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The Respiratory System

The respiratory system allows for gas exchange between the lungs and blood. Air enters through the nose and mouth, passes through the pharynx and larynx, and travels down the trachea into bronchi and bronchioles. Tiny air sacs called alveoli are where oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse between the lungs and blood vessels. The diaphragm and rib muscles drive breathing to regulate gas exchange and maintain homeostasis.

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60 views21 pages

The Respiratory System

The respiratory system allows for gas exchange between the lungs and blood. Air enters through the nose and mouth, passes through the pharynx and larynx, and travels down the trachea into bronchi and bronchioles. Tiny air sacs called alveoli are where oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse between the lungs and blood vessels. The diaphragm and rib muscles drive breathing to regulate gas exchange and maintain homeostasis.

Uploaded by

hanatabbal19
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© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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The

Respirator
y System
Ihsan International
School
Grade 10
Ms. Hana El Tabbal
The Respiratory System

• Breathing involves two


opposite processes: inhaling
and exhaling.
• Both inhaling and exhaling
exchange gases with the
environment, which is called
respiration.
• The respiratory system picks
up oxygen from the air as we
inhale and releases carbon
dioxide as we exhale.
• With each breath, air enters
the body through the air
passageways and fills the
lungs. In the lungs, gas
exchange takes place and
oxygen enters the circulatory
system.
• The respiratory system
Air Flow

• As air enters the respiratory system, it is warmed


and filtered in the inner nasal cavity and sinuses.
• Air then moves from the nose to a cavity at the
back of the mouth called the pharynx, or throat, and
then into the trachea, or windpipe.
Air Flow

• A flap of tissue called the epiglottis covers


the entrance to the trachea, ensuring
that food or liquid goes into the
esophagus instead of the trachea.
• Between the pharynx and the
Air Flow trachea is the larynx, which
contains two highly elastic folds
of tissue known as the vocal
cords.
• Your ability to speak, shout,
and sing comes from these
tissues.
Air Flow
• Mucus produced in the trachea traps
inhaled particles, which cilia then
sweep away from the lungs toward
the pharynx.
Air Flow

• From the trachea, air moves into two


large tubes called bronchi (singular:
bronchus) leading to the lungs.
• These tubes divide into smaller
bronchi, and then into even smaller
bronchioles.
Air Flow

• Bronchi and bronchioles


are surrounded by smooth
muscles that regulate the
size of air passageways.
Air Flow
• The bronchioles lead to
several hundred million
tiny air sacs called
alveoli (singular:
alveolus).
• A delicate network of
capillaries surrounds
each alveolus.
Gas Exchange and Transport

• When you inhale, a


muscle called the
diaphragm contracts
and flattens, creating a
partial vacuum inside
the tightly sealed chest
cavity.
• Atmospheric pressure
does the rest, filling the
lungs as air rushes into
the breathing pas-sages.
Gas
Exchange
and
Transport
• As air enters the alveoli,
oxygen diffuses across
thin capillary walls into
the blood. Meanwhile,
carbon dioxide diffuses
in the opposite direction.
Gas Exchange
and Transport
• Diffusion of oxygen from alveoli
into capillaries is a passive
process.
• Oxygen dissolves into the
bloodstream, and then becomes
bound to hemoglobin in red blood
cells.
• The ability of hemoglobin to bind
oxygen increases the blood's
oxygen-carrying capacity more
than 60 times.
Gas Exchange and Transport
• When carbon dioxide
diffuses from body tissues
to capillaries, most of it
enters red blood cells and
combines with water,
forming carbonic acid and
then bicarbonate.
• The rest of it dissolves in
plasma or binds to
hemoglobin and proteins
in plasma.
• These processes are
reversed in the lungs
before the carbon dioxide
is exhaled.
Breathing
• Surprisingly, there are
no muscles in our
lungs or connected
directly to them that
participate in
breathing.
• The force that drives
air into the lungs
comes from ordinary
air pressure, the
diaphragm, and
muscles associated
with the ribs.
• Movements of the
diaphragm and rib
cage change air
pressure in the chest
Breathing and Homeostasis

• You can control your breathing almost any


time you want, to blow up a balloon or to
play a trumpet .
• But this doesn't mean that breathing is purely
voluntary.
• Your nervous system has final control of your
breathing muscles even when you are
unconscious.
Breathing and Homeostasis

• Breathing is initiated by the


breathing center in the part of
the brain stem called the medulla
oblongata.
• Sensory neurons in or near the
medulla and in some large blood
vessels gather information about
carbon dioxide levels in the body
and send the information to the
breathing center.
Breathing and Homeostasis
• When stimulated, the
breathing center sends
nerve impulses that cause
the diaphragm and chest
muscles to contract,
bringing air into the lungs.
• The higher the blood
carbon dioxide level, the
stronger the impulses.
• If the blood carbon dioxide
level reaches a critical
point, the impulses
become so powerful that
you cannot keep from
breathing.

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