Parts of the Gas Exchange System

Question 1

Trachea

Answer 1

This is also called the windpipe. This tube runs from the mouth, down the throat towards the lungs. It is lined with rings of cartilage which keep it open at all times.

Question 2

Bronchus

Answer 2

The trachea splits into a left and right bronchus (plural: bronchi), each leads to a lung.

Question 3

Bronchiole

Answer 3

Each bronchus splits again and again into thousands of smaller tubes called bronchioles which take the air deeper into the lungs.

Question 4

Alveoli

Answer 4

At the ends of bronchioles are tiny air sacs called alveoli. Here oxygen moves into the blood and carbon dioxide moves out.

Question 5

Intercostal muscles

Answer 5

These muscles run between the ribs and form the chest wall. They contract and relax with the diaphragm when a person breathes.

Question 6

Diaphragm

Answer 6

The diaphragm is a dome-shaped, flat sheet of muscle under the lungs. It contracts and relaxes with the intercostal muscles during breathing.