I I .

A N A T O M Y A N D P H Y S I O L O G Y


The respiratory system is situated in the thorax, and is responsible for gaseousexchange between the
circulatory system and the outside world. Air is taken in via theupper airways (the nasal cavity, pharynx
and larynx) through the lower airways (trachea,primary bronchi and bronchial tree) and into the small
bronchioles and alveoli within thelung tissue.The lungs constitute the largest organ in the respiratory
system. They play ani mportant rol e i n respi rati on, or t he process of provi di ng the body wi th
oxygen andrel easi ng carbon di oxi de. The l ungs expand and contract up to 20 ti mes per
mi nute taki ng i n and di sposi ng of those gases.
Air that is breathed in is filled with oxygen and goes to the trachea, which branches off into one of two
bronchi. Each bronchus enters a lung. There are two lungs, one on eachsi de of the breastbone and
protected by the ri bs. Each l ung i s made up of l obes, or sections. There are three lobes in the
right lung and two lobes in the left one. The lungsare cone shaped and made of el asti c, spongy
ti ssue. Wi thi n the l ungs, the bronchi branch out i nto mi nute pathways that go through the
l ung ti ssue. The pathways are cal l ed bronchi ol es, and they end at mi croscopi c ai r sacs
cal l ed al veol i . The al veol i are surrounded by capi l l ari es and provi de oxygen for the bl ood
i s then pumped by the heart throughout the body. The al veol i al so take i n carbon di oxi de,
whi ch i s then exhal ed from the body. Inhal i ng i s due to contracti ons of di aphragm and of
muscl es between the ri bs.exhal i ng resul ts from rel axati on of those muscl es. Each l ung i s
surrounded by a t wo-l ayered membrane, or the pl eura, that under normal ci cumstances
has a very, very smal l amount of fl ui d bet ween the l ayers. The fl ui d al l ows the
membranes to easi l y sl i de over each other duri ng breathi ng.

Each alveolus has a thin membrane that allows oxygen and carbon dioxide topass i n and out of the
capillaries
, the smallest of the blood vessels. When you take
adee p b r eat h, t he memb r ane unf ol ds and ex p a nds . Fr es h o x y g en mo v es i nt o
t he capillaries, and carbon dioxide passes from the capillaries into the bloodstream, where itis carried out
of the body through the lungs.When air is inhaled through the nose or mouth, it travels down the trachea to
thebronchus, where it first enters the lung. From the bronchus, air goes through the bronchi,into the even smaller bronchioles
and lastly into the alveoli.Pneumonia may be defined according to its location in the lung:

Lobar pneumonia occurs in one part, or lobe, of the lung.

Bronchopneumonia tends to be scattered throughout the lung