
Inhalation (or Inspiration) happens when air or other gases enter the lungs.
Inhalation of air
Inhalation of air, as part of the cycle of
breathing
Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.
All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cell ...
, is a vital process for all human life. The process is autonomic (though there are exceptions in some disease states) and does not need conscious
control or effort. However, breathing can be consciously controlled or interrupted (within limits).
Breathing allows oxygen (which humans and a lot of other species need for survival) to enter the lungs, from where it can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
Other substances – accidental
Examples of accidental inhalation includes inhalation of water (e.g. in drowning), smoke, food, vomitus and less common foreign substances (e.g. tooth fragments, coins, batteries, small toy parts, needles).
Other substances – deliberate
Recreational use
Legal – helium, nitrous oxide ("
laughing gas")
Illegal – various gaseous, vaporised or aerosolized
recreational drugs
Medical use
Diagnostic
Various specialized investigations use the inhalation of known substances for diagnostic purposes. Examples include
pulmonary function testing
Pulmonary function testing (PFT) is a complete evaluation of the respiratory system including patient history, physical examinations, and tests of pulmonary function. The primary purpose of pulmonary function testing is to identify the severity ...
(e.g.
nitrogen washout test,
diffusion capacity
Diffusing capacity of the lung (DL) (also known as Transfer factor is another expression for the formerly used diffusing capacity.) measures the transfer of gas from air in the lung, to the red blood cells in lung blood vessels. It is part of a c ...
testing (
carbon monoxide
Carbon monoxide ( chemical formula CO) is a colorless, poisonous, odorless, tasteless, flammable gas that is slightly less dense than air. Carbon monoxide consists of one carbon atom and one oxygen atom connected by a triple bond. It is the si ...
,
helium
Helium (from el, ἥλιος, helios, lit=sun) is a chemical element with the symbol He and atomic number 2. It is a colorless, odorless, tasteless, non-toxic, inert, monatomic gas and the first in the noble gas group in the periodic table. ...
,
methane
Methane ( , ) is a chemical compound with the chemical formula (one carbon atom bonded to four hydrogen atoms). It is a group-14 hydride, the simplest alkane, and the main constituent of natural gas. The relative abundance of methane on Ear ...
)) and
diagnostic radiology
Medical imaging is the technique and process of imaging the interior of a body for clinical analysis and medical intervention, as well as visual representation of the function of some organs or tissues (physiology). Medical imaging seeks to rev ...
(e.g.
radioactive xenon isotopes).
Therapeutic
Gases and other drugs used in anaesthesia include oxygen, nitrous oxide, helium, xenon,
volatile anaesthetic agents. Medication for
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...
, croup, cystic fibrosis and some other conditions.
Mechanism
Inhalation begins with the contraction of the muscles attached to the rib cage; this causes an expansion in the chest cavity. Then takes place the onset of contraction of the
thoracic diaphragm
The thoracic diaphragm, or simply the diaphragm ( grc, διάφραγμα, diáphragma, partition), is a sheet of internal skeletal muscle in humans and other mammals that extends across the bottom of the thoracic cavity. The diaphragm is the ...
, which results in expansion of the
intrapleural space
The pleural cavity, pleural space, or interpleural space is the potential space between the pleurae of the pleural sac that surrounds each lung. A small amount of serous pleural fluid is maintained in the pleural cavity to enable lubrication bet ...
and an increase in negative pressure according to
Boyle's law
Boyle's law, also referred to as the Boyle–Mariotte law, or Mariotte's law (especially in France), is an experimental gas law that describes the relationship between pressure and volume of a confined gas. Boyle's law has been stated as:
Th ...
. This negative pressure generates airflow because of the pressure difference between the atmosphere and alveolus.
The inflow of air into the lungs occurs via the
respiratory airways
The respiratory tract is the subdivision of the respiratory system involved with the process of respiration in mammals. The respiratory tract is lined with respiratory epithelium as respiratory mucosa.
Air is breathed in through the nose to th ...
. In health, these airways
begin with the nose.
