NURS1108:

Introduction to
Anatomy &
Physiology
Shikera Fearon, Msc (Distinction) Forensic Science,
BSc Anatomy
shikera.fearon02@uwimona.edu.jm
Respiratory System
Anatomy of Respiratory System
 Objectives
• Define terms used in the respiratory system;

• Outline the developmental aspects of the respiratory system;

• Name the organs of the respiratory system;

• Locate the upper respiratory organs on a diagram,

• Describe the structure and functions of the upper respiratory organs;

• Describe the macroscopic and microscopic anatomy of the lung;

• Locate the lower respiratory organs on a diagram;

 Content
1. Definition of respiratory system • Nasal cavity
terminologies • Para-nasal sinuses
• Pharynx
2. Developmental aspects of the • Larynx
respiratory system
B. Lower respiratory organs:
3. Organs of the respiratory system structure & function

A. Upper respiratory organs: • Trachea

structure & function • Bronchial tree
• Lungs
• Mucous membranes • Divisions
• Nose
 Introduction
• The respiratory system consists of passages that filter
incoming air and transport it into the body, into the lungs, and
to the many microscopic air sacs where gases are exchanged

• Respiration is the process of exchanging gases between the

atmosphere and body cells

• It consists of the following events:

• Ventilation
• External respiration
• Transport of gases
• Internal respiration
• Cellular respiration

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 Why We Breathe
• Respiration occurs on a macroscopic level at the organ
system

• Gas exchange, oxygen and carbon dioxide, occur at the

cellular and molecular levels

• Aerobic reactions of cellular respiration allow for:

• ATP production
• Carbon dioxide generation forming carbonic acid

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 Anatomy of Air Pathway
• The respiratory system
can be conveniently
divided into upper and
lower parts.
 Anatomy of Air Pathway
• The upper respiratory system consists of structures in the head:
– Nose
– Nasal cavity
– Paranasal sinuses
– Pharynx
• Lower respiratory system consists of structures in the neck and
chest:
– Larynx
– Trachea
– Bronchi
– lungs
• B. Lower respiratory organs: structure & function

• • Trachea
• • Bronchial tree
• • Lungs
• • Divisions
• A. Upper respiratory organs: structure & function

• • Mucous membranes
• • Nose
• • Nasal cavity
• • Para-nasal sinuses
• • Pharynx
• • Larynx
 Anatomy of Air Pathway
• Conducting zone: made up of airways
– Passages through which air travels on its way toward tiny air
sacs of the lungs
• Air sacs make up respiratory zone
– Zone where gas exchanges occur
 The Nose and Throat
• The nose consists of an external, visible part and an internal
cavity within the skull.
• The external nose is fitted to an opening in the anterior skull.
• Beneath the skin, it is composed of cartilage, bone, and dense
fibrous tissue lined by respiratory epithelium.
• At its superior end, it is formed of the two nasal bones.
 Bones and cartilages
• • Bones[upper
Cartilage[lower part] part]
• • Nasal
Upper lateral nasal
bones
cartilage
• • Frontal
Lower lateral nasalprocess
cartilageof maxilla
• • Nasal part of frontal bone
Septal cartilage
• Minor Alar cartilages
• Accessory nasal cartilage
 The Nose and Throat
• Structures of the nose and throat form the upper part of the
conducting zone.
Nose

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Superior
Frontal sinus Middle Nasal
Inferior conchae

Sphenoidal sinus
Nostril
Pharyngeal tonsil
Hard palate
Nasopharynx
Opening of
Uvula auditory tube
Tongue Palatine tonsil
Oropharynx
Lingual tonsil
Epiglottis
Hyoid bone Laryngopharynx
Larynx

Trachea Esophagus

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 The Nasal Cavity
• The nasal cavity is continuous with the sinuses.
 Nasal Cavity

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Mucus Particle Cilia

Nasal cavity
Goblet cell

Epithelial cell

(a) (b)
b: © Biophoto Associates/Photo Researchers, Inc.

pseudostratified columnar epithelium with cilia and

goblet cells 25
 Pharynx
• The pharynx is posterior to the oral cavity and between the nasal
cavity and the larynx Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Superior
Middle Nasal
Frontal sinus
Inferior conchae

Sphenoidal sinus
Nostril
Pharyngeal tonsil
Hard palate
Nasopharynx
Opening of
Uvula auditory tube

Palatine tonsil
Tongue
Oropharynx
Lingual tonsil
Epiglottis
Hyoid bone Laryngopharynx

