THE

RESPIRATORY
SYSTEM
FUNCTIONAL
ANATOMY
NOSE
The
Respiratory
System

Upper Lower
Respiratory Respiratory
Tract Tract

Nose Trachea

Pharynx Alveoli

Larynx
 NOSE

Nostrils or nares
• Entry of air

Nasal cavity
• Divided by a midline nasal
septum
NOSE

Olfactory receptors
• for the sense of smell are located
in the mucosa in the slitlike
superior part of the nasal cavity,
just beneath the ethmoid bone
NOSE
Respiratory Mucosa
• rests on a rich network of thin-walled
veins that warms the air as it flows past
Mucosa’s gland
• Produces sticky mucus that moistens
the air and traps incoming bacteria and
other foreign debris, and lysozyme
enzymes in the mucus destroy bacteria
chemically.
Ciliated cells
• create a gentle current that moves the
sheet of contaminated mucus posteriorly
toward the throat (pharynx), where it is
swallowed and digested by stomach
juices
Nose

Conchae
• three mucosa-covered
projections, or lobes
• greatly increase the surface
area of the mucosa exposed
to the air
• also increase the air
turbulence in the nasal cavity.
NOSE

Palate
• A partition that separates the nose
from the oral cavity
Hard palate
• Anterior part of the palate
supported by bone
Soft palate
• Unsupported posterior part of the
palate
PHARYNX

Pharynx
• is a muscular passageway for food and air
• It is continuous with the nasal cavity
anteriorly via the posterior nasal aperture.
• The oropharynx and laryngopharynx are
common passageways for air and food

Three Regions:
• Nasopharynx
• Oropharynx
• Laryngopharynx
 PHARYNX

Tonsils
• Clusters of lymphatic tissue are also found
in the pharynx.
Adenoid
• single pharyngeal tonsil, located high in
the nasopharynx.
Palatine tonsils
• two tonsils in the oropharynx at the end of
the soft palate
Lingual tonsils
• two tonsils which which lie at the base of
the tongue
 LARYNX

The Larynx
• or voice box routes air and food into the proper channels
and plays a role in speech
• Located inferior to the pharynx, it is formed by eight rigid
hyaline cartilages and a spoon-shaped flap of elastic
cartilage, the epiglottis .

Thyroid cartilage
• Shield shaped
• Largest of the hyaline cartilages which protrudes
anteriorly and is commonly called the Adam’s apple.

Epiglottis
• “guardian of the airway,” the epiglottis protects the
superior opening of the larynx.
LARYNX
LARYNX

Vocal folds
• Part of the mucous membrane of
the larynx forms a pair of folds
which vibrate with expelled air.
• This ability of the vocal folds to
vibrate allows us to speak.
TRACHEA
Trachea
• fairly rigid because its walls are reinforced
with C-shaped rings of hyaline cartilage.

Hyaline cartilage
• open parts of the rings abut the esophagus
and allow it to expand anteriorly when we
swallow a large piece of food
• solid portions support the trachea walls
and keep it patent, or open, in spite of the
pressure changes that occur during
breathing.

Trachealis muscle
• lies next to the esophagus and completes
the wall of the trachea posteriorly.
TRACHEA

Cilia
• The trachea is lined with a
ciliated mucosa beat
continuously in a superior
direction. They are
surrounded by goblet
cells that produce mucus.
THE MAIN BRONCHI

The Main Bronchi

• The right and left main
(primary) bronchi are formed
by the division of the trachea.
• Each main bronchus runs
obliquely before it plunges
into the medial depression
(hilum) of the lung on its own
side
• The right main bronchus is
wider, shorter, and straighter
than the left.
LUNGS

Lungs
• Occupy most of the thoracic
cavity
• Apex is near the clavicle
(superior portion)
• Base rests on the diaphragm
(inferior portion)
• Each lung is divided into lobes
by fissures
• Left lung – two lobes
• Right lung – three lobes
LUNGS

Fissures
• Divide the lungs into
lobes
• the left lung has two
lobes
• the right lung has three
LUNGS

Pulmonary pleura
• Covers each surface of each lung

Parietal pleura
• Lines the walls of the thoracic
cavity
Pleural membranes
• Produce pleural fluid, slippery
serous fluid which allow the lung to
glide easily over the thorax wall
during breathing and causes the
two pleural layers to cling together.
THE BRONCHIAL TREE

Main Bronchi
• Subdivide into smaller and
smaller branches, finally
ending in the smallest
conducting passageways,
the bronchioles
• All but the smallest
branches have reinforcing
cartilage in their walls.
The Respiratory Zone
Structure
and the Respiratory
Membrane
THE RESPIRATORY ZONE

The respiratory zone

• includes the respiratory
bronchioles, alveolar
ducts, alveolar sacs, and
alveoli, is the only site of
gas exchange
ALVEOLI

Alveoli
• There are millions of the
clustered alveoli, which
resemble bunches of grapes,
and they make up the bulk of
the lungs.
• The balance of the lung tissue,
its stroma, is mainly elastic
connective tissue that allows
the lungs to stretch and recoil
(spring back) as we breathe.
ALVEOLI

Alveoli
• walls are composed largely of a single, thin
layer of simple squamous epithelial cells.

Alveolar pores
• pores connect neighboring air sacs and
provide alternative routes for air to reach
alveoli whose feeder bronchioles have been
clogged by mucus or otherwise blocked.

Pulmonary capillaries
• Covers the external surfaces of the alveoli
THE BRONCHIAL TREE

Respiratory membrane
• the alveolar and capillary walls,
their fused basement
membranes, and occasional
elastic fibers
• Gas exchange occurs by simple
diffusion through the respiratory
membrane
ALVEOLI

Alveolar
macrophages
• wander in and out
of the alveoli
picking up bacteria,
carbon particles,
and other debris.
*ALL INFO AND
IMAGES- CREDITS TO
THE OWNER