The Respiratory System
Breathe in and breathe out. Congratulations you just used your respiratory system, wasn't that really easy? Well it seems that breathing in and out is a simple walk in the park, but is that only what the respiratory system is about, breathing? Contrary to what most people think, the respiratory system is responsible for a multitude of processes in your body. We understand that gas exchange is one process but the respiratory system is also responsible for: communication, olfaction, acid-base balance, blood pressure regulation, blood and lymph flow, and blood filtration. Exactly, the respiratory system is not just gas exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide!
When I was an infant I had tracheal webbing, which made it very difficult for me to breathe. I spent quite a few months in the NICU at the hospital which was not normal. I was being cared for twenty four hours of the day, seven days a week. I was hooked up to what seemed like all the machines in the world. I have had asthma all my life and it has gotten better these past four years of high school. It has been a while since I have been to my pulmonologist, and every time I would go for a check up, I would be so intrigued by how my doctor explained the respiratory system.
The main organs of the respiratory system-
Figure 1. The Respiratory System
When I was an infant I had tracheal webbing, which made it very difficult for me to breathe. I spent quite a few months in the NICU at the hospital which was not normal. I was being cared for twenty four hours of the day, seven days a week. I was hooked up to what seemed like all the machines in the world. I have had asthma all my life and it has gotten better these past four years of high school. It has been a while since I have been to my pulmonologist, and every time I would go for a check up, I would be so intrigued by how my doctor explained the respiratory system.
The main organs of the respiratory system-
- Nose
- Pharynx
- Larynx
- Trachea
- Bronchi
- Lungs
Figure 2. Organs of the Respiratory System
As oxygen is inhaled, it flows through the pharynx and larynx, to the trachea. The oxygen enters the lungs and through the bronchi, and has a final destination of your alveoli. Passing through the bronchi, the air separates into bronchioles which lead to the alveoli. Each of your two lungs has a system of air tubules that branch out forming a bronchial tree. This tree extends from the main bronchus, and into sixty-five thousand bronchiole terminals. At the end of each bronchiole there are alveoli. An alveolus is pouch about 0.2 to 0.5 mm in diameter where the gas exchange between oxygen and carbon dioxide occur. In a human lung, there are approximately 150 million alveoli. That is 300 million alveoli in a human body! Instead of having one big alveolus, we have millions of alveoli. Thus, increasing the surface area to volume ratio, which allows more molecules to diffuse across the cell membranes.
Figure 3. Alveoli in the lungs
Each and every alveolus is webbed in by blood capillaries stemming out from the pulmonary artery. In-between the air pouch and the capillaries there is a respiratory membrane protecting alveoli with squamous endothelial cells. These cells are very thin, having a total thickness of about 0.5 micro meters. When oxygen is taken in, carbon dioxide is expelled by diffusing through the capillaries and into the alveoli.
Some Disorders of the Respiratory System
Acute rhinitis (common cold): Whether you like it or not, everyone has experienced a common cold before in their lifetime, and yes if it means getting out of work for whatever reason, some people wouldn't mind getting a cold. This sickness is caused by many different types of viruses that infect the upper respiratory tract. Congestion, coughing, and sneezing are all symptoms of acute rhinitis.
Pneumonia: This infection affects the lower respiratory tract. Different viruses, fungi, protozoans, and bacteria lead to alveoli being filled with fluid which interferes with the gas diffusing between the capillaries and the alveoli.
Figure 4. Pneumonia
Not to say that all the other systems of the body are not important, but by highlighting the respiratory system, it allows us to realize how important it is. The respiratory system not only allows us to breathe but is also responsible for many other things. Blood filtration and acid-base balance are just a couple of things the respiratory system is responsible for. At the end of the day, our bodies require oxygen no matter what the case is, our cells need it to live and function to carry out our everyday actions, thoughts, and feelings.
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