchange is not present, only gas
transport
• respiratory space
 respiratory bronchioles, alveolar sacs
and alveoli
- gas exchange
 Respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, alveoli - acinus.
Alveoli
• There are approximately 300 million alveoli in
each lung. Their total surface area is 40-80 m2.
• The epithelial lining consists largely of type I
pneumocytes. These cells have an extremely
attenuated cytoplasm, and thus provide only a thin
barrier to gas exchange. They are derived from
type II pneumocytes. Type I cells are connected to
each other by tight junctions that limit the fluid
movements in and out of the alveoli.
• Type II pneumocytes are slightly more numerous
than type I cells but cover less of the epithelial
lining. They are found generally in the borders of
the alveolus and contain distinctive lamellar
vacuoles, which are the source of surfactant.
• Macrophages are also present in the alveoli and
are involved in the defence mechanisms of the
lung.
•The pores of Kohn are holes in the alveolar wall
allowing communication between alveoli of
adjoining lobules.
Surfactant – alveolar stability
During quiet breathing, small areas of the lung
undergo collapse, but it is possible to reexpand
these rapidly by a deep breath; hence
the importance of slight or deep breaths as a
feature of normal breathing. Failure of such a
mechanism - which can occur, for example, in
patients with fractured ribs - gives rise to
patchy basal lung collapse.
Surfactant levels may be reduced in a number
of diseases that cause damage to the lung
(e.g. pneumonia).
Lack of surfactant plays a central role in the
respiratory distress syndrome of the new-
born.
Severe reduction in perfusion of the lung
causes impairment of surfactant activity and
may well account for the characteristic areas
of collapse associated with pulmonary
embolism.
Adult respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS)
Defence mechanisms of the respiratory tract
 Pulmonary disease often
results from a failure of the
many defence
mechanisms that usually
protect the lung in a
healthy individual.
 These can be divided into
physical and physiological
mechanisms and humoral
and cellular mechanisms.
Physical and physiological mechanisms
Humidification
 This prevents dehydration of the epithelium.
Particle removal
 Over 90% of particles greater than 10 μm diameter are removed in the
nostril or nasopharynx. This includes most pollen grains which are typically
>20 microns in diameter.
 Particles between 5-10 microns become impacted in the carina.
 Particles smaller than 1 micron tend to remain airborne,
 The particles capable of reaching the deep lung are confined to the 1-5
micron range.
Particle expulsion
 This is effected by coughing, sneezing or gagging.
Respiratory tract secretions
 The mucus of the respiratory tract is a gelatinous substance
consisting chiefly of acid and neutral polysaccharides.
 The mucus consists of a 5 mm thick gel that is relatively
impermeable to water. This floats on a liquid or sol layer that is
present around the cilia of the epithelial cells. The gel layer is
secreted from goblet cells and mucous glands as distinct globules
that coalesce increasingly in the central airways to form a more or
less continuous mucus blanket.
 Under normal conditions the tips of the cilia are in contact with the
under surface of the gel phase and coordinate their movement to
push the mucus blanket upwards. Whilst it may only take 30-60
minutes for mucus to be cleared from the large bronchi, there may be
a delay of several days before clearance is achieved from respiratory
bronchioles.
Respiratory tract secretions
One of the major long-term effects of cigarette smoking is a
reduction in mucociliary transport. This contributes to recurrent
infection and in the larger airways it prolongs contact with
carcinogens.
Air pollutants, local and general anaesthetics and bacterial and viral
infections also reduce mucociliary clearance.
Congenital defects in mucociliary transport occur. In the 'immotile cilia'
syndrome there is an absence of the dynein arms in the cilia
themselves, and in cystic fibrosis an abnormal mucus composition is
associated with ciliary dyskinesia. Both diseases are characterized by
recurrent infections and eventually with the development of
bronchiectasis.
Humoral and cellular mechanisms
 Non-specific soluble factors
 α-Antitrypsin (α-antiprotease is present in lung secretions derived from
plasma. It inhibits chymotrypsin and trypsin and neutralizes proteases
and elastase.
 Lysozyme is an enzyme found in granulocytes that has bactericidal
properties.
 Lactoferrin is synthesized from epithelial cells and neutrophil
granulocytes and has bactericidal properties.