Larynx

Esophagus
Trachea
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 The Larynx and Trachea
• Strengthened by
cartilage rings
• Vocal chords are
supported by
vestibular folds
• Epiglottis extends
upward from larynx
and base of tongue and
projects into
oropharynx
 The Larynx and Trachea
• Thyroid cartilage forms anterior part of larynx
– Large shield of cartilage
• Males have larger larynx with longer/thicker vocal chords
• Most inferior part is a ring of cricoid cartilage
– Attaches by ligaments to the thyroid cartilage above and
the first ring of tracheal cartilage below
 Larynx
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Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Posterior portion Epiglottis

of tongue
False vocal cord
Hyoid bone
True vocal cord
Glottis
Cuneiform cartilage
Corniculate cartilage
False vocal cord Thyroid cartilage
(a)

Glottis
Cricoid cartilage
Epiglottis
True vocal
cord

Glottis
Inner lining of trachea (a)

(b)

Hyoid bone
Thyroid cartilage
Epiglottis
Cuneiform cartilage
Corniculate cartilage False vocal
cord
Arytenoid cartilage Thyroid cartilage
True vocal cord
Cricoid cartilage

(c) 29
c: © CNRI/PhotoTake (b)
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F. Larynx

1. The larynx is an enlargement in the airway

superior to the trachea and inferior to the pharynx.

2. It helps keep particles from entering the

trachea and also houses the vocal cords.

3. The larynx is composed of a framework of

muscles and cartilage bound by elastic tissue.

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4. Inside the larynx, two pairs of folds of muscle and

connective tissue covered with mucous membrane
make up the vocal cords.
a. The upper pair is the false vocal
cords.
b. The lower pair is the true vocal
cords.
c. Changing tension on the vocal cords controls
pitch, while increasing the loudness depends upon
increasing the force of air vibrating the vocal cords.

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5. During normal breathing, the vocal cords are

relaxed and the glottis is a triangular slit.

6. During swallowing, the false vocal cords and

epiglottis close off the glottis.

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Cross Section of the
Trachea
38
• The trachea (windpipe) is a
Trachea
flexible cylindrical tube about
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2.5 centimeters in diameter

Larynx Thyroid
cartilage
and 12.5 centimeters in length Cricoid
cartilage

• As it extends downward
Cartilaginous
Trachea
ring
anterior to the esophagus and Superior (upper) Carina
lobe bronchus

into the thoracic cavity, it Left

primary
bronchus
Right primary
splits into the right and left bronchus Superior (upper)
lobe bronchus

Inferior (lower)
primary bronchi Middle lobe
bronchus
lobe bronchi

39
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G. Trachea

1. The trachea extends downward anterior to the esophagus and

into the thoracic cavity, where it splits into right and left bronchi.

2. The inner wall of the trachea is lined with ciliated mucous

membrane with many goblet cells that serve to trap

incoming particles.

3. The tracheal wall is supported by 20 incomplete

cartilaginous rings.

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Lumen of trachea Hyaline cartilage

Ciliated epithelium

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Hyoid
bone
Connective tissue Smooth muscle Thyroid
Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display. cartilage
Thyroid gland
Cricoid
cartilage
Connective
tissue Incision
Smooth
Trachea Jugular
muscle
notch

Hyaline
cartilage

Ciliated
epithelium

Lumen of
trachea 41
© Ed Reschke
 CopyrightThe McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

H. Bronchial Tree
1. The bronchial tree consists of branched tubes
leading from the trachea to the alveoli.
2. The bronchial tree begins with the two
primary bronchi, each leading to a lung.

42
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3. The branches of the bronchial tree from the trachea

are right and left primary bronchi; these further
subdivide until bronchioles give rise to alveolar
ducts which terminate in alveoli.

4. It is through the thin epithelial cells of the alveoli

that gas exchange between the blood and air occurs.

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 Bronchial Tree
• The bronchial tree Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.

