Respiratory system Flashcards
What is the most basic function of the respiratory system?
Supply the body with oxygen and dispose of carbon dioxide.
What are the four processes involved in respiration?
Pulmonary ventilation/breathing
External respiration
Transport of respiratory gases
Internal respiration
What is external respiration?
Gas exchange between the lungs and blood.
What is internal respiration?
Gas exchange between the blood and tissues.
What does the URT consist of?
Nose, pharynx, larynx
What does the LRT consist of?
Trachea, bronchi and bronchioles, lungs and alveoli
What is the only externally visible part of the RS?
the nose
What are the functions of the nose?
Provide an airway for respiration Moisten and heat up air Filter inhaled air Serve as a resonating chamber for speech Houses olfactory receptors
Why do men have larger noses?
Need more oxygen since they have more muscle mass
Why are our noses smaller than our ancestors?
We isnt as big as they wuz and shit
The nose also _______ _____ when expiring to reuse for the next breath in.
reclaims heat
Nasal cavity
Divided by the _____ _______
continuous with the _________
Bony swelling or ______ on lateral walls subdivide each side of the nasal cavity into passageways called _______
nasal septum
nasopharynx
conchae
meatuses
What do meatuses do?
act to increase the contact between the nasal mucosa and inspired air
Increase surface area for filtering, heating and moistening air
What are the two types of mucous membranes in the nasal cavity?
Olfactory mucosa
respiratory mucosa
Describe the olfactory mucosa.
Near roof of nasal cavity. Houses olfactory (Smell) receptors
Describe the respiratory mucosa. What does it line? What tissue type? What cells are here? How is contaminated mucus expelled?
Lines nasal cavity
Epithelium is pseudostratified ciliated columnar
Goblet cells within epithelium
Cilia move contaminated mucus posteriorly
What does the pharynx connect?
Connects nasal cavity and the mouth to the larynx and esophagus.
What are the three divisions of the pharynx? Where are they located?
Nasopharynx - behind the nose
Oropharynx - behind the mouth
Laryngopharynx - area directly behind the larynx
Nasopharynx
- _______ to the point where food enters
- Closed off during swallowing by the _____
Consists of this tissue type.
Has ________ _______ (aka _______) that destroy entering pathogens from air
Contains the opening to the _______ tube
- _______ ______ is just posterior to this opening
- - Provides the ear with some ________ from ________
Superior uvula Pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium Pharyngeal tonsils (aka adenoids) auditory Tubal tonsil protection against infection
Enlarged _______ can cause snoring
adenoids
The oropharynx and laryngopharynx are both shared passageways for _____ and ____.
This means that they have this type of epithelium.
Food
air
Stratified squamous (non-keratinized)
What are the tonsils int the oropharynx?
Palatine tonsils
The uvula prevents us from doing two things at once. These are?
Breathing and swallowing
What are the three functions of the larynx?
Voice production
Provides an open airway
Routes air and food into the proper channels
When is the superior opening of the larynx closed?
When is it open?
What closes it off?
Closed during swallowing
Open during breathing
Epiglottis will close it off, diverts food to esophagus
What is the epithelium of the larynx?
Upper portion is non-keratinized stratified squamous
bottom portion is pseudostratified ciliated columnar
The larynx is also called what?
Voice box
Describe the act of swallowing in the larynx.
Act of swallowing pushes the largyngeal prominence, raises the epiglottis, tipping it back and forcing food into the esophagus.
What is the laryngeal prominence?
Adam’s apple
What are the cartilages of the larynx?
Thyroid cartilage
Epiglottis (elastic cartilage)
Cricoid cartilage
Pair of arytenoid cartilages
What is the thyroid cartilage?
Forms anterior wall of larynx and laryngeal prominence.
What cartilage is the epiglottis made out of?
Elastic cartilage
What are the vocal ligaments of the larynx?
Vocal folds
Vestibular/ventricular folds
What are the roles of the vocal ligaments?
Vocal folds act in sound production, vestibular folds do not.
Describe voice production.
Vocal folds vibrate across each other to produce sounds.
Length of the vocal folds change with pitch.
- shorter cords vibrate faster, longer chords vibrate slower
Loudness depends on the force of air across the vocal folds.
Why do men’s voices get deeper?
laryngeal prominence moves more anteriorly and stretches out the vocal cords, making them longer
What is voice cracking?
Body’s attempt to gain unconscious control of length, body getting used to slower vibrations.
How does voice get louder?
Air going across the vocal chords faster.
Slower for whispering.
Describe laryngitis.
Infection from a bad cold stimulates inflammation of the larynx causing vocal cords to swell and the voice to become hoarse.