 Interferon is produced by most cells in response to viral infection. It is
a potent modulator of lymphocyte function. It renders other cells
resistant to infection by any other virus.
 Complement is present in secretions and is derived by diffusion from
plasma. In association with antibodies, it plays an important cytotoxic
role.
 Surfactant protein A (SPA) is one of four species of surfactant proteins
which opsonizes bacteria/particles, enhancing phagocytosis by
macrophages.
 Defensins are bactericidal peptides present in the azurophil granules
of neutrophils.
Humoral and cellular mechanisms
Pulmonary alveolar macrophages
 These are derived from precursors in the bone marrow and migrate to
the lungs via the bloodstream.
 They phagocytose particles, including bacteria, and are removed by
the mucociliary escalator, lymphatics and bloodstream. They are the
dominant cell in the airways at the level of the alveoli and comprise
90% of all cells obtained by bronchoalveolar lavage.
 Alveolar macrophages work principally as scavengers and are not
particularly good at presenting antigens to the immune system.
Dendritic cells
 form a network throughout the airways and are thought to be the key
antigen-presenting cell in the airway.
Humoral and cellular mechanisms
Lymphoid tissue
 The lung contains large numbers of lymphocytes which are scattered
throughout the airways. Sensitized lymphocytes contribute to local
immunity through differentiation into IgA-secreting plasma cells.
IgG and IgE are found in low concentrations in airway secretions from
a combination of local and systemic production.
 In addition to these resident cells, the lung has the usual range of acute
inflammatory responses and can mobilize neutrophils promptly in
response to injury or infection and play a major part in inflammatory
conditions such as asthma.
The ciliated epithelium
- is an important defence mechanism.
• Each cell contains approximately 200 cilia
beating at 1000 beats per minute in
organized waves of contraction.
• Each cilium consists of nine peripheral pairs
and two inner longitudinal fibrils in a
cytoplasmic matrix. Nexin links join the
peripheral pairs. Dynein arms consisting of
ATPase protein project towards the adjacent
pairs.
• Bending of the cilia results from a sliding
movement between adjacent fibrils powered
by an ATP-dependent shearing force
developed by the dynein arms. Absence of
dynein arms leads to immotile cilia.
• Mucus, which contains macrophages, cell
debris, inhaled particles and bacteria, is
moved by the cilia towards the larynx at about
1.5 cm/min (the 'mucociliary escalator‚).
Pulmonary vasculature and lymphatics
 The lung has a dual blood supply.
 It receives deoxygenated blood from the right
ventricle via the pulmonary artery and also has a
systemic supply throughout the bronchial circulation.
 The pulmonary artery divides to accompany the
bronchi. The arterioles accompanying the respiratory
bronchioles are thin-walled and contain little smooth
muscle. The pulmonary venules drain laterally to the
periphery of the lobules, pass centrally in the
interlobular and intersegmental septa, and eventually
join to form the four main pulmonary veins.
 The bronchial circulation arises from the descending
aorta. These bronchial arteries supply tissues down
to the level of the respiratory bronchiole.
 The bronchial veins drain into the pulmonary vein,
forming part of the physiological shunt observed in
normal individuals.
 Lymphatic channels lie in the potential interstitial
space between the alveolar cells and the capillary
endothelium of the pulmonary arterioles. The
tracheobronchial lymph nodes are arranged in five
main groups: paratracheal, superior tracheobronchial,
subcarinal, bronchopulmonary and pulmonary. In
practical terms these form a continuous network of
nodes from the lung substance up to the trachea.
Breathing
Lung ventilation can be considered in two main tasks:
the mechanical process of inspiration and expiration
the control of respiration to a level appropriate for
the metabolic needs.
Breathing as mechanical process
 Inspiration is an active process and results from the descent of the
diaphragm and movement of the ribs upwards and outwards under the
influence of the intercostal muscles. In resting healthy individuals,
contraction of the diaphragm is responsible for most inspiration.
 Respiratory muscles are similar to other skeletal muscles but are less
prone to fatigue. However, weakness may play a part in respiratory
failure resulting from neurological and muscle disorders and possibly
with severe chronic airflow limitation.