Larynx
consists of branched
airways leading from Right superior (upper) lobe
Trachea

the trachea to the Right primary bronchus

Left superior
(upper) lobe

microscopic air sacs in

the lungs
Secondary bronchus

Tertiary bronchus

Terminal bronchiole
Right inferior (lower) lobe

Left inferior
(lower) lobe
Right middle lobe

Respiratory bronchiole

Alveolar duct

Alveolus
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 The Bronchial Tree and
Alveoli
• Mainstem bronchi branch into lobar bronchi and segmental
bronchi
– Branches smaller than 1 mm are called bronchioles
• Travel a short distance before branching into even
smaller alveolar ducts
• As branches become successively smaller, the following
changes occur:
– C-shaped rings of cartilage fade into small curved plates
– Epithelium changes from ciliated, tall, columnar
epithelium into shorter and boxier cuboidal epithelium,
which contains few cilia or goblet cells
– Amount of smooth muscle increases
 Branches of the
Bronchial Tree
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• The successive divisions of the
branches from the trachea to the alveoli
are:
1. Right and left primary bronchi
2. Secondary or lobar bronchi
3. Tertiary or segmental bronchi
4. Intralobular bronchioles
5. Terminal bronchioles
6. Respiratory bronchioles
7. Alveolar ducts
8. Alveolar sacs
9. Alveoli

© Ralph Hutchings/Visuals Unlimited

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 The Lungs
• Right lung contains three lobes
• Left lung contains two lobes
• Pleurae covers each lung
– Is a very thin serous membrane
– Has two faces
• Visceral pleura
• Parietal pleura
– Produce the pleural fluid
• Enables them to slip smoothly across each other
• Occupies pleural cavity
The Lungs
• Pneumocyte: One of the cells lining the alveoli (the air sacs) in the
lung.
• The alveoli are, in fact, lined with two types of cells termed the type 1
and type 2 pneumocytes:
• Type 1 pneumocyte: The cell responsible for the gas (oxygen and
carbon dioxide) exchange that takes place in the alveoli. It is a very
large thin cell stretched over a very large area. This type of cell is
susceptible to a large number of toxic insults and cannot replicate
itself.
• Type 2 pneumocyte: The cell responsible for the production and
secretion of surfactant (the molecule that reduces the surface
tension of pulmonary fluids and contributes to the elastic properties
of the lungs). The type 2 pneumocyte is a smaller cell that can
replicate in the alveoli and will replicate to replace damaged type 1
pneumocytes.
 Lungs
• The right and left lungs are soft, spongy, cone-shaped
organs in the thoracic cavity
• The right lung has three lobes and the left lung two lobes

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Right lung Left lung

Thyroid cartilage
Cricoid cartilage
Trachea Plane of
Clavicle
section

Scapula

Superior (upper) Superior (upper)

lobe of right lung lobe of left lung Heart Visceral
pleura
Middle lobe
of right lung Inferior (lower)
lobe of left lung Pericardial Parietal
cavity pleura
Inferior (lower)
lobe of right lung Pericardium
Pleura Right pleural Left pleural
cavity cavity

Rib cartilage

Sternum

54
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Blood flow

Blood flow Pulmonary

venule
Intralobular bronchiole

Pulmonary
arteriole

Smooth muscle Blood flow

Alveolus

Pulmonary
artery Capillary network on
surface of alveolus
Pulmonary
vein
Terminal
bronchiole
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Respiratory
bronchiole
Alveolar
duct
Alveolar
sac
Alveoli Capillary

Simple squamous
epithelial cells

Alveolus

© McGraw-Hill Higher Education, Inc./Bob Coyle

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I. Lungs

1. The right and left soft, spongy, cone-shaped

lungs are separated medially by the mediastinum
and are enclosed by the diaphragm and thoracic cage.

2. The bronchus and large blood vessels enter

each lung.

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3. A layer of serous membrane, the visceral

pleura, folds back to form the parietal pleura.
4. The visceral pleura is attached to the lung,
and the parietal pleura lines the thoracic cavity;
serous fluid lubricates the “pleura cavity”
between these two membranes.

57
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5. The right lung has three lobes, the left has

two.
6. Each lobe is composed of lobules that
contain air passages, alveoli, nerves, blood
vessels, lymphatic vessels, and connective tissues.

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 The Respiratory Tubes
• The structure of the bronchus is Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
Blood flow

similar to that of the trachea, but Blood flow

the C-shaped cartilaginous rings

Venule
are replaced with cartilaginous Arteriole

Alveolar
plates where the bronchus enters wall

the lung Alveolus

• These respiratory tubes become O2

Air

thinner and thinner, and the cell CO2

CO2 O2
layers thin and change until the
alveoli is reached
• It is the alveoli that provides Capillary

surface area for gas exchange

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Blood vessel Capillary Alveolus Alveolus

Tissues and Organs: A Text-Atlas of Scanning Electron Microscopy, by R.G. Kessel and
R.H. Kardon. © 1979 W.H. Freeman and Company
Bronchiole
Courtesy of the American Lung Association

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