The Anatomy Of The Respiratory System Flashcards
Where does the body receive its energy from?
Aerobic respiration carried out by mitochondria forming ATP.
What are the nostrils also known as?
Nares
What separates the two nostrils?
The nasal septum
What is the nasal septum formed of?
Cartilage and the ethmoid bone
What is the roof of the nasal cavity made of?
The cribriform plate of the ethmoid bone, frontal bone and nasal bone
What is the floor of the nasal cavity made of?
The roof of the mouth, consisting of the hard and soft palate
What is the hard palate made of?
The maxilla and palatine bones
What is the soft palate made of?
Involuntary muscle
What is the nasal cavity lined with? (2)
Ciliates columnar epithelium to woft the mucus up to the mouth to be swallowed and digested.
Also contains goblet cells that produce the mucus.
What do the posterior nares opening lead to from the nasal cavity?
Pharynx (Nasopharynx)
What are paranasal sinuses?
They are four groups of tiny cavities in the bones of the face and the cranium, containing air.
What are the four main sinuses and where are they located?
Maxillary sinuses in the lateral walls (cheekbones)
Frontal (lower region of forehead) and sphenoidal (bone behind the nose) sinuses in the roof.
Ethmoidal sinuses in the upper part of the lateral walls. (bridge of nose)
What are sinuses involved in?
In speech and also involved in lightening the skull.
They are cavities containing air.
What is the three respiratory functions of the nose?
Warming of the air.
Humidifies the air.
Filters the air.
What are conchas? (2)
There are three different types: inferior, middle and superior nasal concha.
It is responsible for regulating airflow and increases the surface area in the nasal cavity.
How does the nose warm the air? (3)
The concha, AKA turbinates, are responsible for regulating airflow, and increase the SA of the nasal cavity.
Heat from the blood and respiratory a system warms air to body temp as it passes through.
Follows Charles Law which states that as air gets warmer, it expands meaning you will take shallower breaths in colder weather.
What is Charles’ Law?
The volume of gas is directly proportional to its absolute temperature.
( increase in temp - increase in volume).
How does the nose humidify the air? (2)
Mucus from goblet cells keep mucosa (inner lining of oesophagus moist.
Aid travels down mucosa becoming saturated with water vapour.
Why is it important to humidify the air in the nose? (2)
Air in respiratory tract needs to be moist to keep cilia and alveoli moist in order to work effectively and for efficient gas exchange.
Helps feel the alveoli inflated.
How does the nose keep the air filtered? (3)
Large, foreign particles trapped by hairs at anterior nares.
Smaller particles and bacteria trapped in mucus.
Cilia worts mucus filled with particles to pharynx.
What receptors are used to detect smell and where are they located? (3)
Called olfactory receptors.
Located in superior aspects of the nose.
Stimulated by odours.
What is the mouth also known as?
Oral cavity
Is the oral cavity part of respiratory system?
No
What is the mouth lined with?
Stratified squamous epithelium
What is the need of stratified squamous epithelium?
Protects against wear and tear. Eg. From eating
What structure keeps the membrane of the mouth from drying out?
Mucus secreting goblet glands
What is the roof of the mouth made of?
The hard and soft palate
What is the location of the hard and soft palate?
The hard is anterior to the soft.
The soft is posterior to the hard.
Where does the soft palate continue into?
The uvula
What is the uvula?
Fold of muscle that hangs down.
What happens when you swallow? (2)
Soft palate and uvula move upward to block passage to the nose preventing food and saliva entering the nasal cavity.
This is ineffective when laughing and eating at the same time or vomiting.
Where is the palatine tonsils located?
They are located on the lateral aspects of the palatoglossal arches.
What are palatine tonsils?
They are collections of lymphoid tissue responsible for destroying inhaled and ingested pathogens.
What is the tongue?
It is a voluntary muscle
What is the tongue lined with?
Stratified squamous epithelium and papillae which contains taste buds.
Where are salivary glands located?
Outside the oral cavity
What is saliva responsible for? (4)
Lubrication
Cleaning the mouth (enzyme - eg amylase)
Defence
Chemical digestion of food
What is the main problem with the tongue in unconscious patients?
Can obstruct the airways
How long is the pharynx?
12-14 cm long
Where is the pharynx located? (3)
It lies posteriorly to the nasal cavity, oral cavity and the larynx.
It extends from the posterior aspects of the mouth and the nose to the larynx.
It ends with the 6th thoracic vertebrae.
What is the pharynx split into?
Nasopharynx
Oropharynx
Laryngopharynx
Where is the Nasopharynx located?
Lies posteriorly to the nasal cavity
What does the Nasopharynx contain?
A collection of lymphoid tissue responsible for destroying inhaled and infested pathogens in the posterior portion of the nasal cavity.
What is the lymphoid tissue called in the Nasopharynx?
Nasopharyngeal tonsil AKA adenoids
What does the Nasopharynx also contain alongside the nasopharyngeal tonsils?
The auditory tunes leading into the middle ear
Where is the oropharynx located? (2)
It lies posteriorly to the oral cavity.
It lies inferiorly to the Nasopharynx and superior to the laryngopharynx.