 Expiration follows passively as a result of gradual lessening of
contraction of the intercostal muscles, allowing the lungs to collapse
under the influence of their own elastic forces.
 Inspiration against increased resistance may require the use of the
accessory muscles of ventilation, such as the sternomastoid and scalene
muscles.
 Forced expiration is also accomplished with the aid of accessory
muscles, chiefly those of the abdominal wall, which help to push up the
diaphragm.
Breathing as mechanical process
 The lungs have an inherent elastic property that causes them to tend to
collapse away from the thoracic wall, generating a negative pressure
within the pleural space. The strength of this retractive force relates to
the volume of the lung; for example, at higher lung volumes the lung is
stretched more, and a greater negative intrapleural pressure is
generated.
 Lung compliance is a measure of the relationship between this
retractive force and lung volume. It is defined as the change in lung
volume brought about by unit change in transpulmonary
(intrapleural) pressure and is measured in litres per kilopascal (L/kPa).
At the end of a quiet expiration, the retractive force exerted by the lungs
is balanced by the tendency of the thoracic wall to spring outwards. At
this point, respiratory muscles are resting and the volume of the lung is
known as the functional residual capacity (FRC).
 Diseases that affect the movement of the thoracic cage and diaphragm
can have a profound effect on ventilation. These include diseases of the
thoracic spine such as ankylosing spondylitis and kyphoscoliosis,
neuropathies (e.g. the Guillain-Barré syndrome), injury to the phrenic
nerves, and myasthenia gravis.
Inspiration – narrowing prevent negative intrathoracal pressure
Constricted bronchiolus (bronchoconstriction, mucus…)
Expiration – constriction of bronchioles during expiration
Constricted bronchiolus (bronchoconstriction, mucus…)
Forced expiration leads to worsening obstruction
Constricted bronchiolus (bronchoconstriction, mucus…)
Bronchial obstruction leads to worsening expiration
The control of respiration
 Coordinated respiratory movements
result from rhythmical discharges
arising in interconnected neurones in
the reticular substance of the
brainstem, known as the respiratory
centre. Motor discharges from the
respiratory centre travel via the phrenic
and intercostal nerves to the
respiratory musculature. The pressures
of oxygen and carbon dioxide in
arterial blood are closely controlled. In
a typical normal adult at rest:
 The pulmonary blood flow of 5 L/min
carries 11 mmol/min (250 mL/min) of
oxygen from the lungs to the tissues.
 Ventilation at about 6 L/min carries 9
mmol/min (200 mL/min) of carbon
dioxide out of the body.
 The normal pressure of oxygen in
arterial blood (PaO2) is between 11
and 13 kPa (83 - 98 mmHg).
 The normal pressure of carbon
dioxide in arterial blood (PaCO2) is
4.8-6.0 kPa (36-45 mmHg).
The control of respiration
Ventilation is controlled by a combination of neurogenic and chemical
factors.
 Breathlessness on physical exertion is normal and not considered a
symptom unless the level of exertion is very light, such as when
walking slowly. Although breathlessness is a very common symptom,
the sensory and neural mechanisms underlying it remain obscure.
The sensation of breathlessness is derived from at least three
sources:
 Changes in lung volume. These are sensed by receptors in thoracic
wall muscles signalling changes in their length.
 The tension developed by contracting muscles. This can be sensed
by Golgi tendon organs. The tension developed in normal muscle
can be differentiated from that developed in muscles weakened by
fatigue or disease.
 Central perception of the sense of effort.
Dorsal Respiratory Group (DRG) —
quiet inspiration
Ventral Respiratory Group (VRG) —
effort inspiration and forced expiration
 Apneustic centre:
 Supported inspiration by the activity of
inspiration neurons
 Pneumotaxic centre:
 Antagonise apneustic centre.
 Inhibition of inspiration.
Respiratory control
Respiratory centre is formed by
several groups of neurons:
 The basic automatic rhytm of
respiration is due to activity of DRG
(inspiration neurons) – efferent
impulses go to diaphragma and
inspiration intercostal muscles.
 DRG also obtain afferent stimuli from
the peripheral chemoreceptors and
several pulmonary receptors.
 VRG contains both inspiration and
expiration neurons. They are inactive
due to normal ventilation, increased
ventilation leads to their activation.
