The breath is the result of action and breathing; It is a process by which living beings absorb and expel the air, taking part of the substances that compose it. The concept of respiration is also referred to the process by which cells release stored energy from food; through oxidation where nutrients combine with oxygen in the air to release useful energy, and carbon dioxide and water vapor are also produced as by-products, this is known as “cellular respiration”.
What is breathing
Table of Contents
To know what respiration is, it refers to an authentic biological process of every living being, and whose main purpose is to sustain the activity of its organism (that is, alive) through the exchange of carbon dioxide for oxygen.
The definition of respiration commonly refers to the fact that it is a mechanism by which living beings inhale air, but it is only a demonstration of the respiratory system whose development mechanism is much more complex, where the cells of organisms are actually benefited, in the so-called internal breathing.
The concept of internal or cellular respiration is different. Since the meaning of cellular respiration alludes to a group of biochemical reactions by which certain organic compounds are corroded in their entirety in the internal part of the cell, due to oxidation. This metabolic system requires oxygen as it supplies the energy recycled by the cell (mainly in the form of ATP)
For living aerobic organisms, respiration represents a fundamental physiological method for life. It refers to a process of gas exchange with the environment that can be put into operation in different ways (via the gill, lung, skin, etc.).
Human beings perceive oxygen through inspiration and subsequently exhale carbon dioxide. At the moment of birth, when the baby is separated from the umbilical cord, the act of breathing is the first independent act of the newborn. It is important to note that, although an individual can tolerate several days without drinking or eating, they cannot go more than a few minutes without breathing.
4 types of breathing you should know
Aerobic living organisms have perfected many systems of gas exchange with the environment in which they inhabit. Through any of the types of respiration, they add oxygen from the outside environment and release carbon dioxide and water vapor, as a result of the energy metabolism system. Mammals and humans only have lung respiration, but in certain organisms, such as amphibians, they use several processes simultaneously and present lung and skin respiration.
The four types of breathing will be mentioned below:
Hyperpnea or hyperventilation
The word hyperpnea refers to the increase in the amount of air ventilated per unit of time, compared to what is estimated as normal respiration. This increase in the amount of oxygen exchanged can be caused either by an increase in the regularity of the respiratory phase (tachypnea), by a worsening of the depth when breathing (bathypnea) or by a conjunction of the two (polypnea).
An example of this is when the breathing is deep, fast or labored, which is usually reflected during exercise; it is also accompanied by pathological conditions such as fever, pain, hysteria and any condition in which the supply of oxygen is not sufficient, such as is the case with circulatory and respiratory diseases.
Kussmaul breathing
The definition of kussmaul breathing is understood as the type of deep, rapid and laborious inhalation of individuals with a diabetic coma or ketoacidosis. This pathology is characterized by hyperventilation that helps to reduce carbon dioxide in the blood. The metabolic acidosis, begins with a rapid, shallow breathing but increases as acidosis, it becomes gradually deeper, panting and forced.
Kussmaul respiration is named in honor of the 19th century German physician Adolph Kussmaul, who was the first to study it and described it in 1874. Kussmaul addresses this type of respiration when metabolic acidosis is regularly severe to increase respiratory rate.
Cheyne-Stokes periodic respiration
Cheyne-Stokes respiration is known to be a form of breathing that is characterized by the presence of frequent oscillations in the extent of ventilation, increases and decreases periodically, causing intermediate stages of apnea lasting seconds. It can be as a result of the presence of a brain injury, for example caused by a brain tumor or a stroke, and it can also occur in patients suffering from heart failure.
Biot respiration
The meaning of biot respiration refers to the way of breathing in an irregular and shallow way with extensive stages of apnea (lasting 10 to 30s). The causes of this condition are: increased intracranial pressure, drug coma, or CNS lesions at the level of the medulla oblongata.
At certain times it can be perceived that the person breathes normally but later it is interrupted with periods of apnea. In some more serious cases, where the amplitude and rhythmicity are variants, in this case it is called ataxic respiration.
How is the breathing process
Breathing is an involuntary and automatic mechanism that our organism executes, to assimilate oxygen from the air and dispose of carbon dioxide.
When you breathe, two processes are triggered:
1.- Inspiration or inhalation: by sucking oxygen from the air through the nostrils, the diaphragm (muscle below the lungs) and the muscles between the ribs contract. This causes the chest cavity to widen and flatten, pushing the ribs upward and outward, allowing air to enter the lungs.
2.- Expiration or exhalation: in this case the carbon dioxide that is inside our body is expelled into the environment. At this time the diaphragm rises and pushes the lungs, motivating them to expel air. After this system, the diaphragm and ribs are distended and return to their initial state. Finishing this, inspiration begins again.
Various breathing processes
Living beings have developed various processes of air exchange with the environment where they live, which are detailed below:
Lung breathing
it is the way of breathing of most terrestrial vertebrates such as reptiles, amphibians, birds and mammals including man. The pulmonary class respiratory system is made up of breathing holes located in the head, which are connected to a tube called the larynx, which will lead through the trachea to the lungs. The lungs are made up of a group of alveoli covered with blood capillaries. It is in these alveoli where the gas exchange with the blood originates. Subsequently, the oxygenated blood is expanded throughout the body through the circulatory system.
