RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Respiration is the process of obtaining oxygen from the external environment & eliminating
carbon dioxide
External respiration -- Oxygen and carbon dioxide exchanged between the external
environment & the body cells
Internal respiration -- Cells use oxygen for ATP production (& produce carbon dioxide in the
process)
Adaptations for external respiration:
1. Primary organs in adult vertebrates are external & internal gills, swim bladders or lungs, skin, &
the buccopharyngeal mucosa
2. Less common respiratory devices include filamentous outgrowths of the posterior trunk & thigh
(ex. African hairy frog), lining of the cloaca, & lining of esophagus

Major Respiratory Organs

1) Cutaneous respiration
respiration through the skin can take place in air, water, or both
most important among amphibians (especially in the family Plethodontidae)
2) Gills
Comparison of gills among three representative groups:
AGNATHANS
~ 6 to 15 pairs of gill
pouches
~ pouches connected
to pharynx by
afferent branchial (or
gill) ducts & to
exterior by efferent
branchial (or gill)
ducts

CARTILAGINOUS FISH
~ 5 naked gill slits
~ Anterior & posterior walls of the 1st 4 gill
chambers have a gill surface (demibranch).
~ Posterior wall of last (5th) chamber has no
demibranch.
~ Interbranchial septum lies between 2
demibranchs of a gill arch
~ Gill rakers protrude from gill cartilage and
guard entrance into gill chamber
~ 2 demibranchs = 1 holobranch

BONY FISH
~ Usually have 5
gill slits
~ Operculum
projects backward
over gill chambers
~ Interbranchial
septa are very short
or absent

Questions:
Distinguish the respiratory structures and ventilation between a hagfish and a lamprey.
In what way is a short interbranchial septum beneficial for external respiration in teleosts?

Larval gills:
External gills

Filamentous extensions of
internal gills
~ Outgrowths from the external
~ Project through gill slits
surface of 1 or more gill arches
~ Occur in early stages of
~ Found in lungfish & amphibians development of elasmobranchs

Internal gills
~ Hidden behind larval
operculum of late anuran
tadpoles

3) Swim bladder
= may be paired or unpaired
= have, during development, a pneumatic duct that usually connects to the esophagus.
= serve primarily as a hydrostatic organ (regulating a fish's specific gravity)
= gain gas by way of a 'red body' (or red gland); gas is resorbed via the oval body on the posterior
part of bladder
Other functions of the swim bladder:
a) Hearing
-- Some freshwater teleosts (e.g., catfish, goldfish, & carp) 'hear' by way of
pressure waves transmitted via the swim bladder and small bones (Weberian ossicles)
b) Sound production -- Muscles attached to the swim bladder contract to move air between
'sub-chambers' of the bladder.(e.g., croakers, grunters, & midshipman fish)
c) Respiration -- The swim bladder of lungfish has number subdivisions or septa (to increase
surface area) & oxygen and carbon dioxide is exchanged between the bladder & the blood
Questions:
How is the development of the swim bladder related to the origin of lungs in tetrapods?
Distinguish between physostomous and physoclistous gas bladders.
Describe the role of the red gland and the oval gland in the movement of gases into and
out of the swim bladder.

4) Lungs & associated structures

a. Nares
External nares are called nostrils
Internal ones are the choanae
Question:
Distinguish the position of the internal nares in fish and higher tetrapods. What could
account for the differences?
Describe the external nares of cetaceans.

b. Larynx
Tetrapods, besides mammals, have 2 pairs of cartilages: artytenoid & cricoid
Mammals -- paired arytenoids + cricoid + thyroid + several other small cartilages
including the epiglottis (closes glottis when swallowing)
Amphibians, some lizards, & most mammals -- also have vocal cords stretched across
the laryngeal chamber
Questions:
Describne how the position of the larynx affects breathing during the act of swallowing among
primates.
What are false vocal cords?

c.

Trachea
usually about as long as a vertebrate neck (except in a few birds such as cranes)
reinforced by cartilaginous rings (or c-rings)
splits into 2 primary bronchi
in birds only, forms the syrinx

d. Lungs of tetrapods
AMPHIBIAN
~ 2 simple sacs
~ internal lining may
be smooth or have
simple sacculations
or pockets
~ Air exchanged via
positive-pressure
ventilation

REPTILE
~ Simple sacs in
Sphenodon & snakes
~ In lizards,
crocodilians, &
turtles, the lining is
septate, and generally
multi-chambered
~ Air exchanged via
positive-pressure
ventilation

BIRDS
~ Modified from those
of reptiles
~ Air sacs (diverticula of
lungs) extensively
distributed throughout
most of the body
~ Air flow through lungs
(parabronchi) is
unidirectional

Question:
What is the role of air sacs in the tidal ventilation of bird lungs?
What are the gas exhange structure in the avian lung?

MAMMALS
~ Multichambered &
usually divided into lobes
~ Air flow is bidirectional
~ Air exchanged via
negative pressure
ventilation, with
pressures changing due to
contraction & relaxation
of diaphragm &
intercostal muscles