Download Not Just a Bunch of Hot Air

Not Just a Bunch of
Hot Air
The Respiratory System
The Function of the
Respiratory System
» The respiratory system moves oxygen from the
outside into the body and removes carbon
dioxide and water. (so it also functions in
excretion-removing waste products from the
body)
»! Remember, the body needs oxygen as an
ingredient in the chemical reactions that burn
glucose, releasing the energy the body uses.
Parts of the Respiratory
System
» In the beginning…
The Nose/Mouth: cleans air from particles
with mucus and hair-like projections
called cilia.
The Pharynx
» The place where the nose
and mouth connect in the
back of the throat (it is also
part of your digestive
system).
The Trachea
» Our windpipe: it’s a rigid
tube protected by the
epiglottis, a flap that
prevents food from
entering the trachea.
» It is also is lined with cilia
and mucus
Bronchi, Bronchioles, and Lungs
» Bronchi are the twin main tubular
passages which branch into the 2 lungs
» The Bronchi then split into many smaller
tubes called Bronchioles. These end in
small air sacs called Alveoli.
» The Bronchi, the Bronchioles, the
Alveoli, and their capillaries make up the
lungs.
» Lungs are two large sacs and are the
main organs of the respiratory system
Alveoli (not a kind of pasta)
» Small raspberry shaped sacs
surrounded by capillaries at the
ends of bronchioles where
gases (oxygen and carbon
dioxide) are exchanged.
How it all works
When you inhale you contract the
diaphragm ( a large muscle beneath the
lungs) moving it down, which lowers the
lung’s air pressure, drawing in air.
When you exhale you relax the diaphragm
moving it up, increasing the lung’s air
pressure, so air rushes out.
How you speak
» Air moves across slit like openings in
your larynx ( our vocal cords or
sometimes called the voicebox) located
below your pharynx. This causes them
to vibrate, making sound.
» They (the openings in the larynx)
shorten when you make high-pitched
sounds and lengthen when you make
low-pitched sounds.