Anatomy Flashcards
What is included in the upper respiratory tract?
- nasal cavities
- oral cavity
- pharynx
- larynx
What is included in the lower respiratory tract?
- trachea
- right and left main bronchus
- lobar bronchi
- segmental bronchi
- bronchioles
- alveoli
Where does the nasal pharynx lie?
Behind the nasal cavity
Where does the oral pharynx lie?
Behind the oral cavity
Where is the laryngeal pharynx located?
Behind the larynx
Where is the distinction between upper and lower respiratory tracts?
At the body of C6
Where does the pharynx become the oesophagus?
At the body of C6
What does the respiratory tree (bronchial tree) describe?
The anatomy of the lower respiratory tract airways from trachea to alveoli
What is the carina?
The point where the trachea bifurcates into the left and right main bronchus
Describe the lobar bronchi?
They supply the lobes of the lungs, asymmetric.
Describe the segmental bronchi?
- no asymmetry
- ten in each lung
- each supply bronchopulmonary segments in each lung
How many lobes does the right lung have?
Three
How many lobes does the left lung have?
Two
What are fissures?
Deep crevices that separate the lobes form each other
What is a lingua?
A tongue like projection which are extensions of the left upper lobe
Each lung lobe and each bronchopulmonary segment has its own what?
- blood supply
- lymphatic drainage
- nerve supply
Why can surgeons remove a segment of the lung or a whole lobe rather than a whole lung?
Because each lobe and bronchopulmonary segment has its own blood supply, nerve supply and lymphatic drainage
What lines the inside of the bronchial tree (except for the distal bronchioles and alveoli)?
Respiratory epithelium
What is the function of the cilia?
Beat to sweep the mucous (plus any foreign bodies stuck in the mucous) superiorly, towards the pharynx, to be swallowed this is the mucociliary escalator
What is respiratory epithelium characterised by?
White goblet cells and cilia
Why is there no respiratory epithelium in the bronchioles and alveoli? What is the respiratory epithelium replaced by?
So that there can be exchange of gases. It is replaced by smooth muscle
What supports the walls of the trachea and all the bronchi?
The hyaline cartilage
The wheeze is what sound?
The sound made as air passes through constricted (narrowed) airways
What are the main requirements needed to ensure that enough O2 and CO2 can diffuse?
- sufficient functioning lung tissue
- sufficient O2 in the air we breathe in
- no CO2 in the air we breathe in
- minimal thickness of the wall of the alveoli (air sacs) to facilitate gaseous diffusion
- minimal tissue fluid in the tissue spaces around the alveolar capillaries to facilitate gaseous diffusion
What is oedema?
Build up of tissue fluid
Why is excess fluid disruptive?
It disrupts the diffusion of gases
Name some ways in which the respiratory tract may become narrowed
- the bronchioles may constrict eg. asthma
- swelling of the mucosa lining the inside of the respiratory tree and overproduction of mucous eg. asthma
- a growing tumour may externally compress the tract at any point
How many nasal cavities are in the skull?
2
The left and right nasal cavity are separated from each other by what?
The nasal septum
Describe the nasal septum
- bony (posterior) part of the nasal septum ethmoid bone (superiorly) and vomer (inferiorly)
- cartilaginous (anterior) part of the nasal septum
What does each nasal cavity feature?
- a relatively featureless medial wall
- an interestingly featured lateral wall
- a floor (formed from the palate)
- a roof (formed by the midline part of the floor of the anterior cranial fossa)
What does the ‘skeleton’ of the larynx consist of?
- the epiglottis
- the thyroid cartilage
- the circoid cartilage
- the 2 arytenoid cartilages (posteriorly)
What are the functions of the larynx?
- cartilage helps to maintain the patency of the URT
- helps to prevent the entry of foreign bodies into the LRT (the vocal cords)
- produces sound (vocal cords)
What is an inferior continuation of the larynx?
The trachea
What is the epiglottis composed of?
Elastic cartilage