Respiratory

• Respiratory System


  Network of organs and tissues that help you breathe
• Parts of the Respiratory System

  • Nose
  • Pharynx
  • Larynx
  • Trachea
  • Bronchi
  • Lungs
• Nose


  • Serves as an air passageway
  • Warms and moistens inhaled air
  • Cilia and mucous membrane trap dust, pollen, bacteria, and foreign matter
  • Contains olfactory receptors, which smell odors
  • Aids in phonation and the quality of voice
• Pharynx

  • Muscular and membranous tube about 5 inches long, extending downward from the base of the skull
  • Contains 7 openings
  • Serves as a passageway for air
  • Serves as a passageway for food
  • Aids in phonation by changing its shape
• Larynx


  • Commonly called the voicebox
  • Located at the upper end of the trachea, below the root of the tongue and hyoid bone
  • Lined with mucous membrane
  • Contains vocal cords which produce sound
• Trachea

  • Smooth, muscular tube leading from the larynx to the main bronchi
  • Lined with cilia (hairs) which sweep foreign matter out of the pathway
  • About 1 inch in diameter and 4 1/2 inches long
  • Divides into the right bronchus and the left bronchus
• Bronchi

  • The two main branches at the bottom of the trachea, providing passageway for air to the lungs
  • Divide further into the bronchial tree
• Lungs

  • Two spongy organs located in the thorax
  • Consist of elastic tissue, filled with an interlacing network of tubes and sacs that carry air and blood vessels that carry blood
  • Each lung is divided into lobes, the right lung into 3 lobes and the left lung into 2
  • Contain about 300 million alveoli sacs, which are the air cells where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place with the capillaries
• Diaphragm

  • Muscular wall separating the thorax from the abdominal cavity
  • Involved in respiration, drawing downward in the chest during inhalation, and pushing upward during exhalation
• Tidal volume


  The amount of air inhaled or exhaled during normal breathing, about 500 ml
• Total lung capacity

  3.6-9.4 liters in an average male
• If a foreign body is inhaled or aspirated (drawn by suction), it usually lodges in the larger right bronchi or enters the right lung
• The left bronchi is smaller than the right bronchi, because room is needed to accommodate the heart
• In the presence of infection, the bronchi sometimes become inflamed, resulting in a diagnosis of bronchitis
• If both lungs are involved in pneumonia, it is termed as double pneumonia
• If someone is unconscious, it's possible to aspirate stomach contents into the lungs, causing aspiration pneumonia
• Pathogens, white cells and immune proteins present during an infection may cause the air sacs to become inflamed and filled with fluid
• Normal respiration rate

  20-25 breaths per minute for a 5 year old, 15-20 breaths per minute for someone 15 years or older
• Conditions that can affect the respiratory system

  • Allergies
  • Asthma
  • Infection (pneumonia, bronchitis)
  • Disease (lung cancer, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)
  • Aging
  • Damage
• How to keep the respiratory system healthy

  • Avoid pollutants
  • Avoid smoking
  • Eat a healthy diet
  • Exercise regularly
  • Prevent infections