Respirato

ry
System
Introduction to the Human Respiratory
System

The Respiratory System is

what controls breathing. It brings
in the oxygen your body needs
and gets rid of the carbon dioxide
that is left over. If you didnt
breathe you would pass out or
die.
Human Respiratory System
 Main parts of the Respiratory
System
STRUCTURE FUNCTION
warms, moistens, & filters air as it is
nose / nasal cavity
inhaled
pharynx (throat) passageway for air, leads to trachea
the voice box, where vocal chords
larynx
are located
keeps the windpipe "open"
trachea is lined with fine hairs
trachea (windpipe)
called cilia which filter air before it
reaches the lungs
two branches at the end of the
bronchi
trachea, each lead to a lung
a network of smaller branches
bronchioles leading from the bronchi into the
lung tissue & ultimately to air sacs
the functional respiratory units in the
alveoli
lung where gases are exchanged
STRUCTURE FUNCTION
Main organ of the respiratory
system
Site in body where oxygen is
lungs
taken into and carbon dioxide is
expelled out.

dome-shaped muscle located at

the bottom of the lungs
When we breathe in the
diaphragm contracts and flatten
out and pull downward. Due to
this movement the space in the
Diaphragm lungs increases and pulls air into
the lungs. When we breathe out,
the diaphragm expands and
reduces the amount of space for
the lungs and forces air out.
Components of the Upper
Respiratory Tract

Figure 10.2
 Upper Respiratory Tract
Functions
Passageway for respiration
Receptors for smell
Filters incoming air to filter
larger foreign material
Moistens and warms
incoming air
Resonating chambers for
voice (voice box)
Components of the Lower
Respiratory Tract

Figure 10.3
 Lower Respiratory Tract
Functions:
Trachea: transports air to and
from lungs
Bronchi: branch into lungs

Lungs: transport air to alveoli

for gas exchange

Alveoli: Gas exchange occurs
Respiration Process
The gas exchange process is
performed by the lungs and
respiratory system. Air, a mix of
oxygen and other gases, is
inhaled.
In the throat, the trachea, or
windpipe, filters the air. The
trachea branches into two bronchi,
tubes that lead to the lungs.
Once in the lungs, oxygen is
moved into the bloodstream.
Blood carries the oxygen through
the body to where it is needed.
Red blood cells collect carbon
dioxide from the bodys cells and
transports it back to the lungs.
An exchange of oxygen and carbon
dioxide takes place in the alveoli, small
structures within the lungs. The carbon
dioxide, a waste gas, is exhaled and the
cycle begins again with the next breath.
The diaphragm is a dome-shaped
muscle below the lungs that controls
breathing. The diaphragm flattens out
and pulls forward, drawing air into the
lungs for inhalation. During exhalation
the diaphragm expands to force air out
of the lungs.
Adults normally take 12 to 20 breaths
Gas Exchange Between the
Blood and Alveoli

Figure 10.8A
Respiratory Cycle

Figure 10.9