Hoarseness of the voice can also be caused by?
overuse of voice
growths on vocal chords
irritants
paralysis of some laryngeal muscles
How can babies drink and breathe at the same time?
in babies, the epiglottis comes into contact with the soft palate, allowing air to enter the trachea at the same time milk enters the esophagus.
Trachea
Descends into the _______ from the ______
Located ______ to the esophagus
Commonly known as the _______
C-shaped ________ rings keep the airway open
Mediastinum, larynx
anterior
windpipe
cartilage
What is the carina?
Marks where trachea divides into the two primary bronchi
Cough reflex originates here
What are the layers of the trachea?
Mucosa, submucosa, hyaline cartilage, adventitia.
What is the mucosa of the trachea composed of?
The submucosa?
Mucosa - pseudostratified columnar epithelium and goblet cells
submucosa - areolar CT
What are the trachea rings made of?
Hyaline cartilage
What does the adventitia do for the trachea?
binds it to other organs/tissues
What is the trachealis muscle?
regulates the diameter of the trachea to maintain efficient air flow and to expel irritants
Why is it a good idea to have incomplete cartilage rings?
esophagus is generally collapsed but, when it expands due to food, wouldn’t be able to expand unless the rings are C-shaped
What are the two respiratory zones?
Conducting zone - getting to the lungs
Respiratory zone - gas exchange, deep within the lungs
What structures are in the conducting zone? What is the general function?
From the nose to the terminal bronchioles.
Function is to filter, warm, moisten the air and conduct it to the lungs
What structures comprise the respiratory zone?
Respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, alveolar sacs and alveoli
Describe the changes in tissue composition along the conducting pathway.
Cartilage:
C-shaped rings are replaced with irregular cartilage plates
No hyaline cartilage deeper
Epithelium:
Starts off pseudostratified ciliated columnar
Replaced with ciliated simple columnar
Ends with non-ciliated simple cuboidal epithelium
As cartilage decreases, smooth muscle gets more important - bronchodilation and constriction
Structures of the respiratory zone:
- Consists of air-exchanging structures called _______
________ bronchioles branch off of ________ bronchioles and lead to _______ _____ which then lead to ________ ______.
alveoli respiratory terminal alveolar ducts alveolar sacs
What do alveoli consist of?
Type 1 squamous epithelial cells and basal laminae
Type 2 cuboidal epithelial cells
What do alveolar type 1 cells do?
Type 2?
Type 1 - main site of gas exchange
Type 2 - secrete surfactant to reduce surface tension within the alveoli, preventing it from collapsing upon exhalation
Why do premature babies have issues breathing?
Type 2 alveolar cells aren’t fully developed
What are the different layers in terminal bronchioles?
Smooth muscle - control size
Elastic fibres - allow alveoli to stretch
Alveoli: Each alveolus has a tiny \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ \_\_\_\_ associated with it Considered the \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ membrane Made up of \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_ (tissue) \_\_\_\_ cells thick Have associated \_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_\_
capillary bed respiratory endothelium 2 macrophages
What is sighing?
Life-sustaining reflex
- brain stem checking in with respiratory system
What muscles are used for forceful expiration?
Internal intercostal muscles
Inhalers function as what?
Bronchodilaters
What are hiccups?
Diaphragmatic spasm causind a sudden inhalation that is interrupted by a spasmodic closure of the epiglottis, producing a noise
Describe the pleurae.
Double-layered sac surrounding each lung: parietal and visceral
Pleural cavity is the resulting space.
Pleurae help divide the thoracic cavity - mediastinum
What is important about the pleural cavity?
Has serous fluid which lubricates and reduces friction and creates a vaccuum, essential to allow the lungs to expand and contract
When does a pneumothorax occur?
When the vacuum of the lungs is gone, air enters the pleural space.
Lung immediately deflates.
What are the major landmarks of the lungs?
Apex, root, hilum, base
What is the hilum?
What is the root?
Hilum is area where the blood vessels exit, root is the collection of these vessels.
Why is smoking so bad?
In your answer include:
nicotine, carbon monoxide, irritants and carcinogens as well as emphysema
Nicotine constricts terminal bronchioles.
Carbon monoxide binds to Hb.
Irritants cause excess mucus production, inhibit cilia movement and depress macrophage activity
In time, elastic fibres in the lungs are destroyed leading to emphysema
Carcinogens lead to lung cancer by preventing normal cell death/repair
What is emphysema?
Loss of lung elasticity
Trapping of air in alveoli and destruction of the alveoli
What is the density of a cancerous long compared to a normal one?
More dense for the cancerous one
