The Fascinating Respiratory System

Breathing, coughing, sneezing… All these actions are controlled by the fascinating respiratory system. Your respiratory system does all sorts of things in order to keep the intake of oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide running smoothly. After reading this piece, maybe you will think differently of the respiratory system.

When you inhale, the air travels from the mouth and nose to the larynx and down the trachea, a tube that is right next to the passage foods take. The trachea stretches down to the chest cavity, and splits into two tubes called the bronchi. The bronchi then splits into bronchial tubes which then split into more smaller tubes, connecting to small sacs called alveoli. The oxygen in the alveoli diffuses into the bloodstream while carbon dioxide, the waste from the body’s tissues, would diffuse into the alveoli to be exhaled out. The alveolar walls are extremely thin, in order to make the gas exchange efficient and fast. Because alveoli have lots of capillaries around them, the oxygen would be quickly transferred into the bloodstream, which also means carbon dioxide in the bloodstream would also be quickly transferred into the alveoli. The rib cages and diaphragm play a key role in the respiratory system. The rib cage is raised by external intercostal muscles when breathing in, and lowered by internal intercostal muscles when breathing out. The rib cage would also protect the lungs and the heart so that when the person falls the fragile organs would be protected.

There are many crucial parts and functions of the respiratory system that keep the system and the body healthy and normal. Cartilage plays a huge role in the respiratory system. A flap of cartilage called epiglottis prevents food from entering the trachea....

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...ulated mucus thinner, which would help make breathing easier. Including plants in your house would allow you to have a better breathing environment. Wash your hands constantly not just to keep your lungs healthy, but to make the other systems healthy as well. Exercise when the air is clean and not polluted. Check the API to limit physical activities when the API is high. The respiratory and other systems are created just to provide for our needs, every aspect is considered, it is like some really smart being created these systems since there is a small chance of having problems with these systems, without actually doing something bad to your body. If you ever get into smoking, think twice, think about what is written in this piece. Think twice when you do something that might affect your respiratory system, because you will always want it in the best condition.