The Respiratory System Flashcards
List major structures which air/oxygen passes through during respiration.
- Oral Cavity/Nasal Cavity - filters, humifies, moistens
- Pharynx - passageway for food and air
- Larynx
- Voice box w/ 2 vocal cords
- Passageway for air ONLY(gets covered by epiglottis when a person is swallowing food/drink)
- Sits below pharynx and in front of esophagus
- Glottis - opening of the larynx
- Trachea - Passagway for air ONLY, directs air to lungs
- Bronchi
- Bronchioles
- Alveoli (major structure of gas exchange)
- Surrounded by a network of capillaries for O2 and CO2 gas exchange
Major purposes of oral and nasal cavity
- Filter (nasal cavity: goblet cell secete mucous trap small particles and vibrissae trap larger particles)
- Humifies/Moistens (mucous from goblet cells provide moisture)
- Warms Air (capillaries)
Detergent that lowers surface tension and prevents alveoli from collapsing.
Surfactant
Structures and function of Pleural Cavity.
Function: Protects lungs from injury and forms closed sacs on which lungs expand. Also indirectly connects lungs to chest wall, preventing them from collapsing during exhalation (like surfactant for alveoli)
- Visceral Pleura - lines lung
- Parietal Pleura - lines chest wall
- Intrapleural Space
- B/t 2 membranes and contain a thin layer of fluid
- Lubricates pleural surfaces
Explain Process of Inhalation.
- External Intercostal muscles (lie between ribs) expand and diaphragm (thin muscular structure that divides thoracic cavity) flattens
- Together this increases intrathoracic volume
- Intrapleural space increases in volume first - causes decreases in pressure
- Lungs expand into intrapleural space - causes decrease in pressure.
- Because air likes to move down its pressure gradient, air is sucked fom higher pressure environment to lower pressured lungs
Tendency for air to rush into your lungs. due to it’s relative lower pressure compared to the atmosphere. (during inhalation)
Negative Pressured Breathing
Active portion of breathing.
Inhalation
Passive portion of breathing.
Exhalation
Explain process of exhalation
- External Intercostal muscles and diaphragm relax
- Intrapleural space then lungs decrease in volume - causing both to increase in pressure
- Air moves from now higher pressure thoracic cavity to lower pressured environmet (relative to thoracic cavity)
Muscles used during forced (active) exhalation
- Internal Intercostals
- Abdominal muscles
(Together oppose external intercostals and pulls rib cage down, decreasing volume of thoracic cavity).
Measures lung volume and capacity.
spirometer
TLC (Total lung Capacity)
Maximum volume of air in lungs during inhalation.
Residual Volume
Minimum volume of air in lungs during exhalation.
Vital Capacity
Different between TLC and RV
Tidal Volume
Volume of air exhaled/inhaled during a normal breath.