The Lungs and the Respiratory System 1. Flashcards
What is the main function of the respiratory system?
To provide extensive gas exchange surface area between air and circulating blood.
The respiratory system moves air to and from exchange surfaces to the ______.
Lungs.
What is the respiratory system’s function in protection?
It protects respiratory surfaces from the outside environment eg. pathogens.
What does the respiratory system also have a role in producing?
Producing sound.
What sense does the respiratory system participate in?
The Olfactory Sense (smell).
List the structures that the air moves from outside the body to the exchange surface inside the body (lungs) via.
- Nose
- Mouth
- Pharynx
- Larynx
- Trachea
- Bronchi
- Lungs
The air in the respiratory must be what before exchange?
It must be moistened, warmed and filtered.
Through what structure does the respiratory system provide an extensive surface for gas exchange?
Alveoli.
What are air sacs called?
Alveoli.
What is the respiratory system protected from?
- Dehydration
- Temperature Change
- Pathogens
Name some structures in the respiratory system that are responsible for protection.
- Vibrasse (nose hairs)
- Mucosal Membranes
- Surfactants (coats alveoli)
- Macrophages (big phagocyte)
Apart from structures, what else protects the respiratory system?
Reflexes such as coughing and sneezing.
The respiratory tract consists of 2 portions, Name these.
- Conducting Portion
- Respiratory Portion
What structures does the conducting portion include?
From the nasal cavity to the terminal bronchioles.
What is the conducting portion responsible for?
The transport of air.
What structures does the respiratory portion include?
The respiratory bronchioles and alveoli in the lungs.
What is the respiratory portion responsible for?
Gas Exchange.
What does the upper respiratory tract refer to?
Anything above the larynx.
The _____ respiratory tract refers to the larynx and below.
Lower.
What is the primary function of the respiratory system?
The exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen.
The upper respiratory tract is structures above the larynx, list these structures.
Nose, Nasal Cavity, Paranasal sinuses and Pharynx. (NNPP).
What are the functions of the upper respiratory tract?
- To Purify, Warm and Humidify ambient air before it moves into the lower respiratory tract
- Acts as a conduction pathway for the air to move into the lower respiratory tract.
The _____ respiratory tract prepares the air.
Upper.
Where does air enter the respiratory system through?
The external nares (nostrils) of the nose.