RESPIRATION TUTORIAL

 

OVERALL PURPOSE

·       Understand how macroscopic and microscopic structures interact to generate a major physiological process

·       Consolidate and review previous material on the anatomy and physiology of the lung

·       Consolidate and review the informatics issues related to  anatomy at the macroscopic and microscopic level

 

OBJECTIVES

           

·       Gain an understanding of the process of respiration and the anatomical structures that are involved in respiration.

·       Gain an insight into the informatics problems related to representation and management of macroscopic and miscropscopic anatomical information

 

PRE-CLASS ACTIVITIES

 

Exercise 1: What is respiration?

Review earlier definitions of the lung. What is meant by “aeration of the blood” and “oxygenating the blood and removing carbon dioxide from it” in the functional definitions of the lung?

 

Exercise 2: Review previous material

                  Macroscopic  anatomy and KOT

            How does air get in and out of the lung?

            How does blood get in and out of the lung?

            Microscopic anatomy: what connects air with blood?

 

Exercise 3. Propose a mechanism for respiration

In previous tutorials you have considered

getting air and blood in and out of the lung;

oxygen and carbon dioxide across a barrier between air and blood.

Is respiration accomplished with these processes? What else is needed?

Consider all these processes and make a proposal for the kind of components into which the complex process of respiration may be broken down. Propose names which describe and distinguish these components or sub-processes of respiration.

Prepare a comprehensive definition of respiration for discussion and debate in class. You might want to share your definition with members of the class before we meet.

 

Exercise 4. Propose an information system architecture for organizing and delivering anatomical information over the web.

Review and classify the kinds of anatomical information you have encountered

How would you represent this information?

How would you store it so that it is retrievable, re-usable and accessible?

How would you provide access to it?

What kinds of  web-based applications could use it?