What does the oropharynx partially contain?
Palatine tonsils
Where is the laryngopharynx located?
It lies inferiorly to the oropharynx and posteriorly to the larynx.
It extends to the level of the 6th cervical vertebrae and continues into the oesophagus below.
What structure does the pharynx have?
Smooth muscle
What is the function of the smooth muscle in the pharynx?
Helps keeps the pharynx open
What problems can be faced when the smooth muscles in the pharynx relax during sleep or unconsciousness?
The muscles may cause partial or total obstruction.
What is the pharynx lined with? (2)
Ciliates columnar epithelium in the Nasopharynx.
And stratified squamous epithelium in the oropharynx and the laryngopharynx.
What is the function of the pharynx? (5)
Warms and humidifies the air
Involved in taste (olfactory receptors on roof of nose)
Involved in hearing via the auditory tube
Involved in protection - use of tonsils
Speech - acts as a resonating chamber
What is the purpose of air entering the middle ear via the Nasopharynx?
Leads to air in the middle ear being at the same pressure as the outer ear, protecting the tympanic membrane (eardrum) from changes in atmospheric pressure.
What is the larynx also known as?
The voice box
What is the purpose of the larynx?
It like the laryngopharynx to the trachea
Where is the larynx located?
Posteriorly to the laryngopharynx and the 3rd, 4th, 5th and 6th cervical vertebrae.
What is the structure of the larynx? (4)
Has thyroid cartilage
Cricoid cartilage
Arytenoid cartilage
Epiglottis
What is the thyroid cartilage in the larynx?
Most commonly known as the Adam’s Apple.
Where is the thyroid cartilage located in the larynx?
In lies posteriorly to the neck
What is the thyroid cartilage in the larynx made of?
It is made of hyaline cartilage lined superiority with stratified squamous epithelium (continued from the laryngopharynx) and inferiorly with ciliated columnar epithelium.
Where is the cricoid cartilage located in the larynx?
It lies inferiorly to the thyroid cartilage
What is the cricoid cartilage in the larynx made of?
Hyaline cartilage lined with ciliated columnar epithelium.
What is the shape of the cricoid cartilage in the larynx?
It is shaped like a signet ring, completely encircling the larynx.
Where is the arytenoid cartilage located in the larynx?
Superiorly to the cricoid cartilage.
What shape is the arytenoid cartilage in the larynx?
They are two roughly pyramid shaped hyaline cartilage
What is the purpose of the arytenoid cartilage in the larynx?
Gives attachment to the vocal cords and to the muscles, which is lined with ciliated columnar epithelium.
What is an epiglottis in the larynx?
It is a leaf-shaped fibroelastic cartilage attached by flexible cartilage to the inner surface of the anterior wall of the thyroid cartilage, below the thyroid notch.
What is a thyroid notch?
It is where the anterior wall of the thyroid cartilage is partially divided.
What is the epiglottis lined with?
Stratified squamous epithelium
What happens to the epiglottis in the larynx when you swallow?
It closes over the larynx as the larynx moves upwards during swallowing
What is the purpose of the epiglottis closing over the larynx?
It protects the lungs from accidental inhalation of foreign objects.
What does the interior larynx contain?
The vocal cords which are two folds of mucus membrane that stretch across the laryngeal opening.
What is the space between the vocal cords in the larynx called?
The glottis and it is the narrowest part of the airway in an adult
What happens when the muscles is the vocal cords relax? (3)
Passageway of air coming up through the larynx is clear.
Vocal cords are said to be abducted (opened)
Vibrating the cords in this position produces low-pitched sounds.
What happens when the vocal cords contract? (3)
They stretch out tightly across the larynx.
They are said to be adducted (closed)
When vibrated, the sound produced is high pitched.
What is the term used when the vocal cords in the larynx are not in use?
Adducted (closed)
What is the functions of the larynx? (4)
Production of sound and speech
Protection of the lower respiratory tract from food
Air passage
Humidifies, warms and filters air
What is the trachea? (4)
It is a continuation of the larynx
It extends downwards to the 5th thoracic vertebra
It divides at the carina into the right and left bronchi
It lies anteriorly to the oesophagus
It is the main airway carrying warm, moist air from the nose down into the chest
How long is the trachea?
10-11cm
What is the structure of the trachea? (3)
It has an outer layer of fibroelastic tissue
Has middle layer of smooth muscle encased by bands of hyaline cartilage that are incomplete on posterior wall to allow oesophagus to expand during swallowing and prevent trachea collapsing
Inner layer of ciliated columnar epithelium and goblet cells that waft towards the mouth for secretion
What is the four functions of the trachea?
Patency - the trachea does not collapse due to the rings of cartilage that surrounds it on all but the posterior wall. Movement of the head and neck does not kink the trachea.
Mucociliary escalator - mucus and particles wafted upwards due beating of cilia. Wafted to the larynx where it is either swallowed or cough up.
Cough reflex - nerve endings in trachea become stimulated and initiate closing of glottis. Abdominal muscle contracts, which increased pressure in thoracic cavity, opening the glottis causing expulsion of air and mucus/particles.
Filters, warms and humidifies air.