Breathing

The gas exchanage system os responsible for getting oxygen into the blood and removing carbon dioxide as a person breathes

Breathing is also called ‘ventilation’ and is the movement of gases into and out of the lungs

Exercise, Smoking and Asthma are all factors that can effect the gas exchange system

Part of the gas exchange system	Function
Trachea	This is also called the windpipe. This tube runs from the mouth, down the throat towards the lungs.
Bronchus	The trachea splits into a left and right bronchus ,each leads to a lung.
Bronchiole	Each bronchus splits again and again into thousands of smaller tubes called bronchioles which take the air deeper into the lungs.
Alveoli	At the ends of bronchioles are tiny air sacs called alveoli. Here oxygen moves into the blood and carbon dioxide moves out.
Intercostal muscles	These muscles run between the ribs and form the chest wall. They contract and relax with the diaphragm when a person breathes.
Diaphragm	The diaphragm is a dome-shaped, flat sheet of muscle under the lungs. It contracts and relaxes with the intercostal muscles during breathing.