The Respiratory System  Epiglottis

 Nose  Superior opening of the larynx

 Pharynx  Routes food to the larynx and air toward the trachea
 Larynx  Vocal cords (vocal folds)
 Trachea  Vibrate with expelled air to create sound (speech)
 Bronchi  Glottis- opening between vocal cords
 Lung-alveoli
Trachea (Windpipe)
Function of the Respiratory System  Connects larynx with bronchi
 Oversees gas exchanges between the blood and external  Lined with ciliated mucosa
environment  Beat continuously in the opposite direction of
 Exchange of gasses takes place within the lungs in alveoli incoming air
 Passageways to the lungs purify, warm, and humidify the  Expel mucus loaded with dust and other debris away
incoming air from lungs
 Walls are reinforced with C-shaped hyaline cartilage
Nose
 The only externally visible part of the respiratory system Lungs
 Air enters the nose through the external nares (nostrils)  Occupy most of the thoracic cavity
 The interior of the nose consists of a nasal cavity divided  Apex is near the clavicle (superior portion
by a nasal septum  Base rests on the diaphragm (inferior portion)
 Each lung is divided into lobes by fissures
Nasal Cavity  Left lung- two lobes
 Olfactory receptors are located in the mucosa on the  Right lung- three lobes
superior surface
 The rest of the cavity is lined with respiratory mucosa Coverings of the lungs
 Moisten air  Pulmonary (visceral) pleura covers the lung surface
 Traps incoming foreign particles  Parietal pleura lines the walls of the thoracic cavity
 Lateral walls have projectors called conchae  Pleural fluid fills the area between layers of pleura to
 Increases surface area allow gliding
 Increases air turbulence within the nasal cavity
 The nasal cavity is separated from the oral cavity by
palate
 Anterior hard palate (bone)
 Posterior soft palate (muscle)

Paranasal Sinuses
 Cavities within bones surrounding the nasal cavity
 Frontal bone
 Sphenoid bone  The only fluid tissue in the human body
 Ethmoid bone  Classified as a connective tissue
 Maxillary bone  Living cells = formed elements
 Function of sinuses  Non-living matrix = plasma
 Lighten the skull
 Act as resonance chambers for speech Physical
 Produce mucus that drains into the nasal cavity  –7.45
 lower than 7.35 – acidosis
Pharynx (Throat)  higher than 7.45 –alkalosis
 Muscular passage from nasal cavity to larynx  Blood temperature is higher than body temperature
 Three regions of the pharynx  5-6 Liters or about 6 quarts/body
 Nasopharynx- superior region behind nasal cavity
 Oropharynx- middle region behind mount Generally speaking:
 Laryngopharynx- inferior region attached  Arteries contain oxygenated blood.
 The oropharynx and laryngopharynx are common  Exemption are: 2 pulmonary arteries
passageways for air and food 2 umbilical vein
 Veins contain deoxygenated blood.
Larynx (Voice Box)  Exemption are: 4 pulmonary veins
 Routes air and food into proper channels 1 umbilical vein
 Plays a role in speech
Formed Elements
 Made of eight rigid hyaline cartilages and spoon-shaped
1. Erythrocytes (Red Blood Cells)
flap of elastic cartilage (epiglottis)
 The main function is to transport oxygen and CO2
 Thyroid cartilage
 Anatomy of circulating erythrocytes
 Largest hyaline cartilage
 Biconcave disks – donut-shaped
 Protrudes anteriorly (Adam’s apple)
 Essentially bags of hemoglobin
  Anucleated – pale at the center  Thrombus or embolus – undesirable blood clots
 Contain very few organelles
 Tendency to adhere and form stacks of coins or Blood Plasma
Rouleaux formation  90% water
 Normal RBC count = 4-6 million  The remaining 10% contains:
 Low count – anemia  Hormones
 High count – polycythemia  Proteins (albumin, globulin, immune)
 Hematocrit – percentage of RBC in the whole blood  Waste products (CO2)
 Oxygen
Hemoglobin  Salts (Na, K, Calcium, bicarbonate)
 Iron-containing protein  Nutrients (glucose, amino acids, fatty acids)
 Binds strongly, but reversibly, to oxygen
 Each molecule has 4 oxygen binding sites Plasma Proteins
 Each erythrocyte has 250 million hemoglobin molecules  Albumin – regulates osmotic pressure
 Clotting proteins – help to stem blood loss when a blood
Leukocytes (White Blood Cells) vessel is injured
 Crucial in the body’s defense against disease  Antibodies – help protect the body from antigens
 Complete cells – membrane, nucleus and cytoplasm
 Able to move in and out of blood vessel – diapedesis Hematopoiesis – Blood Cell Formation
 Can respond to chemicals released by damaged tissues  Occurs in red bone marrow
 Normal WBC count = 4,000-11,000  All blood cells are derived from the primary stem cell
 Low count – leukopenia – generally indicates an called hemocytoblast
infection
 High count – leukocytosis – caused by certain drugs

Types of Leukocytes
1. Granulocytes – granules in their cytoplasm can be stained
 Neutrophils
 Multilobed nucleus with fine granules
 Act as phagocytes at active sites of acute infection
 Most abundant
 Purplish
 Hypersegmented
 Eosinophils
 Large brick-red cytoplasmic granules
 Found in response to allergies and parasitic worms
 Old telephone shape
 Reddish-orange
 Basophils
 Have histamine-containing granules
 Initiate inflammation
 Rarest
 Bluish-violet

2. Agranulocytes – lack visible cytoplasmic granules

 Lymphocytes
 Nucleus fills most of the cell
 Play an important role in the immune response
 Closest to the size of RBC
 Very thin rim of cytoplasm
 P cells and T cells
 Monocytes
 Largest of the white blood cells
 Function as macrophages
 Important in fighting chronic infection
 Bean-shaped nucleus

Platelets
 Fragments of a multinucleated megakaryocyte
 Needed for the clotting process
 Normal platelet count = 300,000/mm3
 Low count – thrombocytopenia
 High count – thrombocytosis