Nitrogen is a significant part of the atmosphere.
Nitrogen makes up nearly four-fifths of the atmosphere. It has no color, odor or taste, and under normal conditions, it’s largely inert. Yet the gas significantly affects respiration, sometimes through its very inertness and sometimes through its effect on the body. Other organisms even respire nitrogen itself.
Diluting Oxygen
Doctors administer pure oxygen to patients who need it, but prolonged exposure produces oxygen toxicity, causing alveoli to collapse and fluid to collect in the lungs. High oxygen levels also damage other organs, including the kidneys. Nitrogen’s presence reduces the proportion of oxygen in the air, preventing the harmful effects of breathing undiluted oxygen.
Hypoxia
Elevated nitrogen levels, though, excessively crowd out oxygen. This causes hypoxia or, when no oxygen at all reaches tissues, anoxia. Cerebral hypoxia--when insufficient oxygen reaches the brain--causes inattentiveness, memory loss and decreased motor coordination.
After long periods with increased nitrogen in the air, the body produces extra red blood cells. The athletic community began noticing this phenomenon at Mexico City’s 1968 Olympics, which took place at over 7,000 feet above sea level. Most participants performed unusually poorly, but local competitors performed well. Athletes now sometimes live at high altitudes till their bodies adapt, increasing their speed and endurance at normal oxygen levels.
Nitrogen Narcosis
Though a relatively inert gas, nitrogen affects bodies that absorb it. At depths of at least 100 feet, divers who breathe compressed air absorb nitrogen as well as oxygen, leading to nitrogen narcosis. The nitrogen intoxicates them, impairing judgment and encouraging dangerous behavior. Divers describe this mild euphoria as similar to the effects of alcohol or Valium, referring to narcosis as "rapture of the deep" or "the martini effect." Ascending from the water reverses narcosis fully.
Decompression Sickness
Nitrogen threatens divers while underwater, but ascending quickly poses its own risks. When pressure acting on divers quickly drops, dissolved nitrogen forms bubbles in blood. Symptoms include joint pain, muscle pain, itching, weakness and dizziness. Decompression also affects breathing, congesting the lungs and causing coughing and choking. This can kill the sufferer. To prevent decompression sickness, also known as "the bends," divers ascend slowly, taking frequent breaks.
Nitrogen Respiration
Despite all the ways nitrogen affects oxygen respiration, some organisms respire using nitrogen itself. Denitrifying bacteria metabolize nitrogen oxides. They convert nitrite salts to nitric oxide gas, and other bacteria convert this gas to nitrogen and oxygen. A different variety of bacteria reverse this process, metabolizing nitrogen and ammonium salts.
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