Science Project

 

 

 

 

Parts of the RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

(Pictures are underneath)

 

Diaphragm ~ The Diaphragm plays a huge role in breathing.  It

is a muscle located underneath the lungs.  When you inhale, the air comes

the ribs become tighter which makes the chest wall go up and out. Meanwhile,

the diaphragm moves down and becomes tighter (as shown in the picture below).

This makes more space for the air to come into the lungs.  When you exhale, both

the ribs and diaphragm relax.  The space in the lungs decreases so all the air can

go out of the body.  The process is then repeated many times.   

 

 

 

 

Diaphragm.mov

(an animation of a diaphragm in action)

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 Trachea ~ The trachea is the windpipe.  It allows air to pass

to the lungs.  It is located under the pharynx and then leads to the

lungs.  The trachea is lined with mucus and cilia.  The cilia sweeps

upward which moves the mucus to the pharynx where it is swallowed. 

Only air goes through the trachea, if food does then it will block you

from breathing.  The trachea is like a water slide that leads into a pool.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Nose ~ The nose allows air to enter your respiratory system and it is

located above the pharynx.  The nose has two nostrils that allow air to pass

through to your nasal cavities.  The nasal cavities are filled with blood

vessels that warm the air and mucus-making cells.  Tissues inside

 the nose can become very dry so the mucus keeps it moist.  Another job

that the mucus does is, it traps dust, germs and other particles that

enter your nose.  Cilia covers the nasal cavities and moves the mucus

down your throat, which you swallow.  The mucus then is destroyed by

the stomach acids.  Sometimes, the particles do not reach the stomach.

They make your nose "itch" and thats when you sneeze.  The nose is like

a two car garage that you can pull in and out of.

 

 

 

Lungs ~ The lungs are the main part of the respiratory system.  

The lungs allow you to breath. Also, the gas exchange takes place

in the lungs. They are located under the trachea, larynx, pharynx

and the nose and mouth.  The bronchi, the bronchioles and alveoli

are all inside of the lungs.  Pleura is the protective covering around

the lungs.  The diaphragm allows you to breathe.  Its is the muscle

that pushes up your lungs when you exhale and relaxes when you

inhale.  The lungs are like a bottle of dish soap, when you squeeze

the bottle, air comes out.  Then when you let go, the bottle fills

right back up again.

 

 

 

 

 

Bronchi ~ The bronchi are passageways that allows air to pass

through the trachea to the lungs.  There are two bronchi, the left 

bronchus leads to the left lung and the right bronchus leads to the

right lung.  Since part of the bronchus is outside of the lung and 

the other part is inside of the lung, it leads to the bronchioles. 

The bronchi are like a fork in the road where you can choose which

way you go and then turn back and go back the way you came.

 

(inside lung)

 

 

 

Bronchioles ~ The bronchioles move the air from the bronchi

to the alveoli.  The bronchioles are passage ways for the air to

travel to the alveoli.  The alveoli bring the air to the bloodstream,

where the oxygen is absorbed.  Also, they control the distribution

of the airflow.  The inside of the bronchioles is made of smooth

muscle and the outside of it is made up of cartilage.  The

bronchioles are like the roads of New York City that lead to the

George Washington Bridge. 

 

 

 

 

Capillaries ~ The capillaries connect arteries to veins.  

They are one cell thick blood vessels that fill up with oxygen

when you breathe.  They are located in the lung and it

connects to the alveoli.  There are small holes in the capillaries

to let the oxygen come in and out (as shown in the bottom picture).

The capillaries are like a sieve, where the water can drain out and

then if you put it into a pot the water can come back in.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Larynx ~ The larynx is the "voice box".  It allows

you to talk and use your vocal cords, and also air passes

through it on its way to the lungs.  Also, it prevents food

and other substances from getting into your lungs.  It is

located under the pharynx and above the trachea.  Sometimes

men have "adam's apples" this is actually the larynx.  The

larynx is like riding your bike, talking and chewing gum at the

same time because there are so many different functions that it has.

 

(talking)

 

 

 

Pharynx ~  The pharynx is the "throat".  Air passes through the

pharynx after it passes through the nasal cavities. It is located under the

nasal cavities and above the epiglottis and the trachea.  The pharynx is the

only organ of the respiratory system that is also part of the digestive system.

It is a passage way for air and food, the air continues to the trachea and the

food continues on to the esophagus.  The pharynx is like the Mississippi

river, everything flows through it!  

 

  

Alveoli ~ The alveoli are located in the lungs, at the end of the

bronchioles.  They look like a bunch of grapes.  The alveoli are made up

of lung tissues and their job is to pass the air from the lungs to the blood.

