Respiratory+System

**What is the name of the chosen body system?** The name of the chosen body system is respiratory system.

**What is the role of the system?** The main role of the respiratory system is the inhaling of fresh oxygen needed for the cells in the body and also for the exhaling of carbon dioxide. The other role that the system does is to maintain the body temperature and eliminate excess water in the body.
 * Where is the system located?** The system is located in the nasal passage, oral cavity, Pharynx, Larynx, Trachea, Bronchi, and Lung. The system is mainly located in the chest cavity.


 * What organs make up the respiratory system?** The nose which is the passage way for the air that a person breaths in. The air goes through the nose and then the nose moistens it and goes through the cilia and filters it before it reaches the lungs. The pharynx is a funnel shaped tube acting as a passage way for air and food. The larynx is lined with mucous membrane and between that is the Glottis which is the narrowest part of the air passage. The glottis is protected by a lid of fibro cartilage or also called the Epiglottis which closes over the glottis when an individual swallows. The trachea is a tube composed of cartilage and lined with mucus membrane lying in front of the esophagus. The trachea diverges into the right and left bronchi. The bronchi are “C” shaped rings of cartilage lined with ciliated mucus membrane that sweeps out dust particles. Bronchi branch into Secondary Bronchi as they enter the lungs, which further divide into Bronchioles. As the secondary bronchi and bronchioles divide the walls become thinner and more elastic. Then they branch into minute Alveoli which transfer gases in the lungs. The lungs are main organ of respiration. In the lungs millions of Alveoli and blood Capillaries exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. Each lung is housed in a separate Pleural Cavity. Pleura are sacs of membrane that line the pleural cavity to lessen friction caused by breathing. The diaphragm is main muscle of respiration located at the base of the thoracic cavity. Muscle contracts and flattens so that the thorax and lungs have room for incoming air causing you to inhale and then relaxes causing you to exhale. The Nasopharynx is located above the part of the pharynx that food enters. At base of Nasopharynx are the soft palate and pendulous uvula. When swallowing there is a dangerous possibility that food will enter into nose. The oropharynx is where the mouth leads to it. The mucous lining the walls of the oropharynx change slightly to adapt for handling food as well as air. The laryngopharynx also serves as a common passage way for food and air. The base of it is the esophagus, which directs food and air to where they would be. Sometimes it can be confused and make a mistake.


 * How do people make sure that the respiratory system remains healthy?** The main important thing an individual can do to protect the respiratory system is not to smoke. Another important way to protect the system is to stay away from second hand smoke because it is mainly spread through the air. The other important way to protect the system is by washing hands because 80 percent of sickness is respiratory diseases. The last important way to protect the system is being away from air pollution because of the air quality level.



**What can go wrong with the respiratory system?** Most of the problems that can affect people during their teen years would be asthma. Asthma is a long term, inflammatory lung disease that causes airways to tighten and narrow when a person is near cigarette smoke, dust or any kind of allergen. Bronchitis usually doesn’t affect many teens but it mostly affects people that smoke. In bronchitis the membranes lining the larger bronchial tubes become inflamed and an excessive amount of mucus is produced. Common colds hit everyone at any age. The common cold is caused by 200 different viruses that cause inflammation in the upper respiratory tract. A cough is another one that hits everyone at any age. The cough is a symptom of an illness, but isn’t an illness itself. There are many different types of coughs from ranging to nothing major to life threatening. Cystic Fibrosis is an inherited disease affecting the lungs. It causes mucus in the body to be abnormally thick and sticky. The mucus can block the airways in the lungs and a person can get bacterial infections. Pneumonia is inflammation of the lungs, which occurs because of infection of a bacteria or virus. Pneumonia causes fever, inflammation of lung tissue, and makes breathing more difficult.
 * What would happen to the individual if something went wrong with the respiratory system?** An individual can have a low body temperature because there's not enough oxygen going throughout the entire body. Another thing that could happen would be that a person would have poor breathing because if the respiratory system fails a person wouldn't be able to breathe at all. Another thing is that a person could have a lung or both lungs collapse because without the proper oxygen the lungs would deflate and wouldn't be useful to a person. Also without the proper oxygen there wouldn't be any blood flow to the rest of the body. Also a person wouldn't be able to talk because without the air going through the vocal cords there wouldn't be any noise at all from anyone.


 * Could a person survive without the respiratory system?** No a person can't survive without this system because if the system fails there wouldn't be any oxygen or blood flowing throughout the rest of the body. The respiratory system counts on the inhaling and exhaling of the lungs to keep the body going. Without the lungs an individual can't do anything and he or she would be put on a breathing machine or ventilator for the rest of his or her life.

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