Respiratory System Flashcards
What is the respiratory system?
The system in the human body that enables us to breathe
Describe the act of breathing
Inhalation and exhalation, which is the absorption of oxygen from the air in order to produce energy, then the discharge of carbon dioxide, which is the byproduct of the process
How many parts of the respiratory system divided into?
Two, the upper and lower respiratory track
What does the upper respiratory tract include?
The nose, mouth and the beginning of the trachea
What does the lower respiratory tract include?
The trachea, the bronchi, bronchioles and the lungs
What is the bronchi?
Extensions of the wind pipe that shuttle air to and from the lungs.
What are bronchioles?
Air passages inside the lungs that branch off like tree limbs from the bronchi
What do bronchioles do?
Deliver air tiny sacs, called alveoli, where oxygen, and carbon dioxide are exchanged
What are alveoli?
Tiny air sacs that sit at the very end of the respiratory tree and exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide molecules to and from the bloodstream
What are the functions of the respiratory system?
- Inhalation and exhalation
- External respiration
- Internal respiration
- Air vibrating the vocal chords to create sound
- Olfaction
What is inhalation and exhalation?
Pulmonary ventilation or breathing
What is external respiration?
The exchange of gases between the lungs and the bloodstream
What is internal respiration?
The exchange of gases between the bloodstream and body tissues
What is olfaction?
Smelling
What are the primary organs of the respiratory system?
The lungs, which carry out the exchange of gases as we breathe
Play the respiratory system game
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What is the lungs main function?
To help oxygen from the air we breathe into the red cells in the blood. They also help the body to get rid of CO2 gas when we breathe out
What are the main processes of lung function?
- Pulmonary ventilation
- Pulmonary diffusion
- Transport of respiratory gases
- Internal respiration
What is pulmonary ventilation?
Also known as breathing, pulmonary ventilation involves air, being inhaled through the nasal and oral cavities, and then moving through the pharynx and larynx and trachea into the lungs. Then exhaled, the air flows back through the same pathway
What is pulmonary diffusion?
The transfer of gases from the lungs to the bloodstream
Describe the transport of respiratory gases
When almost all of the oxygen is carried in the blood by attachment to haemoglobin, a protein in the red blood cells. As oxygen is dissolved in the blood, it rapidly combines with the haemoglobin to form oxyhaemoglobin.
Describe internal respiration
Occurring in the metabolising tissues, internal respiration is where oxygen diffuses out of the blood and carbon dioxide diffuses out of the cells
Describe inspiration
This is when the diaphragm contracts and flattens, which increases volume of chest cavity, and pulls lung walls outwards
When does inspiration occur?
When lung pressure is decreased below atmospheric pressure, and that causes the air to move in the lungs
