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Question One
The primary carrier of oxygen in the human body is hemoglobin. Most oxygen transported in the blood is bound to hemoglobin, with just a few amounts dissolving directly in the plasma. Hemoglobin is a protein molecule with four subunits with each attached to a globin polypeptide chain and surrounds a heme group containing iron (Mairbäurl & Weber, 2011). Each hemoglobin can transport four molecules of oxygen once a molecule of oxygen binds to a heme group. Molecules that have more oxygen attached to the heme group have a brighter red color, which is why arterial blood that is highly oxygenated is brighter red while venous blood that is deoxygenated appears to be a darker red. Binding the third and second oxygen molecules to hemoglobin is easier than the first one because as the oxygen binds, the hemoglobin changes its conformation and shape (Mairbäurl & Weber, 2011). As oxygen attaches to hemoglobin, it results in a curve of oxygen dissociation that is a sigmoid shape. In most cases, the concentration of hemoglobin is the limiting factor for delivering oxygen to tissues.
Carbon dioxide can be transported using three methods; it can dissolve directly in the blood, bind to hemoglobin or plasma proteins, or be converted to bicarbonate and transported as part of the bicarbonate system. Most carbon dioxide is transported as part of the bicarbonate system, making this system the primary carrier of CO2 (O’Neill & Robbins, 2017). The process involved in the formation of the bicarbonate system in the body entails cellular respiration. The process involves CO2 dissolving in the blood, and take it is taken up by the red blood cells to get converted by the carbonic anhydrase to carbonic acid. The carbonic acid then dissociates to form hydrogen ions and bicarbonate. Bicarbonate can also be formed when a positively charged ion gets attached to atoms of oxygen that are negatively charged.
Question Two
Innate Immunity is a type of defense mechanism that takes its role immediately an antigen appears in the body. The mechanism can include physical barriers like blood chemicals and the skin. The four innate immune system defenses include phagocytosis, the complement system, white blood cells, and the physical barriers (Turvey & Broide, 2010). Phagocytosis falls under the classification of second-line defense. It protects by engulfing the invading pathogens in the body, and that is why the cells are referred to as eating cells. Physical barriers fall under the classification of first-line defense and include barriers like skin. They protect by forming a mechanical barrier between the body and the pathogens from entering the body. The complement system is a second line and protects the body by complementing the antibodies’ ability to clear pathogens or destroy them from the body (Turvey & Broide, 2010). The white blood cells are the first defense line and include neutrophils, mast cells, and natural killer cells. They protect the body by ingesting pathogens or by the production of antibodies to fight the pathogens.
Question Three
Adaptive Immunity refers to an acquired immunity whose response is specific to the pathogen present and is meant to attack non-self-pathogens. The lymphocytes involved in this Immunity include the B or T cells. T cells lymphocytes can either be the CD8+ cytotoxic ones that destroy tumor cells or the CD4+ helper ones that regulate cytotoxic ones (Bonilla & Oettgen, 2010). The four differences between cell-mediated and antibody-mediated Immunity are that antibody-mediated Immunity is associated with the B lymphocytes while cell-mediated with the T-lymphocytes. Antibody-mediated Immunity secretes antibodies that fight antigens, while cell-mediated Immunity secretes cytokines without antibodies to fight the pathogens. Antibody-mediated Immunity has a rapid and quick reaction towards antigens while cell-mediated Immunity can have delays in acting even though the action against the pathogens is a permanent one (Bonilla & Oettgen, 2010). Antibody-mediated.Immunity is responsible for mediating hypersensitivity type iii, ii, and I, while cell-mediated Immunity mediates hypersensitivity iv and is delayed in responses.
Question Four
Inflammation refers to how the body uses mechanisms like white blood cells to protect itself from infections and pathogens. The main signs of inflammation include showing redness, feeling the heat, the presence of tumor or swelling, and severe pain. The three main stages of inflammation are the acute stage, which involves a lot of swelling. The sub-acute phase is also referred to as the regenerative stage, and the chronic step involves remodeling and scar tissue maturation (Schmid-Schönbein, 2006). The interactions and ramifications of inflammation in respect to the respiratory system is that chronic inflammation has been linked to hyperplasia of the airway smooth muscle and can also increase the number of goblet cells. Inflammation can thicken the respiratory system’s basement membrane and lead to loss of cilia and shedding of the epithelial cells. For the cardiovascular system, inflammation can promote the growth of plaques, or sometimes it can loosen plaque in arteries triggering blood clots, which can lead to stroke or heart attacks (Schmid-Schönbein, 2006). Some of the lifestyle and nutritional recommendations for Casey to support an anti-inflammatory environment include eating a diet that is composed of anti-inflammatory foods, avoiding smoking, limiting the amount of alcohol one takes, engaging in adequate exercises and always being active, getting adequate sleep and of quality, learning on how to cope and manage stress, ensuring there is an adequate intake of magnesium, and managing one’s weight.
Question Five
The flow of blood through the heart involves four steps; the right atrium of the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the right ventricle via the tricuspid valve; the right ventricle then pumps the received deoxygenated blood from the right atrium to the lungs via the pulmonary valve for the process of oxygenation. From the right ventricle, the left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the left ventricle via the mitral valve (Ku, 2007). Once it gets the oxygenated blood from the left atrium, the left ventricle pumps it via the aortic valve to the rest of the blood for the blood supply to body parts, and the cycle repeats.
References
Bonilla, F. A., & Oettgen, H. C. (2010). Adaptive Immunity. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 125(2), S33-S40.
Ku, D. N. (2007). Blood flow in arteries. Annual review of fluid mechanics, 29(1), 399-434.
Mairbäurl, H., & Weber, R. E. (2011). Oxygen transport by hemoglobin. Comprehensive physiology, 2(2), 1463-1489.
O’Neill, D. P., & Robbins, P. A. (2017). A mechanistic physicochemical model of carbon dioxide transport in blood. Journal of Applied Physiology, 122(2), 283-295.
Schmid-Schönbein, G. W. (2006). Analysis of inflammation. Annu. Rev. Biomed. Eng., 8, 93-151.
Turvey, S. E., & Broide, D. H. (2010). Innate Immunity. Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology, 125(2), S24-S32.