Respiratory System

1. Respiratory System Done by future scientists: Daniella Abbastante, Kelly Zukowski,Derek Goldberg , Josh Muzzo

2. The respiratory system. system include airways, lungs, and the respiratory muscles. Molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide are passively exchanged, by diffusion, between the gaseous external environment and the blood. The respiratory system (or ventilatory system) is the biological system that introduces respiratory gases to the interior and performs gas exchange. The anatomical features of the respiratory

3. Breathing In • Breathing in is called inspiration and breathing out is expiration . Your chest muscles and diaphragm help you to breathe in by expanding your chest. This creates pressure that air rushes down to the bottom of the lungs.

4. Breathing out • Breathing out is easy , your muscles relax and the air is squeezed out. Breathing is one of the body’s automatic functions, meaning you don’t need to think every time you breathe. Another part of your brain controls breathing for you so that you never forget to breathe.

5. Gross! Phlegm! • You may wonder what is phlegm ,it is a trap for dirt and microbes that is continuously swept from the lungs into the throat and swallowed. When phlegm is yellowish green it means it is full of dead cells.

6. Nose • Before air enters the body, the nose filters it to remove dirt and warms it up so that it’s at an appropriate temperature and your sense of smell is also in the nose.

7. Pharynx • The throat(pharynx) is a muscular tube that carries the air down into the windpipe and also carries food to the gullet.

8. Epiglottis • The epiglottis is a leaf-shaped piece of cartilage (gristle) that covers the top of the voice box (larynx) during swallowing and it keeps food out of the lungs and voice box.

9. Larynx(voice box) • The voice box sits on the top of the windpipe and it has a backbone of cartilage (gristle) that you can feel at the front of your throat. This is known as the Adam’s apple and is more prominent in men than women.

10. Vocal Cords • The vocal cords are at the centre of the voice box and make the sounds when you talk,sing,cough or hum. They are folds of membrane lining that vibrate when air flows through them to the lungs. Also, a man’s larynx is usually larger than a woman’s making his voice lower and the Adam’s apple more prominent.

11. Trachea(windpipe) • The trachea or windpipe takes air from the vocal cords to the lungs and it has ribs of cartilage (gristle) to keep it open.

12. Bronchial Tree • The bronchi or airways take the air to the bottom of the lungs and the airways are called a bronchial tree because they look like the roots of a large tree.

13. Lungs • In the lungs, thousands of tiny air sacs called alveoli extend from the end of the smallest airways (bronchioles).They look a bit like bunches of grapes hanging off a stem. The left and right lungs are about the same size, except that the left lung has an indentation at the bottom to allow room for the heart.

14. Alveoli(air sacs) • Oxygen enters your bloodstream through a process called respiration. The walls of the alveoli(air sacs) are thin, allowing oxygen from the inhaled air to pass through where it’s picked up by passing red blood cells. This oxygenated blood will travel throughout the body, providing vital fuel living cells need. After delivering its oxygen, the deoxygenated blood returns to the lungs. Back at the lungs, CO2 passes through the thin walls of the alveoli and leaves the lungs when you exhale.

15. Diaphragm The diaphragm is the main breathing muscles, that expands the lungs when it contracts, forcing air into the lungs.

16. Why do we cough? Did you know coughing has amazing speed of about 100 miles per hour. The reason we cough is so we can clear breathing passages of unwanted irritants. In order for a cough to take place several events need to take place in order. For example water in the windpipe initiates cough reflex. First vocal cords open widely, letting additional air into the lungs. Then the Epiglottis closes off the wind pipe and the abdominal and rib muscles contract increasing the pressure behind the Epiglottis. With increase pressure it forcefully expels air and creates a sound as it rushes past vocal cord. Finally the rushing air dislodges the irritant make you breath comfort again.

17. Why do we sneeze? Sneezing involves a sudden and violent expiration of breath through the nose and mouth. But what is the purpose of this, other than being a way for foul people on the train to cover me with snot when they don't bother covering their mouths? A sneeze usually starts with chemicals such as histamine being released by inflammatory cells in the nose, telling the body that something is there that shouldn't be. Stimulation of nerve endings mean a message can get sent to the brain causing a reflex reaction that results in a sneeze. Of course, in allergies the body gets it wrong and thinks that something harmless (like pollen) is trying to attack us, so it causes the release of histamine and we start sneezing when there is no need.

18. Why do we yawn? Everybody yawns — from unborn babies to the oldest great-grandparent. Animals do it, too. But why, exactly, do people and animals yawn? No one knows for sure. But there are many theories (ideas) about why people yawn. One is that when we are bored or tired, we just don't breathe as deeply as we usually do. As this theory goes, our bodies take in less oxygen because our breathing has slowed. Therefore, yawning helps us bring more oxygen into the blood and move more carbon dioxide out of the blood. Another theory is that yawning stretches the lungs and lung tissue. Stretching and yawning may be a way to flex muscles and joints, increase heart rate, and feel more awake.

19. Amazing facts • The right lung is slightly larger than the left. • Hairs in the nose help to clean the air we breathe as well as warming it. • The highest recorded “sneeze speed” is 165 kilometers per hour. • The surface area of the lungs is roughly the same size as a tennis court. • The capillaries in the lungs would extend 1,600 kilometers if placed end to end. • We lose half a liter of water a day through breathing. This is the water vapor we see when we breathe onto glass. • A person at rest usually breathes between 12 and 15 times a minute. • The breathing rate is faster in children and women than in men.

20. Why Don’t Smoke? • Many smokers mistakenly believe that they eliminate most of the toxins when they exhale, but this is not true. Most of the nasty chemicals remain in your lungs. In fact, about 60 percent of these toxic substances cling to your lungs and remain there, even after you exhale. And as time goes on, these nasty chemicals begin to accumulate in your lungs.