The Respiratory System Flashcards
Diphragm
Muscles of the chest wall; has characteristics of voluntary (skeletal) and involuntary (smooth) muscle; dome shaped and divides that thorax from the abdomen
Larynx
Complex arrangement of tiny bones, cartilage, muscles, and two vocal cords; Division between upper and lower airway
Pharynx
Composed of the nasophyarynx, oropharynx, and laryngopharynx
nasopharynx
Above the roof of mouth; warms, filters and humidifies air a person breathes
Trachea
One passageway at the bottom of the pharynx, which is the windpipe; air and other gases enter here to go to the lungs; 5” long and semirigid, enclosed air tube made of rings of cartilage
Epiglottis
Thin, leaf shaped valve covering the trachea that allows air to pass into the trachea but prevents food and liquid from entering the airway
Thyroid cartilage (Adam’s apple)
The anterior part of the larynx
Cricoid cartilage
Location for using Sellick maneuver to help maintain a proper airway; located directly below the thyroid cartilage
Cricothyroid membrane
Depression in midline of the neck just inferior to the thyroid cartilage; important landmark for needle airway device
Lungs
Right lung as 3 lobes; left lung has two; lungs held in place by the trachea, the arteries and veins, and the pulmonary ligaments
Alveoli
700 million tiny grapelike sacs that the bronchioles end in; where the exchange of oxygen and CO2 occurs
Pleura
Layer of smooth tissue that covers each lung (visceral) and lines the inside of the chest cavity (parietal)
Pleural space
Between the parietal and visceral pleura; normally quite small and contains only a thin film of pleural fluid as each lung fills its side of the chest cavity
Ventilation
simple movement of air between lulngs and enviornment
Respiration
process of gas exchange; provide oxygen and remove carbon dioxide; regulate pH of blood
