RESPIRATION AND THE CHEST:
THE MECHANICS OF BREATHING
FEW BASIC PHYSIOLOGICAL FUCTIONS HAVE ESCAPED THE ATTENTION OF MODERN MAN TO THE DEGREE THAT BREATHIG HAS. THE IMPORTANCE OF THE HEART, FOR INSTANCE, IS KNOWN TO EVERYONE, LARGELY BECAUSE OF THE PREVALENCE OF CORONARY ARTERY DISEASE. SIMILARLY, PREOCCUPATION WITH THE DIGESTIVE ORGANS IS OBVIOUS FROM THE BEWILDERING ARRAY OF COMMERCIAL PREPARATIONS AVAILABLE TO TREAT THEM. IN CONTRAST, EXCEPT FOR DISEASE ASSOCIATED WITH SMOKING, THE RESPIRATORY ORGANS HAVE BEEN LARGELY IGNORED. CONSIDERING THAT ANYONE CAN READILY MODIFY THE FLOW OF BREATH, WHEREAS CONTROL OF OTHER INTERNAL ORGANS IS LARGELY INACCESSIBLE TO THE AVERAGE PERSON, THIS IS ALL THE MORE SURPRISING.
KNOWLEDGE OF THE DYNAMICS OF BREATHING, HOWEVER, NEED NOT REMAIN SHROUDED IN IGNORANCE. BY UNDERSTANDING A FEW BASIC PRINCIPLES OF HOW THE RESPIRATORY PROCESS OPERATES AND INTERACTS WITH THE BODY AND MIND, ONE CAN READILY GAIN CLEAR AND INTENSELY PRACTICAL INSIGHT INTO PREVIOUSLY UNKNOWN LEVELS OF PHOSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL FUNCTIONING, FOR THE MOVEMENT OF MUSCLES TO TRANSPORT AIR IN AND OUT OF THE BODY IS ONLY THE GROSSESST MANIFESTATION OF THE BREATHING PROCESS. THE EFFECTS OF BREATHING EXTEND TO THE WORKINGS OF THE HEART AND LUNGS AS WELL AS TO SUBTLE PHYSIOLOGICAL INTERACTIONS SUCH AS THE MOLECULAR PROCESSESS THROUGH WHICH THE BODY'S ENERGY PRODUCTION IS MAINTAINED.
CELLULAR RESPIRATION
ALL ORGANISMS - HUMAN, PLANT, OR ANIMAL- ARE COMPOSED OF A MULTITUDE OF TINY INDIVIDUALS LIVING UNITS CALLED CELLS, AND IT IS THESE CELLS AND THE MANNER IN WHICH THEY ARE ORGANISED INTO SPECIFIC TISSUES AND ORGANS THAT FORM THE PHYSICAL BODY. THE VERY LIFE OF THESE INDIVIDUALS CELLS AND THEREFORE THE BODY AS A WHOLE ARE DEPENDENT UPON A CONTINUOUS SOURCE OF ENERGY.
WE USUALLY THINK OF THE FOOD WE EAT AS SUPPLYING OUR ENERGY NEEDS IN TERMS OF A CERTAIN AMOUNT OF CARBOHYDRATE, PROTEIN, AND FAT, BUT THESE NUTRIENTS ARE ACTUALLY USELESS THEY CAN BE CONVERTED INTO A FORM WHICH CAN BE USED BY ITS CELLS.IN OTHER WORDS, IT IS OFTEN SAID THAT WE BURN CARBOHYDRATES IN THE BODY, BUT WHAT DOES THIS MEAN? IF CARBOHYDRATES IS BEING BURNED IN MY TISSUES, WHY DOESN'T MY FAT SIZZLE? WHERE DOES THE SMOKE GO? IF I EXERCISE VIGOROUSLY IN A DARK ROOM, SHOULDN'T I BE ABLE TO SEE MY BODY GLOW FROM THE FLAMES PRODUCED BY THE BURNING CARBOHYDRATES? WE OFTEN HEAR THAT THE BODY IS 88 PERCENT WATER. HOW CAN I BURN CARBOHYDRATES IN THAT MUCH WATER WHEN I CAN'T EVEN GET A CAMPFIRE STARTED WHEN THE WOODIS A LITTLE DAMP?
IN A FIRE, ENERGY IS RELEASED IN THE FORM OF HEAT AND LIGHT. THE REACTION INVOLVES THE BURNING OF CARBON-CONTAINING SUBSTANCE. IF THE PROCESS IS EFFICIENT , THE END OF RESULT IS THE FORMATION OF CARBON, DIOXIDE, WATER, AND ASH, ALONG WITH THE RELEASE OF ENERGY.
