Page:EB1911 - Volume 23.djvu/204

Rh each lobular bronchus is an irregular chamber, the atrium (fig. 6 At), and from this a number of thin-walled sacs, about 1 mm. in diameter, open out. These are called the infundibula (fig. 6 I), and their walls are pouched by hemispherical air-cells or alveoli like those in the lobular bronchi. Each lobular bronchus with its atrium and infundibula forms what is known as a lobule of the lung, and these lobules are separated by connective tissue, and their outlines are evident on the surface of the lung.

. 6.—Diagram of Two Lobules of the Lung. B. Bronchus. A. Alveolus. I. Infundibulum. L.B. Lobular bronchus. At. Atrium. Lob. Lobule. The muscular tissue, which in the larger tubes was confined to the dorsal part, forms a complete layer in the smaller; but when the lobular bronchi are reached, it stops and the mucous membrane is surrounded by the elastic layer. In the lobular bronchi, too, the lining epithelium gradually changes from the ciliated to the stratified or pavement variety, and this is the only kind which is found in the infundibula and alveoli. Surrounding each alveolus is a plexus of capillary vessels so rich that the spaces between the capillaries are no wider than the capillaries themselves, and it is here that the exchange of gases takes place between the air and the blood.

Embryology.—The respiratory system is developed from the ventral surface of the foregut as a long gutter-like pouch which reaches from just behind the rudiment of the tongue to the stomach. Limiting the anterior or cephalic end of this is a fl-shaped elevation in the ventral wall of the pharynx which separates the ventral ends of the third and fourth visceral bars and is known as the furcula; it is from this that the epiglottis, aryteno-epiglottidean folds and arytenoid cartilages are developed. Later on the respiratory tube is separated from the digestive by two ridges, one on each side, which, uniting, form a transverse partition. In the region of the furcula, however, the partition stops and here the two tubes communicate. The caudal end of the respiratory tube buds out into the two primary bronchi, and the right one of these, later on, bears three buds, while the left has only two; these are the secondary bronchi, which keep on dividing into two, one branch keeping the line of the parent stem to form the stem bronchus, while the other goes off at an angle. By the repeated divisions of these tubes the complex " bronchial tree " is formed and from the terminal shoots the infundibula bud out. The alveoli only develop in the last three months of foetal life. The thyroid cartilage is probably formed from the fourth and fifth bronchial bars, while the cricoid seems to be the enlarged first ring of the trachea. Before birth the lungs are solid and much less vascular than after breathing is established. Their slaty colour is gradually gained from the deposit of carbon from the atmosphere. (For further details see Quain's Anatomy, vol. i., Lond. 1908.) Comparative Anatomy.-It has been shown (see PHARYNX) that in the lower vertebrates respiration is brought about by the blood vessels surrounding the gill clefts. In the higher fishes (Ganoids and Teleosteans) the " swim bladder " appears as a diverticulum from the dorsal Wall of the alimentary canal, and its duct (d. pneumatic us) sometimes remains open and at others becomes a solid cord. In the former case it is probable that the blood is to some extent oxidized in the vascular wall of this bladder. In the Dipnoi (mud-fish) the opening of the swim bladder shifts to the ventral side of the pharynx and the bladder walls become sacculated and very vascular, so that, when the rivers are dried up, the fish can breathe altogether by means of it. In the S. American and African species of mud-fish the bladder or lung, as it may now be called, is divided by a longitudinal septum in its posterior (caudal) part into right and left halves. In this sub-class of Dipnoi, therefore, a general agreement is seen with the embryology or ontogeny of Man's lungs. In the Amphibia the two lungs are quite separate though they are mere sacculated bags without bronchi. A trachea, however, appears in some species (e.g. Siren) and a definite larynx with arytenoid cartilages, vocal cords and complicated muscles is established in the Anura (frogs and toads). In most of the Reptilia the bag-like lungs are elaborated into spongy organs with arborizing bronchi in their interior. From the crocodiles upward a main or stem bronchus passes to the caudal end of the lung, and from this the branches or lateral bronchi come off. The larynx shows little advance on that of the Anura. The respiratory organs of birds are highly specialized. The larynx is rudimentary, and sound is produced by the syrinx, a. secondary larynx at the bifurcation of the trachea; this may be tracheal, bronchial or, most often, tracheo-bronchial. The lungs are small and closely connected with the ribs, while from them numerous large air sacs extend among the viscera, muscles and into many of the bones, which, by being filled with hot air, help to maintain the high temperature and lessen the specific gravity of the body. This pneumaticity of the bones is to a certain extent reproduced by the air sinuses of the skull in crocodiles and mammals, and it must be pointed out that the amount of air in the bones does not necessarily correspond with the power of iiight, for the Ratitae (ostriches and emeus) have very pneumatic bones, while in the sea-gulls they are hardly pneumatic at all.

In mammals the thyroid cartilage becomes an important element in the larynx, and in the Echidna the upper and lower parts of it, derived respectively from the fourth and fifth bronchial bars, are separate (R. H. Burne, fourn. Anat. and Phys. xxxviii. p. xxvii.). The whole larynx is much nearer the head than in Man, and in young animals the epiglottis is intra-narial, i.e. projects up behind the soft palate. This prevents the milk trickling into the larynx during suckling, and is especially well seen in the Marsupials and Cetacea, though evidences of it are present in the human embryo. In the lower mammals an inter-arytenoid cartilage is very frequent (see J. Symington, " The Marsupial Larynx, " J. Anat. and Phys. xxxiii. 31, also " The Monotreme Larynx, " ib. xxxiv. 90). The lungs show a good deal of variation in their lobulation; among the porcupines as many as forty lobes have been counted in the right lung, while in other mammals no lobulation at all could be made out. The azygous lobe of the right lung is a fairly constant structure and is situated between the post-caval vein and the oesophagus. It is supplied by the terminal branch of the right stem bronchus and, although it is usually absent in Man, the bronchus which should have supplied it is always to be found. (F. G. P.)

I

(2) PHYSIOLOGY

So far as is known, the intake'of oxygen, either free or combined, and the output of carbon dioxide, are an essential part of the life of all organisms. The two processes are so closely associated with one another that they are always included together under the designation of respiration, which may thus be defined as the physiological process which is concerned in the intake of oxygen and output of carbon dioxide. According to the evidence at present available, it is only within living cells that the respiratory oxygen is consumed and the carbon dioxide formed. The mere conveying of oxygen from the surrounding air or Water to these cells, and of carbon dioxide from them to the air or Water, is, however, in itself a complex process in the higher animals; and accordingly an account of animal respiration naturally falls into two divisions, the first of which (L) is concerned with the manner in which oxygen and carbon dioxide are conveyed to and from the living tissues, and the second (II.) with the consumption of oxygen and formation of carbon dioxide by the living tissues themselves.

I. In all the more highly organized animals there are special respiratory organs: the lungs in the higher vertebrates; the gills in fishes; the tracheae in insects; and various rudimentary forms of lungs or gills in other higher invertebrates. In the