It is possible to begin with the mouth, which is the backup breathing system. However, chronic
mouth breathing
Mouth breathing, medically known as chronic oral ventilation, is long-term breathing through the mouth. It often is caused by an obstruction to breathing through the nose, the innate breathing organ in the human body. Chronic mouth breathing m ...
leads to, or is a sign of, illness.
They end in the microscopic dead-end sacs(
alveoli) always opened, though the diameters of the various sections can be changed by the
sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous system
The parasympathetic nervous system (PSNS) is one of the three divisions of the autonomic nervous system, the others being the sympathetic nervous system and the enteric nervous system. The enteric nervous system is sometimes considered part ...
s. The alveolar air pressure is therefore always close to atmospheric air pressure (about 100
kPa at sea level) at rest, with the pressure gradients that cause air to move in and out of the lungs during breathing rarely exceeding 2–3 kPa.
Other muscles that can be involved in inhalation include:
*
External intercostal muscles
*
Scalene muscles
*
Sternocleidomastoid muscle
*
Trapezius muscle
The trapezius is a large paired trapezoid-shaped surface muscle that extends longitudinally from the occipital bone to the lower thoracic vertebrae of the spine and laterally to the spine of the scapula. It moves the scapula and supports the ...
Hyperinflation
''Hyperinflation'' or ''hyperaeration'' is where the lung volume is abnormally increased, with increased filling of the alveoli. This results in an increased
radiolucency
Radiodensity (or radiopacity) is opacity to the radio wave and X-ray portion of the electromagnetic spectrum: that is, the relative inability of those kinds of electromagnetic radiation to pass through a particular material. Radiolucency or hyp ...
on X-ray, a reduction in lung markings and depression of the diaphragm. It may occur in partial obstruction of a large airway, as in e.g.
congenital lobar emphysema
Emphysema, or pulmonary emphysema, is a lower respiratory tract disease, characterised by air-filled spaces ( pneumatoses) in the lungs, that can vary in size and may be very large. The spaces are caused by the breakdown of the walls of the alve ...
, bronchial
atresia
Atresia is a condition in which an orifice or passage in the body is (usually abnormally) closed or absent.
Examples of atresia include:
*Aural atresia, a congenital deformity where the ear canal is underdeveloped.
* Biliary atresia, a condition ...
and mucus plugs in
asthma
Asthma is a long-term inflammatory disease of the airways of the lungs. It is characterized by variable and recurring symptoms, reversible airflow obstruction, and easily triggered bronchospasms. Symptoms include episodes of wheezing, c ...
.
Yoga
Yogis such as
B. K. S. Iyengar
Bellur Krishnamachar Sundararaja Iyengar (14 December 1918 – 20 August 2014) was an Indian teacher of yoga and author. He is founder of the style of yoga as exercise, known as " Iyengar Yoga", and was considered one of the foremost yoga guru ...
advocate both
inhaling and exhaling through the nose in the practice of
yoga
Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-conscio ...
, rather than inhaling through the nose and
exhaling through the mouth.
They tell their students that the "nose is for breathing, the mouth is for eating."
[
]
See also
* Exhalation
* Inhalant
Inhalants are a broad range of household and industrial chemicals whose volatile vapors or pressurized gases can be concentrated and breathed in via the nose or mouth to produce intoxication, in a manner not intended by the manufacturer. They ...
– psychoactive drugs consumed through inhalation
* List of terms of lung size and activity
* Mouth breathing
Mouth breathing, medically known as chronic oral ventilation, is long-term breathing through the mouth. It often is caused by an obstruction to breathing through the nose, the innate breathing organ in the human body. Chronic mouth breathing m ...
* Obligate nasal breathing
* Respiratory system
The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants. The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies grea ...
* Smoking
Smoking is a practice in which a substance is burned and the resulting smoke is typically breathed in to be tasted and absorbed into the bloodstream. Most commonly, the substance used is the dried leaves of the tobacco plant, which have bee ...
- a specific inhalation route
* Breathing
Breathing (or ventilation) is the process of moving air into and from the lungs to facilitate gas exchange with the internal environment, mostly to flush out carbon dioxide and bring in oxygen.
All aerobic creatures need oxygen for cell ...
* Work of breathing
Further reading
*
References
{{Respiratory physiology
Respiration
Respiratory physiology