RESPIRATORY SYSTEM shows how you breathe.

Breathing is the process that brings oxygen in the air into your lungs and moves oxygen and through
your body. Our lungs remove the oxygen and pass it through our bloodstream, where it's carried off to
the tissues and organs that allow us to walk, talk, and move.

Our lungs also take carbon dioxide from our blood and release it into the air when we breathe out.

The SINUSES are hollow spaces in the bones of your head. Small openings connect them to the nasal
cavity. The sinuses help to regulate the temperature and humidity of the air your breathe in, as well as to
lighten the bone structure of the head and to give tone to your voice

The NASAL CAVITY (nose) is the best entrance for outside air into your respiratory system. The hairs that
line the inside wall are part of the air-cleansing system.

Air can also enters through your ORAL CAVITY (mouth), especially if you have a mouth-breathing habit
or your nasal passages may be temporarily blocked.

The ADENOIDS are overgrown lymph tissues at the top of the throat. When your adenoids interfere with
your breathing, they are sometimes removed. The lymph system, consisting of nodes (knots of cells) and
connecting vessels, carries fluid throughout the body. This system helps your body resist infection by
filtering out foreign matter, including germs, and producing cells (lymphocytes) to fight them.

The TONSILS are lymph nodes in the wall of your pharynx. Tonsils are not an important part of the germ-
fighting system of the body. If they become infected, they are sometimes removed.
The PHARYNX (throat) collects incoming air from your nose and passes it downward to your trachea
(windpipe).

The EPIGLOTTIS is a flap of tissue that guards the entrance to your trachea. It closes when anything is
swallowed that should go into the esophagus and stomach.

The LARYNX (voice box) contains your vocal cords. When moving air is breathed in and out, it creates
voice sounds.

The ESOPHAGUS is the passage leading from your mouth and throat to your stomach.

The TRACHEA (windpipe) is the passage leading from your pharynx to the lungs.

The RIBS are bones supporting and protecting your chest cavity. They move a small amount and help the
lungs to expand and contract.

The trachea divides into the two main BRONCHI (tubes), one for each lung. The bronchi, in turn,
subdivide further into bronchioles.

The RIGHT LUNG is divided into three LOBES, or sections.

The left lung is divided into two LOBES.

The PLEURA are the two membranes that surround each lobe of your lungs and separate the lungs from
your chest wall.

The bronchial tubes are lined with CILIA(like very small hairs) that have a wave-like motion. This motion
carries MUCUS (sticky phlegm or liquid) upward and out into the throat, where it is either coughed up or
swallowed. The mucus catches and holds much of the dust, germs, and other unwanted matter that has
invaded your lungs. Your lungs get rid of the mucus through coughing.

The DIAPHRAGM is the strong wall of muscle that separates your chest cavity from your abdominal
cavity. By moving downward, it creates suction to draw in air and expand the lungs.

The smallest section of the bronchi are called BRONCHIOLES, at the end of which are the alveoli (plural
of alveolus).

The ALVEOLI are the very small air sacs that are the destination of air that you breathe in. The
CAPILLARIES are blood vessels that are imbedded in the walls of the alveoli. Blood passes through the
capillaries, brought to them by the PULMONARY ARTERY and taken away by the PULMONARY VEIN.
While in the capillaries, the blood moves carbon dioxide into the alveoli and takes up oxygen from the air
in the alveoli.

Top 5 Functions of the Respiratory System

Through breathing, inhalation and exhalation, the respiratory system facilitates the exchange of gases
between the air and the blood and between the blood and the body’s cells. The respiratory system also
helps us to smell and create sound. The following are the five key functions of the respiratory system.

1. Inhalation and Exhalation Are Pulmonary Ventilation—That’s Breathing

The respiratory system aids in breathing, also called pulmonary ventilation. In pulmonary ventilation, air
is inhaled through the nasal and oral cavities (the nose and mouth). It moves through the pharynx,
larynx, and trachea into the lungs. Then air is exhaled, flowing back through the same pathway. Changes
to the volume and air pressure in the lungs trigger pulmonary ventilation. During normal inhalation, the
diaphragm and external intercostal muscles contract and the ribcage elevates. As the volume of the
lungs increases, air pressure drops and air rushes in. During normal exhalation, the muscles relax. The
lungs become smaller, the air pressure rises, and air is expelled.
2. External Respiration Exchanges Gases Between the Lungs and the Bloodstream

Inside the lungs, oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide waste through the p