 Pneumotaxic and apneustic centres can
modulate depth of ventilation and its
quickness
Ventilation can be modulate by cortex,
limbic systém and hypothalamus
(emotions and diseases).
Chemoreceptors
Insert fig. 16.27
 2 groups of chemoreceptors
(changes of blood PC02, P02, and
pH).
 Central:
 Medulla oblongata
 Peripheral:
 Glomus caroticum and
aorta.
Sensitive to changes of arterial PC02
 H+ cannot go through
hematoencephalic barrier
 C02 can go through this barrier and
form H2C03.
 Decrease pH of the CSF.
Directly stimulate central
chemoreceptors.
Central chemoreceptors
Chemical and neurogenic factors in the
control of ventilation.
The strongest stimulant to ventilation is a rise in Paco2
which increases [H+] in CSF. Sensitivity to this may be
lost in COPD. In these patients hypoxaemia is the chief
stimulus to respiratory drive; oxygen treatment may
therefore reduce respiratory drive and lead to a further
rise in Paco2.
An increase in [H+] due to metabolic acidosis as in diabetic
ketoacidosis will increase ventilation with a fall in Paco2
causing deep sighing (Kussmaul) respiration.
Glomus caroticus and aortic bodies
Oxygen senzors (where are?)
Oxygen senzors (how work?)
 Sensitive to change of arterial P02
Decrease 02 close K+ channels
↓
depolarization
↓
↑ intracellular concentration of Ca2+
↓
excitation
↓
respiration centre
 When hypoxemia is not accompanied with
hypercapnia, activation of this sensors is
when PaO2<7,3 kPa (55 mm Hg)
Control of ventilation
 From the trachea to the periphery, the airways become smaller in
size (although greater in number). The cross-sectional area available
for airflow increases as the total number of airways increases. The
flow of air is greatest in the trachea and slows progressively towards
the periphery (as the velocity of airflow depends on the ratio of flow
to cross-sectional area). In the terminal airways, gas flow occurs
solely by diffusion.
 The resistance to airflow is very low (0.1-0.2 kPa/L in a normal
tracheobronchial tree), steadily increasing from the small to the large
airways. Airways expand as lung volume is increased, and at full
inspiration (total lung capacity, TLC) they are 30-40% larger in calibre
than at full expiration (residual volume, RV).
 In chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) the small airways
are narrowed and this can be partially compensated by breathing at
a larger lung volume.
Control of airway tone
 This is under the control of the autonomic nervous system.
Bronchomotor tone is maintained by vagal efferent nerves. Many
adrenoceptors on the surface of bronchial muscles respond to
circulating catecholamines; sympathetic nerves do not directly
innervate them.
 Airway tone shows a circadian rhythm, which is greatest at 04.00
and lowest in the mid-afternoon. Tone can be increased briefly by
inhaled stimuli acting on epithelial nerve endings, which trigger reflex
bronchoconstriction via the vagus. These stimuli include cigarette
smoke, inert dust and cold air; airway responsiveness to these
increases following respiratory tract infections even in healthy
subjects.
In asthma, the airways are very irritable and as the circadian rhythm
remains the same, asthmatic symptoms are usually worst in the early
morning.
Airflow
 Movement of air through the airways results from a difference
between the pressure in the alveoli and the atmospheric pressure; a
positive alveolar pressure occurs in expiration and a negative
pressure occurs in inspiration.
 During quiet breathing the sub-atmospheric pleural pressure
throughout the breathing cycle slightly distends the airways. With
vigorous expiratory efforts (e.g. cough), although the central airways
are compressed by positive pleural pressures exceeding 10 kPa, the
airways do not close completely because the driving pressure for
expiratory flow (alveolar pressure) is also increased.
 Alveolar pressure PALV is equal to the elastic recoil pressure
(PEL) of the lung plus the pleural pressure (PPL).
Airflow
 When there is no airflow (i.e. during a pause in breathing) the
tendency of the lungs to collapse (the positive recoil pressure) is
exactly balanced by an equivalent negative pleural pressure. As air
flows from the alveoli towards the mouth there is a gradual loss of
pressure owing to flow resistance.
