Respiratory System – consists of specific organs responsible for supplying the blood with oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide.

PARTS OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

• Nose or nasal cavity - serves as the main entry / exit for air where it is warmed, filtered and humidified to get rid of foreign substances; it has two openings, the nostrils (or nares)

• Pharynx or throat – a muscular tube found behind the mouth and nasal cavity which serves as the passageway for air and food.

• Larynx or voice box – it is formed by several cartilages whose function is to connect the pharynx and trachea and for the production of sound and speech.

• Epiglottis – a flap of tissue that acts as a protective barrier for the lungs.

Lower Respiratory Tract

• Trachea or Windpipe – made up of rings of cartilage making it flexible enough to keep the passageway open for air; Its cilia push mucus and dust particles and bacteria toward the throat.

• Bronchi – two tubes that conducts air into the lungs: the left bronchus which is narrower, longer and less straight than the right bronchus.

  Bronchioles – tinier branches of the main bronchi going to the air sacs

  Alveoli or air sacs – thin-walled bulbs referred to as the sites of respiration

• Lungs – main organs of the respiratory system which are large, elastic, spongy sacs.

pleura is a thin membrane covering the lungs

• Diaphragm – a dome-shaped muscle separating the chest from the abdomen that aids in respiration