Monday, March 29, 2010

Respiratory System


The topic that I’m about to discuss is all about the respiratory system. This lesson answers the questions, how do we breathe? How does air comes in and out of the body? And so many more. So as you read this blog may these answer all of your questions.

Respiratory systems primary function is to bring O2 from he atmosphere into h bloodstream and to remove gaseous waste CO2 responsible or providing all o the body’s O2 needs and removing CO2. There are different components of the respiratory system they are two lungs, upper and lower airways, terminal sacs, thoracic cages and muscles.

Breathing is the movement of gas from the atmosphere deep into the lungs. There are two different processes involve in breathing, respiration and ventilation. Respiration is the process of gas exchange in which O2 is added to the blood and CO2 is removed. Ventilation is the bulk movement of the air to the terminal end of the lungs where the actual gas exchange takes place.

Respiration has two type external and internal respiration. External respiration is the gas exchange between the blood and the air while internal respiration is the process of gas exchange where oxygenated blood is transported intentionally via the cardiovascular system to the cells and tissues and CO2 moves into the cells as CO2 is removed.

There are different parts of the respiratory system. These are the bronchi or bronchioles, alveoli, and alveolar. Bronchi and bronchioles are the branching tubes that support the atmosphere gas deep within the lungs. Alveoli are a small air sac, terminal end of the respiratory system. Lastly, alveolar is the combination of alveoli and capillary membrane. It’s where the actual gas exchange takes place.



The upper respiratory tract has different functions. These are heating and cooling inspired gases to the body temperature, filtering particles from inhaled gases, humidifying inspired gasses to a relative humidity 100%, olfaction, phonation, and ventilating the gas down to the lower airways.



The nasal cavity has three main regions. The first region is the vestibular region it is located inside the nostril and contains the vibrissae covered with sebum. The next region is the olfactory region which is located on the roof of the nasal cavity it also keeps inspired gases into the region and does not allow it to reach deeper into the lungs. The last region is the respiratory region which warms and moistens air. It contains turbinates or conchae which are the thee-scroll like bones that split up gases into three channels to provide more surface area. The septal cartilage is the wall separating the two nasal cavities.




Pharynx also called the throat is a hallow muscular structure lived with epithelial tissues. Pharynx has three different sections the nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx. Nasopharynx is the uppermost section of the pharynx. It begins right behind the nasal cavities. It contains lymphatic tissue of the immune system and passageways to the middle ear. The next section is the oropharynx which is located right behind the oral buccal cavity. Anything swallowed passes through this section. It also contains palatines tonsils. The lower most portion of the pharynx is the laryngopharynx which is also called the voice box. It is the semi-rigid composed of cartilage.



The lower respiratory tract refers to the portions of the respiratory system from the trachea to the lungs. The "lower respiratory tract" consists of the lower part of the respiratory system. This consists of the larynx (voice box), trachea (wind pipe), bronchial tubes, bronchioles, and lungs. The larynx is not just our voice box; it also serves as protection for our trachea. The larynx has a flap called the epiglottis which prevents food and water from entering our lungs when we breathe. If the epiglottis does not close when swallowing food or water, there is an involuntary reaction to cough. The larynx also has cilia. The tracheal tube, consists of cartilage, and is the largest tube in the respiratory system. At the bottom of the tube, it branches off into two individual tubes, called the bronchial tubes. The bronchial tubes then branch off into smaller sections inside the lungs called bronchioles. These bronchia’s hold the air sacs in the lungs called the alveoli. The lungs are the biggest organ in the lower respiratory tract. The diaphragm is the main muscle involved for the lungs to breathe and is the largest muscle. There are smaller muscles in between our rib cage that help the lungs expand and contract.

This lesson was not clearly discussed by the reporter because there were no visual aid was used or even presentation. But our professor was able to discuss the lecture clearly. We wrote the lecture written on the board written by our professor. I wasn’t able to answer properly the check up quiz because I didn’t fully understand the report. Overall, the lesson was interesting and educational of course. It’s wonderful to know that there was knowledge shared by the book.

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