Breathing

"Breath" and "Breathed" redirect here. For other uses, see Breath (disambiguation).
For other uses, see Breathing (disambiguation).
Real-time magnetic resonance imaging of the human thorax during breathing
X-ray video of a female American alligator while breathing

Breathing (spiration[1] or ventilation) is the rhythmical process of moving air into (inhalation) and out of (exhalation) the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.

All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cellular respiration, which extracts energy from the reaction of oxygen with molecules derived from food and produces carbon dioxide as a waste product. Breathing, or external respiration, brings air into the lungs where gas exchange takes place in the alveoli through diffusion. The body's circulatory system transports these gases to and from the cells, where cellular respiration takes place.[2][3]

The breathing of all vertebrates with lungs consists of repetitive cycles of inhalation and exhalation through a highly branched system of tubes or airways which lead from the nose to the alveoli.[4] The number of respiratory cycles per minute is the breathing or respiratory rate, and is one of the four primary vital signs of life.[5] Under normal conditions the breathing depth and rate is automatically, and unconsciously, controlled by several homeostatic mechanisms which keep the partial pressures of carbon dioxide and oxygen in the arterial blood constant. Keeping the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the arterial blood unchanged under a wide variety of physiological circumstances, contributes significantly to tight control of the pH of the extracellular fluids (ECF). Over-breathing (hyperventilation) increases the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide, causing a rise in the pH of the ECF. Under-breathing (hypoventilation), on the other hand, decreases the arterial partial pressure of carbon dioxide and lowers the pH of the ECF. Both cause distressing symptoms.

Breathing has other important functions. It provides a mechanism for speech, laughter and similar expressions of the emotions. It is also used for reflexes such as yawning, coughing and sneezing. Animals that cannot thermoregulate by perspiration, because they lack sufficient sweat glands, may lose heat by evaporation through panting.

  1. ^ "Definition of SPIRATION". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved 16 October 2023.
  2. ^ Hall, John (2011). Guyton and Hall Textbook of Medical Physiology (12th ed.). Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: Saunders/Elsevier. p. 5. ISBN 978-1-4160-4574-8.
  3. ^ Pocock, Gillian; Richards, Christopher D. (2006). Human physiology: the basis of medicine (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 311. ISBN 978-0-19-856878-0.
  4. ^ Pocock, Gillian; Richards, Christopher D. (2006). Human physiology: the basis of medicine (3rd ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press. p. 320. ISBN 978-0-19-856878-0.
  5. ^ "Vital Signs 101". Johns Hopkins Medicine. 14 June 2022.