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For my STEAM project, I chose to demonstrate the relationship between temperature and respiratory function during outdoor athletic activities. The project aims to address the course objectives related to identifying and determining respiratory volumes. Using a combination of paint, markers, and pencils, I created two sets of nearly identical hills. The top set of hills is shown during summertime (warm temperatures), while the bottom set is covered in snow to represent the winter (cold temperatures). The shape of the hills is meant to mimic a spirometry graph. A girl is running in both the winter and summer scenes, and the hills are a visual representation of her lung function. For example, the highest hill is total lung capacity (TLC), and the lowest drop demonstrates residual volume (RV). The summer hills are more dramatic; they peak higher and drop lower. The winter hills are not as steep. This represents how different temperatures impact respiration.
Respiratory capacities are determined by a wide variety of factors. They are naturally higher in men than in women due to larger chest cavities, lungs, airways, etc. However, these capacities can also be altered by factors such as the environment and disease. Someone with pneumonia, for example, will have lower respiratory capacities than usual because of mucus and inflammation in their airways. Cold winter air is not a disease, but the extreme temperature, along with a lack of humidity, can cause irritation and lung damage (Huang et al. 2024). The official term for this is exercise induced bronchoconstriction (EIB), and rates of respiratory dysfunction are higher in athletes who compete in cold air endurance activities than in those who compete at normal temperatures (Kennedy et al. 2019).
Much of the upper respiratory tract, including the nasal passageways, pharynx, larynx, trachea, and bronchi, work to humidify and warm air before it reaches the lungs. Exercise induced bronchoconstriction (EIB) occurs when during humidification in the bronchi, the airways lose too much water, causing an increase in airway surface lining osmolarity. This leads to release of pro-inflammatory mediators and causes bronchial epithelial cells to contract (Kennedy et. at, 2019). As the epithelial cells contract, the smooth muscle of the airways contracts as well. Constricted airways impair inspiration and expiration since air cannot travel as efficiently. This is of particular concern for competitive athletes, as inflamed bronchi mean less oxygen will make its way down the bronchioles to the alveoli. The alveoli are where gas exchange occurs, and oxygen diffuses into the bloodstream while carbon dioxide diffuses out into the lungs for exhalation (Betts et al. 2022). During exercise, gas exchange and oxygen delivery to the muscles is of crucial importance. If this does not occur properly, athletic performance will decline.
Respiration is measured in volumes and capacities.
Volumes:
- Tidal volume (TV) – the amount of air inhaled or exhaled at rest
- Inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) – the amount of air able to be forcefully inhaled after a tidal volume respiration
- Expiratory reserve volume (ERV)- the amount of air able to be forcefully exhaled after a tidal volume respiration
- Residual volume (RV) – the amount of air remaining in the lungs after a forceful exhalation
Capacities
- Total lung capacity (TLC)- the maximum amount of air in the lungs after a forceful inhalation = TV + IRV + ERV + RV
- Vital capacity (VC) – the amount of air able to be expired after maximal inspiration = TV + ERV + IRV
- Inspiratory capacity (IC) – the maximal amount of air able to be inhaled after a tidal volume respiration = TV + IRV
- Functional residual capacity (FRC) – the amount of air remaining in the lungs after a tidal exhalation = ERV + RV
(Betts et al. 2022)
My art piece is trying to demonstrate that due to cold temperatures, respiratory function is impaired. With a constricted airway, inspiratory reserve volume (IRV) decreases because not as much air can get through in the period of one inhalation. This is why the tallest hill in the winter scene is lower than the one in the corresponding summer scene. Expiratory reserve volume will also decline with a constricted airway, hence, the lowest drop in the hills is more shallow in the winter scene than in the summer.
Sources
Betts, J. G., Desaix, P., Johnson, E., Johnson, J. E., Korol, O., Kruse, D., Poe, B., Wise, J. A., Womble, M., & Young, K. A. (2022). Anatomy and physiology, 2E. OpenStax, Rice University.
Michael D. Kennedy, Andrew R. Steele, Eric C. Parent, Craig D. Steinback, (2019), Cold air exercise screening for exercise induced bronchoconstriction in cold weather athletes, Respiratory Physiology & Neurobiology, Volume 269, 2019,103262, ISSN 1569-9048, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.resp.2019.103262. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S1569904819301053)
Xinlei Huang, Isabella Francis, Goutam Saha, Md. M. Rahman, Suvash C. Saha, (2024), Large eddy simulation-based modeling of cold-air inhalation from nasal cavities to the distal lung: Insights for athlete health and performance, Results in Engineering, Volume 23, 2024, 102475, ISSN 2590-1230, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.rineng.2024.102475. (https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2590123024007308)
Hollin did her STEAM project on how temperature and respiratory function are related, specifically during outdoor activity. She related this topic to the course objective that is related to identifying and determining respiratory volumes. I learned that cold air and a lack of humidity can irritate and cause lung damage. The upper respiratory tract works to humidify/ warm arm before it reaches the lungs, but exercise induced bronchoconstriction can occur where the airways lose too much water causing in increase in airway surface lining the osmolarity. Bronchial epithelial cells contract and the smooth muscle of the airways contract which constricts airways. An inflamed bronchi means less oxygen can get to the bronchioles and alveoli. Since alveoli is where gas exchange occurs and how O2 gets to the bloodstream, is it important this is functioning properly during exercise.
She demonstrated this decline of function showing two sets of hills that someone is running on, but one in the summer and one in the winter. The hill represents a spirometry graph where the tallest hill is TLC (total lung capacity) and the lowest is RV (residual volume). Different temperatures impact respiration which is demonstrated by the summer hill having a higher peak and lower drop than winter does. When airways constrict, RV decreases since less air is getting through in one inhalation. Hence, the tallest hill in the winter scene is lower than the same hill in the summer. ERV also declines with constricted airways and hence, the lowest drop is shallower in the winter.