Unit 1 MODULE 1
Lesson 1 RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
THE EXCHANGE OF GASES
Do you know that you can survive for several days without water and survive for a month without food,
but you cannot survive for more than five minutes without oxygen?
Oxygen is the part of the air that we breathe. Air is a mixture of different gases. The air you breathe is
made up of
Oxygen … 21.0%
Nitrogen … 78.1%
Carbon Dioxide … 0.03%
Other gases … 0.87%
Life depends on breathing because the cells of the body need oxygen. You breathe in to bring fresh air
into the lungs. The lungs must separate the oxygen from the air. Then you breathe out to get rid of the carbon
dioxide that the body does not need.
Breathing is a mechanical process. It is a process of pumping air into and out of the lungs. Breathing is
done by a group of organs that make up the RESPIRATORY SYSTEM .The function of the respiratory system
is to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide between the air and the cells.
The respiratory organs filter particles from the incoming air. They help control the temperature
and water content of air. They also aid in producing the sounds used in speech and play important roles
in the sense of smell and the regulation of pH.
PARTS AND FUNCTIONS OF RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
NOSE. The organ through which the air enters. The function of the nose is to filter and warm the entering air
with the help of the cilia (hairs inside it).
Nasal passages (Nostrils) – serve as channel for airflow through the nose in which the air is warmed,
cleaned, and moistened.
PHARYNX. The pharynx is commonly called the throat. A passageway for food and air. It connects the nose
with the windpipe.
Epiglottis- a flap of tissue closes over the larynx when you swallow.
LARYNX. Also known as the VOICE BOX OR ADAM’S APPLE.
TRACHEA. Also called windpipe; a hollow tube that serves as passageway of air into the lungs
BRONCHUS. The trachea branches into two tubes, the BRONCHI, inside the lungs. Each bronchus
continues to branch and rebranch until it is very small.
BRONCHIOLES - The finer subdivisions of the bronchi; hairlike tubes that connect to the alveoli.
LUNGS. The lungs are two up-side-down, cone-shaped organs inside the chest. The lungs are really two
bags full of thousands and thousands of alveoli (alveolus).
Pleura. Lungs protective membrane. The fluid in pleural cavity keep the lungs moist.
ALVEOLI (airsacs). Allow the gases exchange inside the lungs.
DIAPHRAGM. The diaphragm is a large muscle that lies flat at the bottom of the chest cavity. The
diaphragm aids in breathing by moving up and down. It helps pump the carbon dioxide out of the lungs and
pull the oxygen into the lungs.
RIB MUSCLES. The lungs are protected in the chest cavity by a set of rib bones. The tissues between the
rib bones are the rib muscles. These muscles are the meat you eat on a sparerib. The rib muscles move the
rib bones and cause the chest cavity to enlarge and contract. The rib muscles work together with the
diaphragm to aid breathing
PASSAGE WAY OF AIR
In the nose and nasal passages, the entering air is made warm,
damp, and clean of unknown particles. Next, the air moves down
through the pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and
alveoli.
Trachea is the empty tube that serves as passageway of air into the
lungs. Bronchi are the two branching tubes that connect the trachea
to the lungs. Bronchioles are the hairlike tubes that connect to the
alveoli. Alveoli are the airsacs that allow gas exchange in the lungs.
PROCESS OF BREATHING
When you breathe in or inhale,
The diaphragm contracts. Inhaling moves the diaphragm down and makes the size of the chest
cavity larger. At the same time,
The ribs move up and increase the size of the chest cavity. There is now more space and less
air pressure inside the lungs.
Air pushes in from the outside where there is a higher air pressure. It pushes into the lungs
where there is a lower air pressure.
When you breathe out, or exhale,
The diaphragm relaxes.
The diaphragm and ribs return to their original place.
The chest cavity returns to its original size. There is now less space and more air pressure
inside the lungs. It pushes the air to the outside where there is a lower air pressure.
Remember, in the process of breathing
1. the size of the chest cavity changes
when the diaphragm and rib muscle
expand and contract.
2. air pressure changes when there is
a change in the size of the chest
cavity.
3. air moves in and out of the lungs
when there is a change in the air
pressure inside the chest cavity.
THE PROCESS OF RESPIRATION
BREATHING is a mechanical process of pumping air into and out of the lungs. The lungs are like two bags
turned inside out, inside the body. The gases in the lungs must get to the cell, and the waste gases in the cells
must get to the lungs. For this to happen, a chemical process is needed.
RESPIRATION. It is the chemical process in which oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between the
outside air and the cells.
Respiration takes place in two stages.
External respiration is the exchange of gases between the air and the blood.
Internal respiration is the exchange of gases between the blood and the cells.
External respiration takes place at the alveoli. The surfaces of the alveoli are covered with a network of
tiny blood vessels that are called CAPILLARIES.
The walls of the alveoli are one cell thick. The walls of the capillaries are also one cell thick. By
diffusion, oxygen passes from the alveoli in the lungs into the capillaries across two rows of cells. At the same
time, carbon dioxide passes from the capillaries to the alveoli across the same two rows of cells.
