Talk:Breathing

Problem in the "Composition" Section
The quoted composition percentages add up to a number greater than 100%, even if one uses the minima of the quoted intervals. — Preceding unsigned comment added by 82.143.72.187 (talk) 13:19, 28 December 2022 (UTC)

Gases found in the breathing cycle
The following table was in an exam question and I am stumped!!!

Gas             Inhaled air %            Exhaled air %          Alveolar air % Oxygen             20.95                    16.4                    14.45 Carbon dioxide      0.04                     4.1                     6.05 Nitrogen           79.01                    79.5                    79.5 X                 variable                variable                saturated

Question 1a: What is gas X?        1b: Why is this gas essential for the functioning of the cells in the alveoli?

PLEASE HELP someone+

All vertebrates?
The statement "The breathing of all vertebrates with lungs consists of repetitive cycles of inhalation and exhalation through a highly branched system of tubes or airways which lead from the nose to the alveoli." in the article seems a little mammal-specific to me. What are others thoughts? 213.226.67.38 (talk) 12:44, 28 November 2021 (UTC)
 * I will go further. That statement is incorrect. For one obvious case, fish are vertebrates. Also, why would an article just titled "Breathing" be limited to vertebrates? In fact, the proper title for this article is, "Human Breathing". How about frogs and allies (which breathe by essentially swallowing air)? Crocodilians (which breathe by having a tendon move the entire viscera cranially, then caudally? IAmNitpicking (talk) 19:55, 5 February 2023 (UTC)
 * Text says ...of all vertebrates with lungs ... That's hard to argue against. Now, if you have information on non-mammalian vertebrates without lungs, I greatly look forward to reading it. Ex nihil  (talk) 18:24, 6 February 2023 (UTC)
 * So you're saying I should read more carefully? The sentence is still wrong because lungfish have lungs but they don't have that network of branching tubes, but I did screw that up. Actually, lissamphibian lungs also lack alveoli (https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270508248_Lungs_of_the_first_amniotes_Why_simple_if_they_can_be_complex). IAmNitpicking (talk) 12:32, 7 February 2023 (UTC)

No mention of fetal breathing?
This article could use such a section. For anyone with such initiative, How Babies Breathe in the Womb provides some insight. --Kent Dominic·(talk) 15:43, 4 February 2022 (UTC)

"probably"
Article says:
 * The respiratory centers communicate with the muscles of breathing via motor nerves, of which the phrenic nerves, which innervate the diaphragm, are probably the most important.

Is the belief that those nerves are the most important supported by the source given?

If it is, suggest to change are probably to are believed to be.

If it isn't, then that part of the sentence might be a WP:SPECULATION. 2A0D:6FC2:6A92:3F00:0:0:0:5F9 (talk) 10:09, 29 December 2023 (UTC)