Ventilation, & Gas Exchange
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Respiratory system (a.k.a. gas exchange system)-✔✔ Network of organs
and tissues that help you ventilate (breathe).
Thorax-✔✔ Area of body between the neck and the abdomen, i.e. chest
region.
Larynx (a.k.a. voice box)-✔✔ Area of the throat containing the vocal cords,
it’s used for breathing, swallowing, and talking.
Trachea (windpipe)-✔✔ Long tube connecting the larynx to the bronchi, it
allows air to be inhaled and sent into the lungs.
In the bronchi, there are …, … …, in the trachea, the … is … and forms …
The open part of the … are at the back of the … next to the …; when food
passes through the … by …, the … in the trachea’s … allow the swallowed
… to pass through easily.-✔✔ complete, circular, cartilage rings, cartilage,
incomplete, C - shaped rings, cartilage rings, trachea, oesophagus,
oesophagus, peristalsis, gaps, cartilage rings, bolus
Cartilage-✔✔ Strong, flexible connective tissue that is firm but softer than
bones. Cartilage rings in the trachea and bronchi support the airways,
keeping them open as we inhale/exhale.
Lungs-✔✔ 1 pair of organs in the chest that supplies the body with oxygen
and removes carbon dioxide from the body as well. The left lung is smaller
than the right because space is taken up by the heart.
Bronchi (plural for Bronchus)-✔✔ Large air passages/tubes leading from
the trachea to the lungs. They carry air to/from the lungs, moisturize the air
, we breathe, whilst secreting mucus from cell linings to filter out air
impurities.
Bronchioles-✔✔ Small air passages inside the lungs that branch off from
the bronchi to the alveoli. It provides and warms/moistens/cleans
oxygenated air to the alveoli, as well as carries deoxygenated air out of the
alveoli.
Alveoli (plural for Alveolus)-✔✔ Microscopic, grape-shaped air sacs at the
end of the bronchioles, it’s the site of gas exchange where the lungs and
the blood exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide during the inhalation and
exhalation.
Ribs-✔✔ Bones protecting the vital chest organs (i.e. lungs and heart) of
vertebrates by forming a cage connected to the vertebral column and
sternum. The ribcage also helps breathing as it is attached to the
intercostal muscles.
Intercostal muscles-✔✔ Antagonistic muscles lying between bones of the
ribcage. They contract and relax to move the rib cage to ventilate the lungs.
Antagonistic muscle pair-✔✔ Pairs of muscles that do the opposite of one
another: When muscle A contracts (shortens), muscle B relaxes
(lengthens) to move a body part. When muscle B contracts (shortens),
muscle A relaxes (lengthens), to return the body part back to its original
position.
In an …, the muscle that is contracting is called the … while the muscle
that is relaxing is called the …-✔✔ antagonistic muscle pair, agonist (this
muscle contracts to produces the movement), antagonist (this muscle
relaxes to allow the movement to occur)
External intercostal muscles-✔✔ Outermost muscle layer on the surface of
the ribcage’s gap between each rib bone, they help form and move the
chest walls during breathing.