Respiratory System

• Bronch, bronchi - Airway 
• Glott - Opening into the windpipe
• Laryng - Voice box, larynx
• Ox -

  oxygen
• Pleur -

  Pleura, rib
• Pneum; pneumon - Lung, air

  Pulmon - lung
• Rhin -

  nose
• Sphyx -

  pulse
• Spir -

  breathe
• Thorac -

  Chest, thorax
• Trache -

  Windpipe, trachea
• Tubercul -

  Little swelling
• Eu-

  Normal or good
• -capnia

  Condition of carbon dioxide
• -meter

  Measuring device

  -metry

  measurement
• -oxia

  Condition of oxygen
• -pnea

  breath
• -ptysis

  To cough up
• -staxis

  dripping
• Apnea

  • Inability to breathe or exhale. 

  Dyspnea

  • Difficult breathing. Usually caused by a respiratory disease or cardiac disorder. 

  Eupnea

  • Normal breathing rhythm.
• Epistaxis

  • Nosebleed. This could be a sign of high blood pressure, a sinus infection, inhalation of an irritant, or blow to the face. 
  • also called rhinorrhagia. 
• Hemoptysis

  • Coughing up and spitting out blood. 

  Hematemesis

  • vomiting of blood
• Hemothorax

  • When blood pools within the pleural cavity surrounding the lungs. 
• Hyperpnea

  • Abnormal deep breathing such as found in emphysema patients, OR abnormally rapid breathing commonly called hyperventilation, as found in heart failure or anxiety attacks. 

  Hypopnea 

  • The opposite (of hyperpnea), or shallow breathing. 
• Hypoxemia

  • Abnormally low levels of oxygen in the blood. When abnormally low levels of oxygen are found throughout the body, the term may be changed to hypoxia. 
• Sputum

  • The expectorant that is coughed up from the lungs. It may contain mucus, inhaled particles, pus, or blood.
• Asphyxia

  • The absence of respiratory ventilation…suffocation
• Asthma

  • an inflammatory response to an allergic substance by the lungs, characterized by narrowing of the bronchioles and formation of mucus plugs.
  • Symptoms include wheezing, shortness of breath, chest pain, and coughing. 
• Bronchitis

  • Inflammation of the bronchi, often associated with a respiratory tract infection.
  • Symptoms may include coughing, chest pain, and sputum. 
  • Chronic bronchitis may be the result of smoking.
• Coryza

  • A non-constructed term of Greek origin, it is the common cold accompanied by a runny nose. 
  • It is caused by a virus infecting the upper respiratory tract, and may also be called rhinitis.
• Croup

  • A viral infectious disease obstructing the larynx and producing a coarse, barking cough in infants and young children. 
  • Involves a narrowing of the upper trachea…

  ”the steeple sign” 
• Pertussis

  • A similar infection affecting the larynx, trachea, and bronchi is found in all ages, and is commonly called the whooping cough. 
  • The larynx spasms at the end of the cough, producing a characteristic noise.
• Emphysema

  • The alveolar walls deteriorate and lose elasticity, often the result of smoking. 
  • the formation of a barrel chest due to labored breathing, and hypoxemia.
• Pleuritis

  • Inflammation of the pleural membranes, also called pleurisy.
• Pneumonia

  • Inflammation of the soft lung tissue that results in the formation of fluid within the alveoli. This interferes with the exchange of gases.
• Aspiration

  • Using suction to remove fluid, air, or foreign bodies. 
  • During dental procedures, aspiring fluid from joint, bone marrow, etc.
• Nebulizer

  • A non-constructed word derived from the Latin word for “fog”. This is a device used to convert a liquid medication to a mist that can be inhaled into the lungs by deep breathing.
• Oximetry

  • A procedure that measures oxygen levels in the blood. It uses an instrument called an oximeter.
• A pulse oximeter provides this information (oxygen levels) via non-invasive contact with a finger.
• Rhinoplasty

  • Surgical repair of the nose, often performed during cosmetic surgery to improve the appearance of the nose.

  Septoplasty - is surgery to repair a deviation of the nasal septum to improve breathing.