Human Anatomy and Physiology an Introduction to Respiration
HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY
AN INTRODUCTION TO RESPIRATION
In this essay we will consider a few major aspects of respiration. We shall first consider the interesting history of the study of respiration before moving on to our modern understanding of respiration. We will look at the structure and function of the respiratory system including the upper and lower respiratory tracts with a note on the control system. Secondly we will consider the physiology of respiration. Thirdly we will discuss some of the major common disorders and diseases which affect the system with a special focus on asthma. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE STUDY OF RESPIRATION Hippocrates "counted air as an instrument of the body" just as food was eaten. Galen (129-200) felt that respiration served a triple purpose: 1) breathing cooled the heart, 2) air needed for production of vital spirits 3) respiration got rid of the friligimous or products of the innate fire burning in the heart. Basically Galen's ideas were followed for many centuries until the era of the 17th century. Robert Boyle (1627-1691) who was primarily a physicist was interested in the weight and pressure of the air and in 1660 he showed that air was essential to both life and combustion by placing a candle and a small animal in a vessel. Robert Hooke (16351703) showed that after the thorax of a dog had been opened life could be prolonged by artificial respiration - this proved that the whole of the essential business of respiration takes place in the lungs. Richard Lower (1631-1691) upset the old ideas that the change in blood colour took place in the heart rather than in the lungs. He also demonstrated the necessity of fresh air in life rather than air generally and that in fact 'where a fire burns readily there we can easily breathe'. He was close to conceptualizing oxygen here but this had to wait until Priestley’s work or perhaps the research of Lavoisier (1743-1794). However, John Mayow (1641-1679) an English chemist had come very
AN INTRODUCTION TO RESPIRATION
In this essay we will consider a few major aspects of respiration. We shall first consider the interesting history of the study of respiration before moving on to our modern understanding of respiration. We will look at the structure and function of the respiratory system including the upper and lower respiratory tracts with a note on the control system. Secondly we will consider the physiology of respiration. Thirdly we will discuss some of the major common disorders and diseases which affect the system with a special focus on asthma. A BRIEF HISTORY OF THE STUDY OF RESPIRATION Hippocrates "counted air as an instrument of the body" just as food was eaten. Galen (129-200) felt that respiration served a triple purpose: 1) breathing cooled the heart, 2) air needed for production of vital spirits 3) respiration got rid of the friligimous or products of the innate fire burning in the heart. Basically Galen's ideas were followed for many centuries until the era of the 17th century. Robert Boyle (1627-1691) who was primarily a physicist was interested in the weight and pressure of the air and in 1660 he showed that air was essential to both life and combustion by placing a candle and a small animal in a vessel. Robert Hooke (16351703) showed that after the thorax of a dog had been opened life could be prolonged by artificial respiration - this proved that the whole of the essential business of respiration takes place in the lungs. Richard Lower (1631-1691) upset the old ideas that the change in blood colour took place in the heart rather than in the lungs. He also demonstrated the necessity of fresh air in life rather than air generally and that in fact 'where a fire burns readily there we can easily breathe'. He was close to conceptualizing oxygen here but this had to wait until Priestley’s work or perhaps the research of Lavoisier (1743-1794). However, John Mayow (1641-1679) an English chemist had come very