Structure of Airway Flashcards
What are some functions of the respiratory system ?
Primarily gas exchange
pH balance
Speech/vocalisation
Name the structures that form the conducting portion of the respiratory tract
Nose, Nasal cavity, Paranasal sinuses
Pharynx
Larynx
Trachea
Bronchi
Terminal bronchioles
Name the structures that form the respiratory portion of the respiratory tract
Respiratory bronchioles
Alveoli (ducts and sacs)
What is the respiratory portion involved in ?
GAS exchange
Alveoli structures
Large surface area
Rich vascular supply
400 million per lung
What is the nose made up of ?
Cartilage
Muscle
Soft Tissue
Nasal Bone
What structures communicate within the nose ?
Nares (nostrils) communicate with nasal cavities
Function of nasal cavities
Serve to warm, humidify and filter inhaled air.
What does the nasal cavity have to help its function ?
Large surface area
Well vascularised
Mucus and cilia - clear trapped particles
What does smoking do ?
Impairs ciliary function
Position of nasal cavities
Posterior to nose
Structure of nasal cavities
Bony structure covered by respiratory mucosa
Lateral Wall of nasal cavity structures
Ethmoid, inferior nasal concha, maxilla, sphenoid, palatine bone, lacrimal, nasal bone
Medial wall of nasal cavity structures
Septal cartilage, ethmoid, vomer
Roof of nasal cavity structures
Frontal bone
Ethmoid
Sphenoid
What is the olfactory nerve ?
Cranial nerve 1 - CN 1
Olfactory anatomy
Olfactory mucosa –> nerves (which pass through the cribform plate) –> bulb –> tract –> medial and lateral striae –> piriform cortices
What type of epithelial tissue is respiratory mucosa ?
Ciliated pseudostratified columnar epithelium
Structure of respiratory mucosa
Goblet cells
Rich vascular supply and submucosal glands
Function of mucus
Mucus traps foreign particles
Function of cilia
Moves mucus outside of the airway
What is the CN VII
Facial Nerve
What is the CN 1
Special sensory - olfactory nerve