The Respiratory System

Functions of the Respiratory System 1) Moves oxygen from the outside environment into the body, 2) Removes carbon dioxide and water from the body. This is a cartoony image of your lungs, the main organs of the respiratory system!

Why the Body Needs Oxygen Your body needs oxygen to keep you alive, right? But why? Oxygen is a key player in respiration. Respiration is not breathing! Respiration is the process in which oxygen and glucose undergo a complex series of chemical reactions inside cells. This process of respiration is how your body creates energy for itself! Pretty cool, huh?

Did You Know? The air you are breathing in right now is made of a mixture of gases. Only about 21% of the air is oxygen. 78% is nitrogen. What percentage are we up to? The remaining 1% is made up of carbon dioxide, helium, and various other gases.

Components of the Upper Respiratory Tract Figure 10.2

Upper Respiratory Tract Functions Passageway for respiration Receptors for smell Filters incoming air to filter larger foreign material Moistens and warms incoming air Resonating chambers for voice

Components of the Lower Respiratory Tract Figure 10.3

Lower Respiratory Tract Functions: Larynx: maintains an open airway, routes food and air appropriately, assists in sound production Trachea: transports air to and from lungs Bronchi: branch into lungs Lungs: transport air to alveoli for gas exchange

Nose Functions Heats the air you breathe in. Produces mucus that traps dust and bacteria. Contains cilia (hairs) that sweep the mucus into the throat Causes you to sneeze so that dust particles and bacteria leave the body.

Pharynx (FAR ingks) Known as your throat Shared with the digestive system Both nose and mouth connect at the pharynx.

Trachea (TRAY kee uh) Known as your windpipe. Made of thick rings of cartilage that remain firm to strengthen the trachea and keep it open. Why do you think it’s not squishy like the esophagus? Also lined with cilia and mucus Allows you to cough if there are dust or bacteria irritating your windpipe.

Bronchi & Lungs Bronchi are the two main branches that lead to the lungs Bronchitis sound familiar? Each bronchus leads into a lung where it branches out into smaller and smaller branches. At the ends of the smallest tubes are bundles of “grapes” called alveoli. Alveoli are tiny sacs of lung tissue specialized for the movement of gases between air and blood.

Gas Exchange After air enters the alveoli, oxygen passes through the wall of the alveoli and through the wall of a tiny blood vessel. Carbon dioxide and water pass from the blood into the alveoli.

Diaphragm A large dome-shaped muscle that plays an important role in breathing located at the base of the lungs. When you breathe in, the diaphragm moves down. When you breathe out, the diaphragm moves up.

Larynx (LAR ingks) Known as the voice box at the top of your trachea. Holds your vocal chords which produce your voice. Think of the way a balloon squeaks when you let air through the neck. That’s kind of how your vocal chords work. Muscles makes your vocal chords contract and the movement makes the air molecules vibrate and create a sound!

Respiratory Cycle Figure 10.9

How Respiration Works 1. As you breath in, air enters either the nose or mouth 2. Air then passes through the larynx – voice box which contains your vocal cords See Them In Action! 3. We then enter the trachea – or windpipe Lung Function Explanation 4. The trachea extends into two tubes which lead into the lungs – these are called bronchi

How Respiration Works 5. The bronchi are broken down into smaller passageways called bronchioles a. think of this as a tree with branches 6. Air then enters alveoli – tiny sacs at the end of bronchioles A. This is where external respiration takes place!!! Let's Check it out...

How Respiration Works 7. From here, O2 is transferred to capillaries – tiny vessels that surround each alveolis 8. A vein takes O2 to the cell 9. The cell uses O2 for energy. When this happens CO2 is produced. The body needs to get rid of CO2. This process is called internal respiration! 10. CO2 goes back to lungs through an artery 11. The same process occurs in reverse! Inside The Lungs...

Lets put it all together… 1. Air comes in the nose or mouth 2. Larynx 3. Trachea 4. Bronchi (in lungs) 5. Bronchioles 6. Alveoli (external respiration) 7. Capillaries 8. Vein 9. Cell (Internal Respiration) RED- WITH O2 BLUE- IS WITHOUT O2 (CO2) 10. Artery 11. Capillaries 12. Alveoli 13. Bronchioles 14. Bronchi 15. Trachea 16. Larynx 17. Out nose or mouth

Some more terms… 1. Pleura – thin mucous membrane film that covers the lungs 2. Diaphragm – muscle which separates the lungs from the abdominal cavity 3. Cilia – tiny hairs that line the respiratory tract to filter dust and other bacteria from inhaled air.

What do CELLS have to do with RESPIRATORY SYSTEM? Hemoglobin Cells take in OXYGEN (O2) Cells use the oxygen to BURN digested FOOD and MAKE HEAT and ENERGY. Cells give off CARBON DIOXIDE (CO2). This process is called RESPIRATION. CO2 glucose energy O2 water

All of our body systems work together…. Now we know that our respiratory system inhales oxygen for us when we breathe, but that oxygen wouldn’t go anywhere without the help of our circulatory system. Also, our bodies couldn’t carry out respiration without glucose (sugar) that our digestive system breaks down.

Transport Hemoglobin actively binds to dissolved oxygen, removing it from plasma and enabling diffusion from the alveoli to continue. Hemoglobin binds with so much oxygen that it increases blood’s oxygen-carrying capacity more than 60 times.

Transport When carbon dioxide diffuses from body tissues to capillaries, most of it enters red blood cells and combines with water, forming carbonic acid. The rest of it dissolves in plasma or binds to hemoglobin and proteins in plasma. These processes are reversed in the lungs, where carbon dioxide is released into alveoli and exhaled.

Organs in the Respiratory System STRUCTURE FUNCTION nose / nasal cavity  warms, moistens, & filters air as it is inhaled pharynx (throat)  passageway for air, leads to trachea larynx  the voice box, where vocal chords are located trachea (windpipe)  keeps the windpipe "open"  trachea is lined with fine hairs called cilia which filter air before it reaches the lungs bronchi  two branches at the end of the trachea, each lead to a lung bronchioles  a network of smaller branches leading from the bronchi into the lung tissue & ultimately to air sacs alveoli  the functional respiratory units in the lung where gases are exchanged

Malfunctions & Diseases of the Respiratory System asthma severe allergic reaction characterized by the constriction of bronchioles  bronchitis inflammation of the lining of the bronchioles emphysema condition in which the alveoli deteriorate, causing the lungs to lose their elasticity pneumonia condition in which the alveoli become filled with fluid, preventing the exchange of gases lung cancer irregular & uncontrolled growth of tumors in the lung tissue

Four Respiration Processes Breathing (ventilation): air in to and out of lungs External respiration: gas exchange between air and blood Internal respiration: gas exchange between blood and tissues Cellular respiration: oxygen use to produce ATP, carbon dioxide as waste