Histology of Respiratory System~ dr.

Mirna
Respiratory System
Respiratory system consist of the
paired lungs & the series of air
passages that lead to & from the
lungs.
the RS devided into 2 principal
region:
1. Conduction portion
2. Respiratory portion

Nasal Cavities
Paired chambers separated by a
bony & cartilaginous septum.
Each chamber communicates ant
with ext environment through
nares & post with nasopharynx
through choanae.
Divided into 3 regions :- vestibule
respiratory segm.
Olfactory segm.

Conducting portion consist of :

nasal cav, nasopharynx, larynx,
trachea, pair of main bronchi,
broncioles.
Respiratory portion consist of:
respiratory bronchioles, alveolar
duct, alveolar sac, alveoli.
Air passing through the respiratory
passages
must be conditioned before reaching the
terminal respiratory units. Its include:
warming,
moistening & removal of particulate
materials.
Vestibule of the Nasal Cavity
Lined with stratified squamous
epith.
Contains : stiff hairs, vibrissae
entrap large particulate.
Posteriorly stratified sguamous
epith become thinner & transition
to the pseudostratified epith that
characterizes the respiratory
segment sebaceous glands are
absent.

Respiratory segment of NC
Constitutes most of the volume
of NC
Lined with ciliated
pseudostratified columnar epith.
Nasal septum medial wall of
resp segm is smooth but lateral
wall (conchae) is bony projection.

The Epithelium of RS is composed of 5 cell

types :
Ciliated cells: covering the surface of
epith
Goblet cells: synthesize & secrete
mucus.The mucus & other secr are
move toward the pharynx by means
of coordinated sweeping movements

by : Dr. Ezyan

 Conchae plays a dual role :

increase surface area & cause
turbulence in airflow to allow
more efficient conditioning of
inspired air.

of cilia normally swallowed

Brush cells: has blunt microvilli.
Small granule cells: contain secretory
granules
Basal cells: steam cell from which
other cell types arise.
Epithelium of RS of NC is essentially same as
the
epithelium lining most of the parts that
follow in the
conducting system.

Olfactory Segment of NC
The epithelium is thicker
than the nonsensory epith &
it serves as the receptor for
smell. Its consists of :
- Olfactory cells: bipolar
neurons that span
the thickness of the
epithelium.
- Supporting or
sustentacular cells:
columnar cells with
apical microvilli.
- Basal cells: steam cells
from which the
olfactory &supporting
cell differentiate.
- Brush cells
Lamina propria directly
contiguous with periosteum.
Contains numerous blood &
lymphatic vessels, nerves &
olfactory (bowmans gland).

Paranasal Sinuses
PS are air filled spaces in the
bones of the walls of the
nasal cavity.
Lined by respiratory
epithelium with numerous
goblet cells.
Named for the bone which
they are found, i.e, ethmoid,
frontal, sphenoid & maxillar.
Mucus produced in the
sinuses is swept into nasal
cav by coordinated cilliary
movement.

Epiglottis
Mikr : devided into :
- Pars Lingualis : stratified
squamous ephit.
- Pars Laringealis : respiratory
ephitelium
Lamina propria : seromucous
gland
Elastic cartilage located in the
middle.

Larynx
Irregular tube that connects pharyng
to trachea.
Within lam propria lie a number of
laringeal cartilages.
Larger cartilages are hyaline, smaller
cartilage are elastic.
Function of the cartilages :
- Maintainance an open airways
- prevent swallowed food/fluid from
entering
trachea
- participate in producing sounds
for phonation.

Vocal cords
Located in the post of epiglottis.
Devided into :
- cranial fold false focal cord: resp
epith,
gland ++, have no intrinsic musc so do
not
modulate in phonation.
- caudal fold true focal cord :
stratified
squamous epith serves to protect the
mucosa
from abrasion caused by the rapidly
moving air
stream, has no gland, have intrinsic &

Larynx

extrinsic
musc.

A short, flexible, air tube (2,5 cm

in diameter & 10 cm long)
Its wall assists in conditioning
inspired air.
Divided into 2 main bronchi.
The wall consist of 4 definable
layers :
- mucosa: composed of ciliated,
pseudostratified epith & an
elastic fiber
rich lamina propria.
- submucosa: composed of
slightly denser
conn tissue than the lamina
propria.
- cartilaginous layer: composed
of C
shaped hyaline cartilages.
- Adventitia

Trachea
Tracheal epithelium is similar to
resp epith.
Ciliated columnar cells, goblet cells
& basal cells principales cells
types in tracheal epith.
Brush cells, small granule cells in
small number.
C-shaped hyaline cartilage to
prevent collapse of tracheal lumen,
particularly during expiration.
Fibroelastic tissue & smooth
muscle (trachealis muscle) also
present.

Bronchi
The wall of bronchus have 5 layers :
- Mucosa: pseudostratified
epithelium,
height of cells decrease as the
bronchus
decrease in diameter.
- Muscularis:continous layer of
smooth
muscles in the larger bronchi.
- Submucosa:contain gland &
adiposed tissue.
- cartilage layer:become smaller as
bronchial
diameter diminishes.
- Adventitia

Bronchioles

 Air conducting ducts that

measure 1 mm or less.
Cartilage plates & glands are not
present in bronchioles.
Epithelium: pseudostratified
ciliated columnar epithelium
transform into simple cilliated
columnar and become cuboidal
epithelium as the duct narrow.
Goblet cells still present in the
largest bronchioles but
disappear in terminal
bronchioles.
Respiratory bronchioles contains
both ciliated cells & clara cells
but distally clara cells
predominant.
Alveoli are the actual sites of
gas exchange between the air &
the blood.
Each adult lung has about 150250 million alveoli, their
combined internal surface area
is 75 m2.
Each alveolus is a thin wall
polyhendral chambers 0,2 mm
in diameter.
Alveolar duct : elongated
airways, almost have no walls
only alveoli as their peripheral
boundary. Rings of smooth
muscles are present in the
interalveolar septa.
Alveolar sac: spaces surrounded
by clusters of alveoli. Usually
occur at termination of an
alveolar duct.

Alveoli
Alveolar epithelium is composed of
type I & type II alveolar cells &
occasional brush cells.
Type I alveolar cells are extremely
thin squamous cells that line most
(95%) of the surface of the alveoli.
Joint to another cell by occluding
juntions.
Type II alveolar cells/ septal cell are
secretory cells. Cover only 5 % of
alveolar air surface. Rich in the
mixture of phospholipids, neutral
lipids & proteins that secreted by
exocytosis to form surface-active
agent surfactant
Brush cells: only few in number
serve as receptors that monitoring
air quality in the lung.