 In forced expiration, the driving pressure raises both the alveolar
pressure and the intrapleural pressure. Between the alveolus and the
mouth, a point will occur (C) where the airway pressure will equal the
intrapleural pressure, and airway compression will occur. However,
this compression of the airway is temporary, as the transient
occlusion of the airway results in an increase in pressure behind it
(i.e. upstream) and this raises the intra-airway pressure so that the
airways open and flow is restored. The airways thus tend to vibrate
at this point of 'dynamic compression'.
Diagrams showing ventilatory forces
 (a) During resting at functional residual capacity.
 (b) During forced expiration in normal subjects.
 (c) During forced expiration in a patient with COPD.
 The respiratory system is represented as a piston with a
single alveolus and the collapsible part of the airways
within the piston. C, compression point; PALV, alveolar
pressure; PEL, elastic recoil pressure; PPL, pleural
pressure.
Airflow
 The elastic recoil pressure of the lungs decreases with decreasing
lung volume and the 'collapse point' moves upstream (i.e. towards
the smaller airways).
 Where there is pathological loss of recoil pressure (as in chronic
obstructive pulmonary disease, COPD), the 'collapse point' starts
even further upstream and these patients are often seen to 'purse
their lips' in order to increase airway pressure so that their peripheral
airways do not collapse. The expiratory airflow limitation is the
pathophysiology that underlies chronic airflow limitation. The
measurement of the forced expiratory volume in 1 second (FEV1) is
a useful clinical index of this phenomenon. On inspiration, the
intrapleural pressure is always less than the intraluminal pressure
within the intrathoracic airways, so there is no limitation to airflow
with increasing effort. Inspiratory flow is limited only by the power of
the inspiratory muscles.
Flow-volume loops
 The relationship between maximal flow rates on expiration and
inspiration is demonstrated by the maximal flow-volume (MFV) loops.
 In subjects with healthy lungs the clinical importance of flow limitation
will not be apparent, since maximal flow rates are rarely achieved
even during vigorous exercise.
 In patients with severe COPD, limitation of expiratory flow occurs
even during tidal breathing at rest.To increase ventilation these
patients have to breathe at higher lung volumes and also allow more
time for expiration by increasing flow rates during inspiration, where
there is relatively less flow limitation. Thus patients with severe
airflow limitation have a prolonged expiratory phase to their
respiration.
Flow-volume loops
 The measure of the volume that can be forced in from RV in 1
second (FIV1) will always be greater than that which can be forced
out from TLC in 1 second (FEV1). Thus, the ratio of FEV1 to FIV1 is
below 1.
 The only exception to this occurs when there is significant
obstruction to the airways outside the thorax, such as with a tumour
mass in the upper part of the trachea. Under these circumstances
expiratory airway narrowing is prevented by the tracheal resistance
(a situation similar to pursing the lips) and expiratory airflow becomes
more effort-dependent. During forced inspiration this same
resistance causes such negative intraluminal pressure that the
trachea is compressed by the surrounding atmospheric pressure.
Inspiratory flow thus becomes less effort-dependent, and the ratio of
FEV1 to FIV1 becomes greater than 1. This phenomenon, and the
characteristic flow-volume loop, is used to diagnose extrathoracic
airways obstruction. When obstruction occurs in large airways within
the thorax (lower end of trachea and main bronchi), expiratory flow is
impaired more than inspiratory flow but a characteristic plateau to
expiratory flow is seen.
Maximal flow-volume loops, showing the relationship
between maximal flow rates on expiration and
inspiration (to the previous picture)
 (a) In a normal subject.
 (b) In a patient with severe airflow limitation. Flow-volume loops
during tidal breathing at rest (starting from the functional residual
capacity (FRC)) and during exercise are also shown. The highest
flow rates are achieved when forced expiration begins at total lung
capacity (TLC) and represent the peak expiratory flow rate (PEFR).
As air is blown out of the lung, so the flow rate decreases until no
more air can be forced out, a point known as the residual volume
(RV). Because inspiratory airflow is only dependent on effort, the
shape of the maximal inspiratory flow-volume loop is quite different,
and inspiratory flow remains at a high rate throughout the
manoeuvre.