Skin respiration
cutaneous respiration is characteristic of annelids, certain mollusks and amphibians, and even some echinoderms. In this class, the corporal integument must be differentiated, which give order to the respiratory distribution, and the skin, through which the gas exchange is carried out, this change is carried out through the epidermis, as long as the external skin is moist This is achieved because they are interposed between the cubic cells of the epithelium and the glandular cells. Amphibians, like toads and frogs, breathe in water through gills; when it metamorphoses to adulthood, it loses these gills, developing lungs to breathe on the ground
Branchial breathing
The gills are the organs through which aquatic animals breathe, through them the exchange of gases is carried out, between the internal system and the environment. Aquatic animals receive the oxygen that is dissolved in the water, which enters the internal gases and is taken to the tissues, where the cells need it for cellular respiration, a method that is carried out in cellular organelles called mitochondria. Animals that are smaller and have a low metabolic rate perform Fluid Exchange through skin respiration.
Tracheal breathing
it is the way insects use to breathe. The trachea is a tube that expands outward through holes called stigmata. Through them they enter into the interior and reduce the diameter, at the moment that its walls become thinner. In this way, the oxygen passes them and reaches the cells, the moment the CO2 leaves them. The group of tracheas make up the tracheal process, which is a connection of empty tubes, gradually smaller in size, which enter the tissues and supply oxygen directly to the cells, without the need for the circulatory system to intervene.
Diaphragmatic breathing
it is the style of inhalation that is executed at the moment of contracting the diaphragm, which is a muscle located between the thorax and the abdominal area. Air enters the lungs, the chest does not rise, and the abdomen stretches during this form of breathing. This type of breathing is scientifically known as eupnea, which is the most relaxed and natural way of breathing in all mammals.
How is the breathing of living beings
Breathing is a vital process, which consists of the entry of oxygen and the exit of carbon dioxide from the body, as well as the metabolic system, fundamental for the life of aerobic organisms.
Depending on the habitat, different aerobic living beings have perfected various methods of hematosis: cutaneous, pulmonary and bronchial tracheal. It is the exchange of osmotic fluids with the medium in which oxygen is received, and CO2 and water vapor are eliminated, as a result of the burning process of energy metabolism.
Plant respiration
In plants, the change of fluids is carried out mainly by estimates and / or lenticels. Stomata are made up of two epidermal cells transformed in a kidneylike manner. They are normally located in the lower part of the daughter, in which they do not perceive the sunlight directly, they are also found in herbaceous stems.
Lenticels are found scattered in the dead bark of roots and stems. In a usual way, lenticels have a lenticular signature on their external profile, that's where their name comes from. They are commonly oriented horizontally or vertically on the stem, it all depends on the species, and they vary in size and can be barely visible or as large as about 2.5 cm long. The role of lenticels is to allow complete gas exchange between the environment and parenchymal tissues.
What is aerobic respiration
Aerobic respiration is known as a class of energy metabolism in which living organisms extract energy from organic molecules, such as glucose, for example, and do so through a complex method in which deoxidized carbon and oxygen from the air are the oxidants used. Aerobic respiration is the system responsible for the majority of living beings (so-called aerobes) take oxygen.
Aerobic respiration is true of eukaryotic organisms as a whole and of certain classes of bacteria. The oxygen that, like any other gas, passes unhindered through the mitochondrial membranes, being in its matrix, where they bond with electrons and protons creating water. In this final oxidation (quite complex) and in previous processes, the energy required for the phosphorylation of ATP is obtained.
Different breathing exercises
Exercise 1: chest or rib breathing
In this case the chest and ribs are the main areas, what should be done is to place the hand in the abdomen and the other on the chest. Then we proceed to breathe in slowly and deeply, the hand on the chest must rise, while the one on the abdomen must remain immobile, it must be observed how the rib cage fills with air and empties and the abdomen remains intact.
Exercise 2: clavicular breathing
Clavicular breathing is light and shallow, usually seen in people with anxiety. It is possible that it produces hyperventilation and consequently generates dizziness in the person, therefore this exercise is only recommended to check the functioning of the muscles that participate in it, but not as a routine exercise.
The first thing is to place the hand on the chest, the other on the abdomen, breathe in slowly and deeply, it should be observed that the chest and abdomen remain still, while the chest and clavicles are filled with air, then you must release the air and observe how the clavicle area empties.
With the previous exercises you can know the muscles involved in breathing, but the following exercise contributes to complete relaxation.
Exercise 3: complete breathing
It is a combination of the three types of breathing, all the muscles mentioned above must be used, in order to make the most of the capacity of the lungs.
Exercise 4: diaphragmatic or abdominal breathing
During breathing, different types of muscles participate, among which the diagram stands out, it is considered the most relevant. When there are stress conditions, the diaphragm is used incorrectly, which causes breathing to be shallow and accelerated. What abdominal breathing does is contribute to strengthening the diagram and lowers breathing rates. To perform this exercise it is necessary for the person to lie on his back, then he must place one hand on the abdomen and the other on the upper part of the chest, that way you can feel the movements of the diaphragm when breathing.
Meaning of cellular respiration
Cellular respiration is a physiological process, which is nothing other than the exchange of gases with the environment, the process of respiration involves the absorption of air, extracting the substances and after modifying it, expelling the rest. For its part, the cell is the main unit of organisms and has the ability to reproduce independently.
These definitions make it possible to better understand cellular respiration, accepting it as a series of biochemical reactions that occur in a large part of cells. In the process there is the splitting of pyruvic acid (produced by glycolysis) in carbon dioxide and in water, together with the production of ATP molecules.
