Respiratory System - Mod 4 Flashcards
What is the general function of the respiratory tract?
It carries air to and from the lungs.
What is the function of the pleural membrane?
It is a double membrane that protects the lungs
What are the two layers of the pleural membrane?
Parietal pleura - superficial layer lining the walls of the thoracic cavity
Visceral pleura - thin layer directly covering the lungs
What is the function of pleural fluid, and where is it found?
Fluid found between the two layers of the pleural membrane, reducing friction between the layers to allow the lungs to slide smoothly over the thoracic wall.
What structures make up the upper respiratory tract?
The nasal cavity, pharynx, and their associated structures.
What separates the nasal cavity from the oral cavity?
The palate (hard and soft palate)
What are paranasal sinuses, and what is their function?
They are small, irregular air filled spaces lined with mucous membrane and function to lighten the skull and give the voice resonance.
What is the function of the mucosa lining the paranasal sinuses?
To warm and moisten the air.
What are the three parts of the pharynx?
Nasopharynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx.
What is the pharynx?
A muscular tube lined with mucosa membrane, joining the nasal and oral cavities to the esophagus and larynx.
The pharynx is the throat.
What is the general function of the tonsils?
They are part of the immune system that protects the body from infection.
What is tonsillitis?
Acute inflammation of the palatine tonsils
What are the three types of tonsils that are located in the pharynx?
The palatine tonsils, pharyngeal tonsils (adenoid), and lingual tonsils.
What structures make up the lower respiratory tract?
The larynx, bronchial tree, lungs, and their associated structures.
What is the larynx, and what is it made of?
The voice box, a cartilaginous structure composed of one thyroid, one cricoid, one epiglottis, and two arytenoid cartilages.
What is the function of the larynx?
Protects the airway, closes/seals the lower respiratory tract, and supports voice production.
What is the function of thyroid cartilage?
It houses and protects the vocal cords.
What is the function of the epiglottis during swallowing?
It moves downwards to block off the entrance to the larynx, ensuring food does not enter the airway.
What is the function of the arytenoid cartilages?
They tighten or slacken the vocal ligaments allowing us to change the pitch of our voice.
Where does the bronchial tree begin and end?
It originates beneath the larynx, as the trachea, and descends through the thorax, branching and ending as millions of alveolar sacs.
At what level does the trachea begin?
At C6, below the cricoid cartilage of the larynx.
What is the carina and what is its function?
A thick, incomplete cartilage ring between the two primary bronchi, where the trachea splits.
It functions to direct the air into each bronchi during respiration.
What are the alveoli and what do they contain?
They are air filled sacs rich in blood supply, and they contain surfactant and macrophages.
What is the function of the surfactant in the alveoli?
They prevent the alveoli from collapsing.
What is the function of the macrophages in the alveoli?
They phagocytose foreign particles and debris, killing bacteria that have entered the lungs and have been trapped on the moist walls.
At what level do the principal bronchi branch off the trachea, and where do they travel?
At T4, traveling to the lungs through the hilum.
How many secondary bronchi are there?
There is one for each lobe of the lungs: two left and three right.
How many tertiary bronchi are there in each lung?
There are ten in the right lung and eight in the left lung.
What are the bronchioles made of and what is their function?
Made of smooth muscle and a fibroelastic membrane (usually no cartilage), and they control the resistance to airflow and the distribution of air in the lungs.
How many lobes does each lung have?
The left lung has two lobes and the right lung has three lobes.
How do the lungs receive and send blood?
They receive deoxygenated blood from the pulmonary arteries and they send oxygenated blood away from the lungs to the heart through the pulmonary veins.
What do the bronchial arteries supply?
They supply oxygenated blood to the lung tissue.
What enters and exits the lungs at the hilum?
The principal bronchi, and the pulmonary and bronchial blood vessels.
What structure within the larynx is responsible for producing sound?
The vocal folds (vocal cords)
How is sound produced by the vocal folds?
By bringing the vocal folds together and driving air from the lungs through them, forcing them apart and to vibrate, producing sound.
What is the rima glottidis?
The space between the vocal cords.
What happens to the vocal folds during adduction?
They move together, closing the rima glottidis during voice production.
What happens to the vocal folds during abduction?
They move apart, opening the rima glottidis during inhalation.
What is the average vocal frequency in males?
About 120 Hz
What is the average vocal frequency in females?
About 200 Hz
What happens when the vocal folds lengthen?
The cricothyroid muscle contracts, stretching and lengthening the vocal folds, which increases the vibration frequency and raises the pitch of the voice.
What happens when the vocal folds shorten?
The thyroarytenoid muscle contracts, thickening and shortening the vocal folds, which decreases the vibration frequency and lowers the pitch of the voice.
What are the main muscles of ventilation?
The diaphragm and the intercostal muscles.
What is Boyle’s law?
A gas law which states that the pressure of a gas in a closed container is inversely proportional to the volume of the container:
- volume decrease = gas pressure increase
- volume increase = gas pressure decrease
