Respiratory System

Steps of Respiration (in mammalians)

1. Air passes through enlarged nostrils and is            warmed in nasal cavity/sinuses

2. Air passes through larynx and trachea

3. The air is split between two bronchi at the            bottom of the trachea

4. Air moves down the bronchi to the alveoli where capillaries are located.

5. Blood passing through the capillaries                    discharges carbon dioxide into the alveoli and takes in oxygen from the air The air is diffused into the lungs where volume capacity is large enough to fulfill the massive needs of the muscles necessary for                        acceleration. The enlarged heart allows for  an increase of blood flow.

The respiratory system is very similar to that of a human, but is greatly enhanced in order for the StormCat to preform its abilities. Enlarged nostrils, sinuses, lungs and heart allow them to deliver oxygen to the muscles more effectively. Respiration rate goes from 50 to 160 breaths per minute, which is more than twice that of human capacity.

A StormCat's muscles contain a vast amount of fast twitch fibers, which consequently respire anaerobically. Because large amounts of oxygen are not readily stored in fast-twitch muscles, rapid respiration is required for a high-intensity output of activity. Duration of activity is limited to the amount of ATP that anaerobic respiration can provide.

Although it seems as though the adaptation for rapid oxygen flow in even StormCat respiration acts as an overcompensating mechanism to ensure that although most of the muscles do not require oxygen, when ATP is depleted, slow twitch muscles will be viable to take over. 

the Heart of a StormCat

The structure of a StormCat's Heart is almost identical to a human heart, but larger in size, (8.5 inches long, 6.2 inches wide. Weighing 4.2  pounds) it has four rooms in which blood passes through in respiration. But the one thing StormCats have that other beings do not, is a central fifth room in their heart that houses the "Soul Spark."

All StormCats have a Soul Spark at the center of their heart, that emits energy throughout the body. The Soul Spark is what keeps a StormCat alive and gives them immortality. interestingly, the Soul Spark is made up of the same energy and the aether-real essence that make up the soul in any other being, but takes on a physical form. The Soul Spark can give off heat and keeps a StormCat warm, reguardless of the outside temperature and the environment a StormCat may be in.

A Human heart next to a StormCat heart

(Not to full scale)

the Soul Spark is visible at the Heart's center 

The same spiritual energies that make up one's soul take on the physical form

that is 'the Soul Spark' in StormCats.