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Respiration in Unusual Environments

This document discusses physiological adaptations that occur at high altitudes, during deep sea diving, and in space travel. It covers topics like acute mountain sickness, acclimatization through hyperventilation and polycythemia, oxygen toxicity, decompression sickness, inert gas narcosis, and dangers of shallow water blackout and drowning. The key adaptations discussed are increases in ventilation, oxygen carrying capacity of blood, oxygen release from hemoglobin, and oxidative enzymes to cope with low oxygen levels at high altitudes.

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2K views26 pages

Respiration in Unusual Environments

This document discusses physiological adaptations that occur at high altitudes, during deep sea diving, and in space travel. It covers topics like acute mountain sickness, acclimatization through hyperventilation and polycythemia, oxygen toxicity, decompression sickness, inert gas narcosis, and dangers of shallow water blackout and drowning. The key adaptations discussed are increases in ventilation, oxygen carrying capacity of blood, oxygen release from hemoglobin, and oxidative enzymes to cope with low oxygen levels at high altitudes.

Uploaded by

nirilib
Copyright
© Attribution Non-Commercial (BY-NC)
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Download as PPT, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Dr.

Niranjan Murthy HL
Asst. Prof. of Physiology
SSMC, Tumkur
• Mt. Everest

• Deep sea divers

• Space travel

• Neonatal breathing
HIGH ALTITUDE
• Atmospheric pressure exponentially
reduce as we ascend up
• Mt. Everest- 29k ft- 253 mm Hg- PO2 43
mm Hg
• 63,000 ft- 47 mm Hg- PO2 ‘0’ mm Hg
• Acclimatization is important
• >10 million live above 10k ft
Acute mountain sickness
• c/f: headache, nausea, palpitations, fatigue,
dizziness, loss of appetite, insomnia.
• May be due to combination of hypoxemia and
alkalosis
• Periodic breathing
• Increased cerebral blood flow
• Monge’s disease- chronic mountain sickness-
fatigue, polycythemia, reduced exercise
tolerance, severe hypoxemia
Acclimatization
Hyperventilation:
• Hypoxic stimulation of peripheral
chemoreceptors
• hypoxia  hyperventilation  hypocapnia
 inhibition of central chemoreceptors 
hypoventilation
• Increased renal excretion of HCO3-

Polycythemia:
• Increased O2 carrying capacity
Shift to right of O2 dissociation curve:
• Increased 2,3-DPG
• O2 release increase by 10%
Increase in peripheral capillaries:
Increase in oxidative enzymes:
Increased max breathing capacity:
*Pulmonary hypertension & RVH
*Pulmonary edema
Deep sea diving
• Pressure increases by 1 atm for every 33ft
descent.

• Gases compress as we descend and


expand as we ascend
Decompression Sickness
• Dysbarism, Bends, Caisson’s Disease
• N2 is poorly soluble
• At high pressures it is forced into tissues
• Fat has high N2 solubility
• N2 in diver at 300 ft is 10 L
• N2 removal is slower in ascent
• Rapid decompression can cause bubbling
out of N2
• Bends- pain in joints
• Chokes- dyspnoea
• Deafness, impaired vision, vestibular
disturbances, paralysis
• Avascular necrosis of femoral head
• Rx- recompression and decompression in
a chamber
• Use of helium-oxygen mixture
• Pure oxygen is contraindicated
Inert gas narcosis
• N2 is regarded as physiologically inert
• At high PN2 it affects CNS
• At 150ft- feeling of euphoria
• Lower down- loss of co-ordination and
coma
SCUBA
• SELF CONTAINED UNDERWATER
BREATHING APPARATUS

• Diver should ascend with exhaling


Shallow water blackout
• Divers tend to hyperventilate before a dip
• PCO2 falls
• PaO2 should fall for respiratory drive
• With the ascent, PAO2 and subsequently
PaO2 fall further and cause loss of
consciousness
Drowning
• Dry drowning

• Wet drowning- (i) fresh water


(ii) salt water

• Blood gas changes- hypoxemia,


hypercapnia, acidosis
• Artificial gills
• Liquid breathing

CORIXA
Oxygen toxicity
• Guinea pigs placed in 100% oxygen at
atmospheric pressure will develop
pulmonary edema in 48hrs
• Retrolental fibroplasia in premature
infants- can be avoided by keeping O2
concentration <40%
• Absorption atelectasis- N2 and other inert
gases act as splint against collapse as
they have low solubility

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