 (c) Extrathoracic tracheal obstruction with a proportionally greater
reduction of maximal inspiratory (as opposed to expiratory) flow rate.
 (d) Intrathoracic large airway obstruction; the expiratory plateau is
more pronounced and inspiratory flow rate is less reduced than in
(c). In severe airflow limitation the ventilatory demands of exercise
cannot be met, greatly reducing effort tolerance.
Ventilation-perfusion
 For efficient gas exchange it is important that there is a match
between ventilation of the alveoli ([Vdot]A) and their perfusion
([Qdot]).
 There is a wide variation in the [Vdot]A/[Qdot] ratio throughout both
normal and diseased lung. In the normal lung the extreme
relationships between alveolar ventilation and perfusion are:
 ventilation with reduced perfusion (physiological deadspace)
 perfusion with reduced ventilation (physiological shunting)
 In normal lungs there is a tendency for ventilation not to be matched
by perfusion towards the apices, with the reverse occurring at the
bases.
Ventilation- perfusion
 An increased physiological shunt results in arterial hypoxaemia. The
effects of an increased physiological deadspace can usually be
overcome by a compensatory increase in the ventilation of normally
perfused alveoli. In advanced disease this compensation cannot
occur, leading to increased alveolar and arterial Pco2, together with
hypoxaemia which cannot be compensated by increasing ventilation.
 Hypoxaemia occurs more readily than hypercapnia because of the
different ways in which oxygen and carbon dioxide are carried in the
blood.
 Carbon dioxide can be considered to be in simple solution in the
plasma, the volume carried being proportional to the partial pressure.
 Oxygen is carried in chemical combination with haemoglobin in the
red blood cells, and the relationship between the volume carried and
the partial pressure is not linear.
Ventilation-perfusion
 Alveolar hyperventilation reduces the alveolar Pco2 and diffusion
leads to a proportional fall in the carbon dioxide content of the blood.
 However, as the haemoglobin is already saturated with oxygen, there
is no significant increase in the blood oxygen content as a result of
increasing the alveolar Po2 through hyperventilation. The
hypoxaemia of even a small amount of physiological shunting cannot
therefore be compensated for by hyperventilation. The Pao2 and
Paco2 of some individuals who have mild disease of the lung
causing slight [Vdot]A/[Qdot] mismatch may still be normal.
 Increasing the requirements for gas exchange by exercise will widen
the [Vdot]A/[Qdot] mismatch and the Pao2 will fall. [Vdot]A/[Qdot]
mismatch is by far the most common cause of arterial hypoxaemia.
Effect of Altering Ventilation
Perfusion Ratio
West JB, Respiratory Physiology,
The Essentials, 6th ed. 2000,
Lippincott, p. 52.
PCO2 vs. PO2 as Ventilation
Perfusion Changes
West JB, Respiratory Physiology,
The Essentials, 6th ed. 2000,
Lippincott, p. 53.
Result of Ventilation Perfusion
Inequality
West JB, Respiratory Physiology,
The Essentials, 6th ed. 2000,
Lippincott, p. 54.
Distribution of Ventilation and
Perfusion—Normal Lungs
West JB, Respiratory Physiology,
The Essentials, 6th ed. 2000,
Lippincott, p. 58.
 = deficiency of O2 in the organism (↓paO2 <10kPa/75mm Hg)
 types:
- (1) hypoxic hypoxia - ↓ arterial PO2 – leads to central cyanosis
 decreased partial pressure of oxygen in inspired air
 Hypoventilation due to damage of respiration centre
 Pulmonary diseases
- (2) anemic hypoxia – normal aterial PO2
 Decreased hemoglobine
 anemia, leukemias
 Hemoglobin with low ability to bind oxygen with low ability to bind oxygen
 carboxyhemoglogin (COHb )
 methemoglogine
- (3) circulation hypoxia = normal arterial PO2 – leads to peripheral cyanosis
 decrease of cardiac output
 decrease of systemic blood pressure
 local tissue ischemia
 microcirculation defects
- (4) histotoxic hypoxia – normal arterial PO2 , ↑ venous PO2
 Intoxication of kyanides, cobaltum,…)
Hypoxia
pO2
kidney
erythropoetin
Blood marrow
erytropoesis
Sugar
Lipids
Proteins
cell
+ O2 CO2
CO2
H2O
mitochondria
mitochondria
Histotoxic hypoxia
Hypoxic hypoxia
O2
Circulation hypoxia (ischemic)
Anemic hypoxia
Causes of Hypoxemia
1. Low inhaled PO2 (high altitude, low FiO2)—A-a
gradient is normal
2. Hypoventilation—A-a gradient is normal
3. Diffusion impairment (fibrosis, emphysema)
4. Shunting of unoxygenated blood
5. Ventilation Perfusion mismatch
Intermittent hypoxia
 Intermittent hypoxia is an effective stimulus for evoking the
respiratory, cardiovascular, and metabolic adaptations normally
associated with continuous chronic hypoxia.
