Oxygen- the breath of life

The breath of life- people always pray for it. When breathing stops there is a reason to worry!!

Whoever is living needs a breath of life. It is necessary for us all. Oxygen is the gas we need to live. 

All living organisms have a way to obtain oxygen from the environment into their bodies. Some organisms use very simple mechanisms to breathe whereas others have complex ones.

Simple organisms such as the amoeba are single celled and the process of simple diffusion is sufficient to meet the cell’s oxygen needs.  The worms have moist skins in which oxygen dissolves and is then carried away by blood capillaries to all the cells in inner parts.

 Insects have a system called tracheal system; they take in gases through their spiracles which dissolve in the fluid within the tracheoles and then diffuse into the insect tissues. The blood of insects does not carry respiratory gases.

The fish also need oxygen; they obtain it from water which they take in through the mouth, to the gills and pass it out through the operculum. As the water passes through the gills gas exchange takes place.

 In the frogs and toads (amphibians) while young, they use the skin surface to do gaseous exchange. When they grow into adults, they use three surfaces; the skin, buccal cavity and the lungs. The skin is thin, moist, has very many blood capillaries to carry away the gases.

The humans use lungs for gaseous exchange; but they do not start like that. In the oviduct the few cells that form after fertilization simply need diffusion to do gaseous exchange. When cells multiply in number, many of them get covered by those on the surface, so they fail to receive oxygen. However, before the cells get that failure, the umbilical cord develops to supply oxygen to the growing baby until when it is born.

When the human baby is born, it starts breathing with its lungs for the first time. Medical works and all those that give help to the delivering mothers do their best to stimulate the breathing system of the babies. This they to see the baby cry so that it’s breathing system opens and inflate their lungs for the first time. I have heard that when mothers don’t hear there babies cry after delivery, they worry so much and are very inquisitive to know whether their babies are alive.

Oxygen gas is produced by plants in the process of photosynthesis. The animals then use oxygen to respire. Respiration is oxidation of food to release energy. The air we take in needs to be very clean if the system is not to get disturbed.

The human breathing system starts with the nose, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and finally the alveoli (air sacs) where gaseous exchange takes place. In the nasal cavity are hairs called cilia and mucus secreting cells. The cilia trap dust particles that are found in the air that we breathe in and sweep it out. The mucus also traps dust, lubricates the nasal cavity and moistens the air. When the environment is very dusty, we sneeze a lot because much mucus is automatically secreted to trap the too much dust from getting into the lungs.

The human breathing system works with the blood circulatory system which distributes the oxygen to all cells that need it. To be very exact, all living cells need oxygen to survive.

In hospitals people who have failed to breath are put onto oxygen tubes to aid their breathing artificially. Other situations such as drowning, electric shocks, accidents may also impair the breathing system. These also require urgent help to recover their breathing. If we delay to rescue them they are gone.

Human life has great value; we can’t simply let it go.  

I now appeal to everyone who reads this article to live in a clean environment. Besides dust, the air we breathe in may contain germs that cause respiratory diseases. All those can be reduced if we are alert and aware of the impending problems from a dirty environment.

Stay away from dirty dusty roads; areas with too much smoke and dusty homes. Make sure your courtyard is clean; the house rooms are properly swept and mopped. Ventilate your houses well; it is a healthy precaution. Fresh and clean air is important for our well being.