4.1 The Upper Respiratory Tract Flashcards
Is the larynx in the upper or lower airways?
Upper (of course)
Fundamentally, what are tonsils?
Accumulations of lymphatic vessels
What is the name given to the posterior opening of the nasal cavity?
Choanae
What is encompassed within the nasopharynx?
Choanae to soft palate
What is the soft palate?
The muscular (not bony) part of the back of the roof of the mouth.
What is encompassed within the oropharynx?
Between the palate and the superior border epiglottis
What is encompassed within the laryngopharynx?
Connects oropharynx and oesophagus.
Posterior to larynx.
Draw the upper airways, including sections of the pharynx
What are the functions of the nasal cavity?
- Conduction of air
- Warming air
- Humidifying air
- Cleaning air (think: mucosa)
- Sense of smell
Is the nasal septum entirely made of cartilage?
No. There is also bone further back. This bone is called the ethmoid bone.
What are the three protrusions on each side of the nasal septum called?
Conchae (means muscle). There are superior, inferior, and middle conchae
Which of the conchae are projections of the ethmoid bone?
Superior and middle
What are the passages between the conchae called?
Nasal Meatus
What do the paranasal sinuses do? What are they?
- They are filled with air
- (finish this one)
What are the four paranasal sinuses?
- Frontal sinuses
- Maxillary sinuses
- Ethmoidal sinuses
- Sphenoid sinuses
What other type of duct is connected to the nasal cavity (think: superhero)
Tear duct. This is why you need a tissue when you cry
Where are the frontal sinuses located?
Lower part of the forehead, over the eye sockets and eyebrows
Which sinuses drain into the ethmoidal bulla?
WHere is the ethmoidal bulla located?
[follow up on trumpet comment]
What is an enlarged pharyngeal tonsil called?
Adenoid
What are the names of the bones in the middle ear?
Look more into the middle ear
Which is the only bone in the body that is not connected to any other bone?
The Hyoid bone.
What membrane connects the hyoid bone and the thyroid cartilage?
Thyrohyoid membrane
What is the pharynx?
A muscular tube.
What are the muscles in the pharynx called?
Pharyngeal constrictor muscles
What are the three pharyngeal constrictor muscles?
- Superior constrictor
- Middle constrictor
- Inferior constrictor
What are the functions of the larynx?
- Separation of digestive tract and airways
- Protection of lower airways
- Conduction of air
- Phonation (voice box)
What is the diameter of the oesophagus?
Less than 1cm. Usually flat; chew carefully.
What is the largest cartilage in the body?
The thyroid cartilage
Why are the flaps of the vocal fold so close together?
So they can vibrate more quickly.
Where are the ethmoid sinuses located?
In the ethmoid bone above the nose and between the eyes.
Where are the maxillary sinuses?
Below the cheeks on the sides of the nose
Where are the sphenoid sinuses located?
Both are behind the nose and between the eyes, in the sphenoid bone.
What is the nasolacrimal duct?
Tear duct
What is the name of a tonsil that is positioned superior to the torus tubarius and inferior to the sphenoid sinuses?
Pharyngeal tonsil
What is the salpingopharyngeus?
The muscle that pulls the pharyngotympanic tube open when swallowing
Why is it useful that small amounts of air are allowed through the pharyngotympanic tube when the salpingopharyngeus is contracted?
Pressure equalisation between the middle ear and the external environment
What is the name of the tube that connects the nasopharynx and the middle ear
Pharyngotympanic tube
What is the name of the type of tonsil that is connected to the posterior surface of the oropharynx?
Palatine tonsils (kind of like Palestine)
What is the name of the tonsil in the oropharnyx that can become inflamed in young children?
Pharyngeal tonsil
What is the name of the tonsils that are located on the posterior surface of the tongue?
Lingual tonsils
What is the name of the muscle that opens the pharyngotympanic tubes? When are these tubes open? Why does air get exchanged through this tube when they are?
- Salpingopharyngeus muscle
- Opens during yawning and swallowing
- Allows pressure regulation
What is the function of the hyoid bone?
Connects tongue and other muscles to:
- Floor of oral cavity
- Epiglottis
- Pharynx
- Larynx
