| Themes > Science > Life Sciences > General Biology > Physiology > The Respiratory System > Control of Respiration |
Muscular contraction and relaxation controls the rate of expansion and constriction of the lungs. These muscles are stimulated by nerves that carry messages from the part of the brain that controls breathing, the medulla. Two systems control breathing: an automatic response and a voluntary response. Both are involved in holding your breath. Although the automatic breathing regulation system allows you to breathe while you sleep, it sometimes malfunctions. Apnea involves stoppage of breathing for as long as 10 seconds, in some individuals as often as 300 times per night. This failure to respond to elevated blood levels of carbon dioxide may result from viral infections of the brain, tumors, or it may develop spontaneously. A malfunction of the breathing centers in newborns may result in SIDS (sudden infant death syndrome). As altitude increases, atmospheric pressure decreases. Above 10,000 feet decreased oxygen pressures causes loading of oxygen into hemoglobin to drop off, leading to lowered oxygen levels in the blood. The result can be mountain sickness (nausea and loss of appetite). Mountain sickness does not result from oxygen starvation but rather from the loss of carbon dioxide due to increased breathing in order to obtain more oxygen. |
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