PhysiologyLesson 6 of 7 in the course The Respiratory System

Exercise Hyperpnea and High-Altitude Oxygen Adaptation

5 flashcards · 4 quiz questions · 5 match pairs · 5 fill-in sentences · English

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Summary

At rest, breathing follows a steady rhythm controlled by respiratory centers in the brain. When the body's oxygen demands change, ventilation can adjust to meet them. This lesson explores hyperpnea, how it differs from hyperventilation, and the neural signals that help increase breathing during exercise.

Hyperpnea is an increase in the depth and rate of ventilation that meets an increased demand for oxygen, such as during exercise or certain diseases. In hyperpnea, ventilation increases in a way that corresponds to the body's cellular needs; blood oxygen and carbon dioxide levels do not change significantly as a result.

All flashcards

What is hyperpnea?
An increase in ventilation depth and rate that meets increased bodily demand.
What is hyperventilation?
Ventilation in excess of cellular needs that can lower blood carbon dioxide and raise blood pH.
What is acute mountain sickness (AMS)?
An illness that can occur after rapid exposure to high altitude, where low oxygen partial pressure challenges the body's adjustment.
What is acclimatization to high altitude?
The body's gradual adjustment to low oxygen partial pressure, including increased erythrocyte production.
What does erythropoietin do during acclimatization?
It stimulates erythrocyte production, increasing the blood's oxygen-carrying capacity over time.

Quiz questions

  1. Which set of neural inputs can contribute to the rapid increase in ventilation when exercise begins?Answer: Psychological signals, motor neuron activity, and proprioceptor input.
  2. What does the early rise in ventilation at the start of exercise suggest about falling muscle oxygen?Answer: It cannot be the sole trigger, because ventilation may rise before muscle oxygen falls.
  3. What happens to oxygen's proportion of the atmosphere as altitude increases, even as its partial pressure falls?Answer: It remains about 21 percent.
  4. Which response helps increase the total oxygen available in blood during acclimatization?Answer: Erythropoietin-stimulated production of more erythrocytes.

Based on Anatomy and Physiology 2e by J. Gordon Betts, Kelly A. Young, James A. Wise, Eddie Johnson, Brandon Poe, Dean H. Kruse, Oksana Korol, Jody E. Johnson, Mark Womble, Peter DeSaix (OpenStax), licensed CC BY 4.0. Adapted into a summary, flashcards and quizzes.

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