Respiratory System

Take a deep breath and relax

Structure

• Nose• Pharynx• Larynx • Trachea• Bronchi• Alveoli• Lungs

Nose/Mouth• When the air comes into your nose it gets

filtered by tiny hairs and it is moistened by the mucus that is in your nose

• Your sinuses also help out with your Respiratory System. They help to moisten and heat the air that you breathe.

• Air can also get into your body through your mouth/oral cavity but air is not filtered as much when it enters in through your mouth (We take in more air here)

Nose/Mouth Picture

Pharynx/Trachea• Your pharynx (throat) gathers air after it passes through your nose and then the air is passed down to your trachea (windpipe). • Your trachea is held open by “incomplete rings of

cartilage.” Without these rings your trachea might close off and air would not be able to get to and from your lungs.

Pharynx(Throat)

Mouth

Trachea

• Bronchi (singular bronchus)- left and right transport the air you breathe

• Bronchioles- smaller divisions of the bronchi

• Bronchioles end in small air sacs called alveoli

• Alveoli – tiny air sacs that exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide.

Red Blood Cell

Capillary wall

Oxygen is picked up

Carbon Dioxide is dropped off

Capillary

• Lungs: 2 unequal lobes

• Covered in a membrane called the pleura

• Have many alveoli

Lungs

• Diaphragm and muscles contract, thoracic cavity enlarges letting air into the lungs

• Controls breathing and lung capacity

Diaphragm

Lung Model

Fun Facts• At rest, the body takes in and breathes out about 10

liters of air each minute. * The right lung is slightly larger than the left. * The highest recorded "sneeze speed" is 165 km per hour. * The surface area of the lungs is roughly the same size as

a tennis court. * The capillaries in the lungs would extend 1,600

kilometers if placed end to end.* We lose half a liter of water a day through breathing. This

is the water vapor we see when we breathe onto glass. * A person at rest usually breathes between 12 and 15

times a minute. * The breathing rate is faster in children and women than

in men.