Respiratory system Flashcards
Purpose of the respiratory system?
Contribute to HOMEOSTASIS by allowing for gas exchange (O2 and CO2)
Adjusts the PH of body fluids
(extra info only: also contain receptors for sense of small, filters, vocal sounds, excrete small amounts of water and heat)
What are the 3 basic steps in the respiratory system?
- ventilation (breathing)
- external respiration (pulmonary)
- internal respiration (tissue)
The respiratory system is divided into the upper and lower systems. What are considered the upper and lower organs?
Upper: Larynx and above (nose, nasal cavity and pharynx)
Lower: Larynx and lower (larynx, trachea, airways, lungs)
Functionally the respiratory system can be divided into two systems. What are they called and what are their main functions?
- Conducting zone - filter, warm and moisten air and conduct it to the lungs
- Respiratory zone - gas exchange
The superior olfactory region and inferior respiratory region are divisions of what organ?
The nose
What are the 3 main functions of the nose?
- warm, moisten and filter incoming air
- detect olfactory stimuli
- modify speech vibrations
What type of epithelium is found in the nose?
Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium with goblet cells
Name the functions of the pharynx (throat)
- passageway for food and air
- resonating chamber for speech
- tonsils protect the entryway into the body
What is deglutition?
Swallowing
The larynx (voice box) connects what two parts of the respiratory system?
The pharynx (laryngopharynx) with the trachea
What is the primary function of the larynx?
Voice production
The trachea (windpipe) wall has four layers - what are they?
- Mucosa (protects from dust and foreign particles)
- Submucosa (areolar connective tissue w seromucous glands)
- Hyaline cartilage (cartilage rings that maintain patency)
- Adventita (areolar connective tissue)
Name the branching of the bronchial tree.
- Trachea
- Primary bronchi
- Secondary (Lobar) bronchi
- Tertiary (Segmental) bronchi
- Bronchioles
- Terminal bronchioles
What is the carina?
An internal ridge at the point where the trachea divides into the right and left primary bronchi
What are the two layers of the pleural membrane of the lungs?
Visceral pleura (covers the lungs themselves)
Parietal pleura (lines the thoracic cavity)
How many lobes does the right and left lung have?
Right = 3 (separated by the oblique and horizontal fissures)
Left = 2 (separated by the oblique fissure)
What does the pleural cavity do?
Primary: Reduces friction between the two membranes so they slide over each other in breathing
Bonus: holds the layers together through surface tension
Where do bronchi, pulmonary blood vessels, lymphatic vessels and nerves exit and enter the lungs?
The hilum
A bronchopulmonary segment has many small compartments called LOBULES. Each lobule is wrapped in connective tissue and contains what a lymphatic vessel, an arteriole, a venule and a branch from a terminal bronchiole.
What do the terminal bronchiole subdivide into?
Microscopic branches, called respiratory bronchioles
[These start the respiratory zone]
What do the microscopic airways consist of (in order)?
- terminal bronchioles
- respiratory bronchioles
- alveolar ducts
- alveolar sacs
- alveoli
What are the two main types of cells that make up alveoli and their function, and two minor types of cells?
MAJOR:
>Type I alveolar cells - provide a site for gas exchange
>Type II alveolar cells - secrete fluid to lower surface tension (preventing collapse each expiration)
MINOR:
>Alveolar dust cells - wandering macrophages that remove debris
>Fibroblasts - produce reticular and elastic fibres
How is blood supply maintained in the lungs?
- Arterial supply:
> PULMONARY arteries (deoxygenated blood from the right atrium to the lungs for oxygenation)
> BRONCHIAL arteries (oxygenated blood to lungs) - Venous drainage:
(four pulmonary veins drain into the left atrium) - Ventilation-perfusion coupling:
> Vasoconstriction in response to hypoxia diverse pulmonary blood from poorly ventilated areas of the lungs to well-ventilated regions for more efficient gas exchangen