 These adaptations are thought by some to be beneficial in that they
may provide protection against disease as well as improve exercise
performance in athletes.
 The long-term consequences of chronic intermittent hypoxia may
have detrimental effects, including hypertension, cerebral and
coronary vascular problems, developmental and neurocognitive
deficits, and neurodegeneration due to the cumulative effects of
persistent bouts of hypoxia.
Chronic intermittent hypoxia
 significantly increases right ventricular heart mass, likely associated with
pulmonary vascular remodeling and pulmonary hypertension
 There are also detrimental effects on normal development, especially in the
fetus because intermittent hypoxia significantly decreases fetal growth.
 However, it is the association of hypertension, developmental defects,
neuropathological and neurocognitive deficits, enhanced susceptibility to
oxidative injury, and possibly increased myocardial and cerebral infarction in
patients with obstructive sleep apnea (OSA) syndromes that has fostered
an intense interestin examining the link between intermittent hypoxia and
these adverse events.
 OSA is characterized by episodic obstructions of airflow during sleep, often
more than 60 times per hour, with significant desaturations of hemoglobin to
levels as low as 50%. These events are not only associated with hypoxemia
but significant hypercapnia and frequent arousals leading to significant sleep
fragmentation as well. Thus the specific role of intermittent hypoxia in
producing the major clinical consequences of OSA has been difficult to sort
out from clinical studies.
Chronic hypoxia
 induces proliferation of the vasculature due to angiogenesis but can
also change the integrity of vessels, leading to changes in vascular
permeability. A host of growth factors, including vascular endothelial
growth factor (VEGF), interacting with integrins orchestrates the
formation and maintenance of blood vessels. Hypoxia influences the
dynamics of the processes inducing angiogenesis primarily through
its ability to upregulate VEGF.
 is well known for its ability to increase capillary density as well as to
cause acute mountain sickness by destabilizing vascular integrity,
resulting in leakage of proteins and water through the blood-brain
barrier, which leads to impaired brain function.
Hypoxia and gene transcription
• The ability of hypoxia to promote
persistent adaptations is due in part to
its ability to induce changes in gene
transcription.
• The regulation of the expression of a
wide variety of genes involved in hypoxic
adaptations is largely due to activation of
a hypoxia-sensitive transcription factor,
hypoxia-inducible factor 1 (HIF-1).
• HIF-1 is a heterodimer of HIF-1 alpha
and HIF-1 beta. Oxygen levels directly
regulate the expression of the HIF-1
component in a dose-dependent
manner, with a gradual increase from
20 to 5% O2 and a pronounced increase
below 5% O2. Tissue PO2 is normally
20-40 Torr, suggesting that HIF-1 is
exquisitely sensitive to changes in tissue
oxygenation.
Hypoxia and gene transcription
 The dynamics of HIF-1 expression also appears to be quite rapid both
in its onset of expression and its decay characteristics.
 For example, evidence of decay of HIF-1 after reoxygenation of lung
tissue occurs in <1 min. Such rapid dynamics could provide the ability
for short bouts of intermittent hypoxia to produce adaptations at the
level of gene transcription that promote angiogenesis,erythropoiesis,
and glycolysis.
 Thus, although no data are available regarding whether tissues respond
differently to continuous or intermittent hypoxia, it seems reasonable
to expect that HIF-1 expression is a critical determinant in initiating
and reversing the adaptive and/or maladaptive responses to
intermittent hypoxia.
Thank you for your attention