Capillaries surround the alveoli, this is where the blood then picks up oxygen

and distributes it to other parts of the body.  The alveoli are like a messengers

that pass information onto different parts of the country, because they pass

the oxygen onto the blood that passes the oxygen onto the rest of the body.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cilia ~ Cilia is found in the nose and in the

trachea.  They are tiny hairs that move all together.

Their job is to move mucus down to the pharynx where

it is swallowed.  Cilia is like a broom that sweeps all the

dirt into the trash.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

FUNCTIONS OF THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

 

 

 

     There are many functions of the respiratory system.  One of the functions of

the system is getting oxygen from the outside of the body to the inside of the

body and carbon dioxide from the inside of the body to the outside.  This

function uses all the parts of the respiratory system, (in order of appearance) 

nose, cilia, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, lungs, bronchioles, alveoli, and capillaries,

and diaphragm.  This is the main function of the respiratory system but there are many

small other ones.  One of the other functions is to maintain the acid in the blood.  

By being able to exhale and inhale it does not overflow the blood with carbon

dioxide or oxygen, there is an equal balance.  The respiratory system also

works with the circulatory system.  Since one of the functions of the

respiratory system is to pass oxygen to the blood vessels from the lungs, the

circulatory system receives the oxygen and passes the carbon dioxide

to the lungs for the gas exchange.  The blood takes the oxygen to other parts

of the body.  The respiratory system is one of the most important body systems,

without it we would not be able to do daily activities.  

 

 

Click here to see other videos of the respiratory system in Action!

 

 

 

                                   Be Healthy, Don't Smoke

 

 

    In order to keep your respiratory system healthy you have to follow a certain lifestyle.

The main thing to do is not smoke.  If you smoke it effects your whole respiratory track.

The mouth, nose, trachea and pharynx will become full of soot and residue from breathing

in so much smoke.  Because of this, the cilia lining your nose and trachea will be burned

off and so this means that the mucus will stay in you nose and trachea instead of being

swallowed.  You have to learn to say "no" when someone asks you if you want a cigarette.

Another thing to protect your respiratory system is not living or being with someone who

smokes.  If you are near someone who smokes that is called second hand smoke.  Even 

though second hand smoke is not as bad it can still cause great damage to your lungs.

Also, if you live in a very polluted environment, your lungs could become very damaged.

The pollution could cause your lungs to turn a brownish color.  If you follow these tips

on how to keep your respiratory system healthy then you will live for much longer.

 

 

 

 

 

                                             Disease in the Respiratory System

 

     If you don't keep your respiratory system healthy you could face huge health problems.

The number one way to keep your respiratory system healthy is to not smoke.  Smoking

can cause cancer and many other fatal diseases.  Smoking effects your whole respiratory

track and that can lead to damage of the lungs.  Smoking can cause many fatal diseases,

including lung cancer and emphysema.  Also, you can catch a lot of diseases from other 

people that can effect your lungs, such as pneumonia or tuberculosis.

     When you have cancer in you lungs it can spread to all the parts of your body. First,

the cancer cells break away from a tumor in your lungs.  Then, they go into blood vessels

where the blood stream carries them to other organs.  Those organs then get infected 

by those cancer cells.  So even though the cancer started just in your lungs, it could

go into all the other organs in your body.  Lung cancer, though, normally spreads to

your brain or your bones.  When you have lung cancer, you might have difficulty breathing 

and doing daily activities.  Also, you might have a constant cough that does not go away, 

along with coughing up blood, frequently having a lung disease, such as pneumonia,

and weight loss.

     Another disease you could get in your respiratory system is emphysema.

Emphysema is caused by any type of smoking.  Emphysema is when the alveoli in your 

lungs becomes enlarged and bursts.  This makes it hard for people to breathe out air.

Smoking can also cause damage to the cilia in your trachea and nose.  Since the cilia

sweeps the mucus out of your nose and trachea the airways will be blocked and it will

be harder to breathe.  Also, air pollution plays a big factor in emphysema.  It irritates

the air passageways which causes unhealthy lung tissue.

     There are many other diseases that can be in the respiratory system.  One other 

one is tuberculosis.  Tuberculosis is a disease where your alveoli get infected by

infectious particles. Meanwhile, a cell called macrophages attacks your TB bacteria.

Then the infected bacteria spreads via bloodstream to other organs in your body. 

A person can get this disease by having an infected person cough, sneeze or

share a drink with them.  The symptoms of having tuberculosis are, coughing

blood, energy loss, loss of weight, fever and night sweating.  These are just some

of the diseases that can effect you respiratory system.  In order to prevent them

you need to not smoke and not share drinks with anyone.

  

 

healthy lung               smoker's lung with lung cancer

 

 

Tuberculosis in lungs

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Here are some more links that can help you learn more about the respiratory system:

 

http://www.nb.lung.ca/_images/flash/respiratory.swf

 

http://www.wisc-online.com/objects/ViewObject.aspx?ID=AP15104