RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

Respiratory System

Introduction

The Respiratory System includes the nose, throat, voice box, windpipe, and lungs.

Cicilia

Even if the air you breathe is dirty or polluted, your respiratory system filters out foreign matter and organisms that enter through the nose and mouth tiny hairs called cilia which filters out dust and other particles that enter the nose with the breathed air.

Pharynx

The two openings of the airway (the nasal cavity and the mouth) meet at the pharynx, at the back of the nose and mouth. The pharynx is part of the digestive system as well as the respiratory system because it carries both food and air (Colbert Ankney Lee 2009). At the base of the pharynx, the pathway for both food and air splits up in two. One passageway is for food which leads to the stomach and the other for air(McGowan 2003). The epiglottis a little flap of tissue , forms a covering over the the air-only passage when we swallow, keeping food and water from going into our lungs.

Larynx

The larynx is the uppermost part of the air-only passage. This short tube consists of a  pair of vocal cords, which vibrate to make sounds(Cohen 2004). The trachea lies partly in the neck and partly in the chest cavity. The walls of the trachea are suported by rigid rings of cartilage to keep it open so air can flow through on its way to the lungs. The trachea is furthermore bordered with cilia, which clears fluids and foreign particles out of the airway so that they stay out of the lungs.

Bronchi

At its base , the trachea splits up into left and right air tubes called bronchi, which attach to the lungs. Within the lungs, the bronchi branch into smaller bronchi and even smaller tubes called bronchioles (Colbert Ankney Lee 2009). ...