The two anatomical divisions of the respiratory system are the upper respiratory system and the lower respiratory system.
Functions of the respiratory system include providing an extensive surface area for gas exchange between blood and air, moving air to and from exchange surfaces, protecting exchange surfaces from environmental variations and pathogens, producing sounds, detecting olfactory stimuli, and indirectly assisting in blood volume regulation and blood pressure through the conversion of angiotensin I to angiotensin II.
The respiratory mucosa lines the conducting portion of the respiratory tract.
The upper respiratory system consists of the nose, nasal cavity, paranasal sinuses, and pharynx.
The rich vascularization to the nose delivers body heat to the nasal cavity, so inhaled air is warmed before it leaves the nasal cavity. The heat also evaporates moisture from the epithelium to humidify the incoming air.
The lining of the nasopharynx, which receives only air from the nasal cavity, is the same as that of the nasal cavity: a pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium. Because the oropharynx and laryngopharynx receive both air from the nasal cavity and potentially abrasive food from the oral cavity, they have a more highly protective lining: a stratified squamous epithelium like that of the skin.
The unpaired laryngeal cartilages include the thyroid cartilage, cricoid cartilage, and epiglottis. The paired cartilages are teh arytenoid cartilages, corniculate cartilages, and cuneiform cartilages.
The highly elastic vocal folds of the larynx are better known as the vocal cords.
When vocal fold tension increases, the pitch of the voices is raised.
The trachea transports air between the larynx and primary bronchi; cilia and the mucus produced by epithelial cells also protect the respiratory tree by trapping inhaled debris and sweeping it toward the pharynx, where it is removed through coughing or swallowing.
The tracheal cartilages are C-shaped to allow space for expansion of the esophagus when food or liquid is swallowed.
Objects are more likely to be lodged in the right bronchus because it is slightly larger and more vertical than the left bronchus.
Without surfactant, the alveoli would collapse as a result of surface tension in the thin layer of water that moistens the alveolar surfaces.
Air passing through the glottis flows into the larynx and through the trachea. From there, the air flows into a primary bronchus, which supplies the lungs. In the lungs, the air passes to bronchi, bronchioles, a terminal bronchiole, a respiratory bronchial, an alveolar duct, an alveolar sac, an alveolus, and ultimately to the respiratory membrane.
The pulmonary arteries supply the gas exchange surfaces; the external carotid arteries, the thyrocervical trunks, and the bronchial arteries supply the conducting portions of the respiratory system.
The pleura is a serous membrane that secretes pleural fluid, which lubricates the opposing parietal and visceral surfaces to prevent friction during breathing.
External respiration includes all the process involved in the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the body’s interstitial fluids and the external environment.
Internal respiration is the absorption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide by the body’s cells.
The integrated steps involved in external respiration are pulmonary ventilation (breathing), gas diffusion, and the transport of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Compliance is the ease with which lungs expand. Factors affecting compliance include:
The pulmonary volumes are resting tidal volume (Vt), expiratory reserve volume (ERV), residual volume, and inspiratory reserve volume (IRV).
When the rib penetrates Mark’s chest wall, atmospheric air enters his thoracic cavity (a condition called pneumothorax), raising the pressure within the pleural cavity. As a result, the natural elasticity of the lung may cause the lung to collapse, a condition called atelectasis.
Because the fluid produced in pneumonia take up space that would normally be occupied by air, vital capacity (the greatest amount of air that can be expelled from the lungs after taking the deepest breath possible) would decrease.
Dalton’s law states that each gas in a mixture exerts a pressure equal to its relative abundance.
Henry’s law states that at a constant temperature, the quantity of a particular gas that will dissolve in a liquid is directly proportional to the partial pressure of that gas.