Respiratory System

Question 1

What are the primary functions of the respiratory system?

Answer 1

Respiration (internal or external); homeostatic regulation of body pH (by selectively retaining or releasing CO2; if it gets too basic it can affect breathing); defends against microbes (traps and destroys harmful pathogens in inhaled air); modifies arterial concentrations of chemical messengers (such as ACE; removes and inactivates some messengers/ezymes; produces or actives others (eg. angiotensin I -> angiotensin II)); vocalization (moving air across vocal chords); sense of smell (explains why things often taste how they smell); others include heat loss and water conservation