Vertebrate Breathing (10 Minute Version)

Vertebrate Breathing (10 Minute Version)

To the tune of “All Too Well (10 Minute Version)” by Taylor Swift
Listen to the original version here

[Verse 1]
When hagfish are breathing
Water enters the buccal cavity
The velum contracts forcing water
Over the gills then out once more

[Verse 2]
In lamprey water enters the mouth
Muscles in each gill slit force it out
However, when the lamprey are feeding
They switch over to tidal breathing

[Pre-Chorus]
Cartilaginous fishes
Will use a buccal pump 
To ventilate their gills
Oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]
Flow of respiratory media
Is pulsatile because they only have one pump
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups will breathe

[Verse 3]
Actinopterygians solve this problem
By using a two pump system
The buccal cavity and operculum 
They rely on both force and suction
During ramjet ventilation, respiration
Work of moving the respiratory media
Is performed by the muscles which control 
Locomotion not respiration 
This requires a swimming speed, for these species
That is very fast which increases drag
This is the trade off, it’s the pay off 
But they take in oxygen, by holding their mouths open

[Pre-Chorus]
Lungfish and amphibians
Use a buccal pump
To swallow air into their lung
Oh, oh, oh

[Chorus]
They control air flow by closing
Their glottis valve which separates this opening
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups will breathe
Muscles that surround the lung
Allow for expansion and contraction
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups will breathe

[Bridge]
Suction ventilation
Is used by amniotes
Who separate their breathing
And feeding muscles 
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups will breathe
The mammalian lung is tubes that branch
Ending in alveoli that are blind ended
Air can only exit the lung the same way (way, way)

[Verse 4]
This tidal breathing causes the mixing 
Of fresh and stale air inside the lung
Mammals cannot empty the lungs in one cycle of breathing
Reducing efficiency
Alternatively in sauropsids
Lung morphology is highly diverse, they vary in structure
Some have only a single chamber, limited area for gas exchange
To occur
But some sauropsids have multiple
Chambers making up their lungs
Undulatory movement means that their breathing
Can only be done intermittently

[Verse 5]
Bird lungs are the most efficient
While breathing air capillaries do not expand
This allows their lungs and their blood capillaries
To be optimal morphologically
Air sacs that are attached to lung
Are what will expand during ventilation
This is how
Different vertebrate groups will breathe

[Chorus]
Bird lung organization
Allows for unidirectional ventilation
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups will breathe
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups
We know now, this how 
Different vertebrate groups will breathe

[Verse 6]
Crocodilian ventilation
Involves features that share homology
With the structures found in birds
Like the dorso, ventro, and parabronchi
Their pattern of airflow
Is also unidirectional
Even lepidosaur lungs
Can use this pattern of ventilation
It’s likely an exaptation
For respiration

[Outro]
It would reduce water loss in breathing
We now know how different vertebrate groups will breathe
We now know how different vertebrate groups will breathe
We know now this is how, this is how
We know now this is how, this is how
We know now this is how, this is how
This is is how different vertebrate groups will breathe
We know now this is how, this is how
We know now this is how, this is how
We know now this is how, this is how
This is is how different vertebrate groups will breathe