THE HEAT ENERGY, IN A FIRE CAN BE USED TO DRIVE A MACHINE SUCH AS A STEAM ENGINE, BUT AN AUTOMOBOLE ENGINE IS DRIVEN BY A MORE RAPID BURNING PROCESS, GASOLINE EXPLODING IN A CHAMBER. A COORDINATED SERIES OF CONTROLLED EXPLOSIONS IN MULTIPLE CHAMBERS CALLED CYLINDERS TUNRS A SHAFT, WHICH IN TURN SPINS THE WHEELS OF THE CAR.
HOW THEN DOES OUR BODY HARNESS ENERGY?
CELLS MUST HAVE ENERGY, BUT THEY DO NOT RUN ON EXPLOSIONS. INSTEAD, ALL LIVING ORGANISMS CAN BE THOUGHT OF AS MEETING THEIR ENERGY NEEDS FROM A CONSTANT SUPPLY OF FUEL BY SLOWLY COMBINING IT WITH OXYGEN. IN A RAPIDLY BURNING SYSTEM, OXYGEN PRESENT IN THE AIR COMBINES INSTANTLY WITH FUEL SO THAT A READILY VISIBLE FIRE RESULTS. THE PRODUCTS OF THIS BURNING ARE CARBON DIOXIDE VISIBLE FIRE RESULTS. THE PRODUCTS OF THIS BURNING OF THIS BURNING ARE CARBON DIOXIDE, WATER, HEAT, AND LIGHT, AND IN RAPIDLY BURNING SYSTEMS, THIS REACTION CAN BE QUITE DRAMATIC, SUCH AS A FIRECRACKER EXPLODING. HOWEVER, WHEN FUEL IS CONSUMED MORE SLOWLY, ENERGY IS PRODUCED AT A SLOWER RATE,YIELDING A STEADY FLAME. IF THE RATE OF BURN IS EXCEPTIONALLY SLOW, THERE MAY BE NO LIGHT VISIBLE AT ALL. BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS - ALL LIVING ORGANISMS - ARE ESSENTIALLY BURNING FUEL AT A VERY SLOW RATE.
THE FUEL THAT WE USE BIOLOGICAL COMES FROM THE CARBOHYDRATES AND FATS WE EAT. THIS ENERGY RELEASE MUST TAKE PLACE UNDER SPECIAL CIRCUMSTANCES TO KEEP IN A FORM THAT IS BOTH USEFUL AND SAFE. THAT IS WHY THE REACTION TAKES PLACE IN TINY SUBMITS WITHIN THE CELL CALLED MITOCHONDRIA. THESE CONTAIN A SERIES OF SPECIALIZED PROTEIN MOLECULES OR ENZYMES, CALLED THE CYTOCHROME OXIDASE SYSTEM, WHICH TRANSFER THE ENERGY RELEASED FROM THE OXIDATION OF OUR FOOD TO A STORAGE MOLECULE CALLED ADENOSINE TRIPHOSPHATE, OR ATP. FOUND IN BIOLOGICAL SYSTEMS THROUGHOUT NATURE, FOR PRACTICAL PURPOSES ATP MAY BE THOUGHT OF AS THE BASIC UNIT OF ENERGY STORAGE FOR CELLS. IT HAS THE ABILITY TO DELIVER ENERGY WITHIN THE CELLS OF THE BODY, WHICH IN TURN MAINTAINS THE CHEMICAL REACTIONS NECESSARY FOR THE CELLS TO FUNCTIONS NORMALLY.
THE ACTUAL PROCESS OF RESPIRATION, THEN, OCCURS WITHIN THE CELL WHERE NUTRIENT FUEL IS BURNED WITH OXYGEN TO RELEASE ENERGY, THE NOSE, TRACHA (WINDPIPE), LUNGS, CIRCULATORY SYSTEM, AND THEIR ATTENDANT MUSCLES ALL ACT TO TRASPORT OR MODIFY OXYGEN FROM THE SURROUNDING AIR TO MAKE IT READILY AVAILABLE TO INDIVIDUAL CELLS. EACH OF THESE ORGANS PLAYS A CRUCIAL ROLE IN DETERMINING OXYGEN SUPPLY, AND THEREFORE ENERGY AVAILABILITY, TO CELLS AT VARIOUS LEVELS WITHIN THE BODY. CONSEQUENTLY, A CHANGE IN FUNCTIONING IN ANY ONE OF THESE SYSTEMS COULD POTENTIALLY AFTER THE COURSE OF ENERGY PRODUCTION WITHIN THE ENTIRE BODY.
