ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
 The respiratory system is the network of organs and tissues that help you breathe. It includes your airways, lungs, and blood vessels. The muscles that
power your lungs are also part of the respiratory system. Besides helping you inhale (breathe in) and exhale (breath out), it allows you to talk and to smell, brings
air to body temperature and moisturizes it to the humidity level your body needs; delivers oxygen to the cells in your body; removes waste gases, including carbon
dioxide, from the body when you exhale; and protects your airways from harmful substances and irritants.

Functionally, the respiratory system is separated into a conducting zone and respiratory zone.

Conducting Zone – consists of the nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi and bronchioles. These structures form a continuous passageway for air to move in
and out of the lungs.

Respiratory Zone – is found deep inside the lungs and is made up of the respiratory bronchioles, alveolar ducts, and alveoli. These thin-walled structures allow
inhaled oxygen (O2) to diffuse into the lung capillaries in exchange for carbon dioxide (CO2).

Paranasal Sinuses – These are the air-filled extensions of the nasal cavity.
 ● Frontal – There are two, large frontal sinuses in the frontal bone, which forms the lower part of the forehead and reaches over the eye sockets and
eyebrows. The frontal sinuses are lined with cells that make mucus to keep the nose from drying out.
● Sphenoid – There are two large sphenoid sinuses in the sphenoid bone, which is behind the nose between the eyes. The sphenoid sinuses are lined with
cells that make mucus to keep the nose from drying out.

Nose - the prominent structure between the eyes that serves as the entrance to the respiratory tract and contains the olfactory organ. It provides air for respiration,
serves the sense of smell, conditions the air by filtering, warming, and moistening it, and cleans itself of foreign debris extracted from inhalations.

● Nasal Cavity – It is the inside of your nose. It is lined with a mucous membrane that helps keep your nose moist by making mucus, so you won't get
nosebleeds from a dry nose. There are also little hairs that help filter the air you breathe in, blocking dirt and dust from getting into your lungs.
● Nasal Conchae – It is also called Turbinate, or Turbinal, any of several thin, scroll-shaped bony elements forming the upper chambers of the nasal cavities.
They increase the surface area of these cavities, thus providing for rapid warming and humidification of air as it passes to the lungs.
● Nasal Vestibule – The nasal vestibule is the most anterior part of the nasal cavity. It is enclosed by the cartilages of the nose and lined by the same
epithelium of the skin (stratified squamous, keratinized). The other part of the nasal cavity, which is lined by the respiratory epithelium, is called the nasal
cavity proper. Inside the vestibule are small hairs called vibrissae, which filter dust and other matter that are breathed in.

Pharynx – The pharynx is part of both the digestive system and the respiratory system. As a component of the upper respiratory tract, the pharynx is part of the
conducting zone for air into the lungs. Therefore, one of its primary functions is to warm and humidify the air before it reaches the lungs.

Larynx – Its primary function is to protect the lower airway by closing abruptly upon mechanical stimulation, thereby halting respiration, and preventing the entry of
foreign matter into the airway. Other functions of the larynx include the production of sound (phonation), coughing, the Valsalva maneuver, and control of
ventilation, and acting as a sensory organ.

● Epiglottis – Its function is to seal off the windpipe during eating, so that food is not accidentally inhaled.
● Thyroid Cartilage – It protects the vocal folds ("vocal cords"), which are located directly behind it. When the angle of the thyroid cartilage changes relative
to the cricoid cartilage, this changes the pitch of voice.
● Cricoid Cartilage – It serves to maintain airway patency, forms part of the larynx, and provides an attachment point for key muscles, ligaments, and
cartilage, which function in the opening and closing the vocal cords for sound production.

Vocal Folds – Are folds of tissue located in the larynx (voice box) that have three important functions: To protect the airway from choking on the material in the
throat, To regulate the flow of air into our lungs, and The production of sounds used for speech.

Trachea – It serves as a passage for air, moistens and warms it while it passes into the lungs, and protects the respiratory surface from an accumulation of
foreign particles.
Carina of trachea – A ridge at the base of the trachea (windpipe) that separates the openings of the right and left main bronchi (the large air passages that lead
from the trachea to the lungs).

Bronchi – It is a passage of the airway in the respiratory tract that conducts air into the lungs.

Right Lung and Left Lung – The main function of the lungs is the process of gas exchange called respiration (or breathing). In respiration, oxygen from incoming
air enters the blood, and carbon dioxide, waste gas from the metabolism, leaves the blood.

● Superior Lobe, Middle Lobe, and Inferior Lobe – The superior lobe lung tissue of this lobe is responsible for most of the gas exchange in the right lung
during calm, shallow breathing. Each lobe of the lung has the same physiologic function, bringing oxygen into the bloodstream and removing carbon
dioxide.
● Horizontal Fissure – It separates the right middle lobe from the right upper lobe. The fissures facilitate a uniform expansion of the whole lung for more air
intake during respiration.
● Oblique Fissure – The oblique fissure, which extends from the costal to the mediastinal surface of the lung both above and below the hilum. It divides the
left lung into an upper and a lower lobe.
● Lingula of lung – lingula is used to denote a projection of the upper lobe of the left lung that serves as the homologue.
● Cardiac Notch – The cardiac notch is an indentation on the surface of the left lung, and it allows space for the heart.

Diaphragm – It is a large, dome-shaped muscle that contracts rhythmically and continually, and most of the time, involuntarily. Upon inhalation, the diaphragm
contracts and flattens and the chest cavity enlarges.

Lobar Bronchus – It distributes the air throughout the lungs until reaching the respiratory bronchioles and alveolar sacs (these structures pertain to the
respiratory zone).

● Superior – This branch supplies the superior lobe of the right lung and is the most superior of all secondary bronchi.
● Inferior – It supplies the left inferior lobe and divides into five segmental bronchi: apical segmental bronchus; supplies apical bronchopulmonary segment.
● Middle – It branches in an obliquely inferior, anterior, and outward direction. Only the right lung has a middle lobe. The right middle lobe bronchus is
supplied from the right bronchial artery bringing oxygen into the bloodstream and removing carbon dioxide.

Capillary Beds – The capillary bed is an interwoven network of capillaries that supplies an organ. The more metabolically active the cells, the more capillaries
required to supply nutrients and carry away waste products.

Connective tissue – One of the major functions of connective tissue is to connect tissues and organs.

Alveoli – Alveoli are tiny air sacs in your lungs that take up the oxygen you breathe in and keep your body going. Although they're microscopic, alveoli are the
workhorses of your respiratory system.
Alveolar duct – The alveolar ducts assist the alveoli in their function. Alveoli are extremely tiny and therefore can only handle gas exchange when air arrives
there at a certain pressure and in a certain amount. The alveolar ducts collect the air that has been inhaled and transported through the tract and disperses it to
the alveoli, in the alveolar sac that they feed into.

Mucous glands – The submucosal glands of the trachea and bronchi give rise to neoplasms that resemble those occurring in the salivary glands.

Mucosal lining – The respiratory system is lined with a mucous membrane that secretes mucus.

Pulmonary artery and Pulmonary vein – The pulmonary arteries and the pulmonary veins are the vessels of the pulmonary circulation; which means they are
responsible for carrying the oxygenated blood to the heart from the lungs and carrying the deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs.

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