Wednesday, October 29, 2008

Human Respiratory Organs

By Don Bethune

In order for human beings to survive, we have to breathe, and so we have the respiratory tract, which is the passage that air travels along from the outside to our lungs. The respiratory system consists of the respiratory tract and respiratory organs, and is known as pulmonary respiration. In humans, the respiratory tract is a complex system, made up of six key organs.

The Nasal Cavity: A part of our nose, the nasal cavity brings in air through the external nostrils, and then sends it to the pharynx with our internal nostrils. The nasal cavity also serves the function of sifting out dust particles with mucus and the cilia as a barrier.

The Pharynx. After entering through the nasal cavity, air next goes to the pharynx. There, the pharynx opens into the larynx or voice box through the glottis. The pharynx is actually shared by the respiratory system with the digestive tract. Luckily, the glottis is usually covered by the cartilage epiglottis when we swallow food, so we donat choke.

The Larynx. The Larynx is a cartilagious structure located at the tracheal opening that resembles a box. When we swallow food, the larynx will move up or down to allow the passage of either air or food. The larynx also serves another purpose, as it contains two vocal chords to vibrate and produce sound, allowing us to speak.

The Trachea: The trachea is the next organ through which air flows. This is a tube that is eleven centimeters in length with a twenty five centimeter diameter. In order to keep the trachea opened, there is an incomplete C-shaped cartiligious ring within the trachea wall.

The Bronchi and Bronchioles. The next stop for air is the two primary bronchi that split off from the trachea. These serve the function of carrying the air into the next organ, the lungs. The right bronchus divides into three bronchi, each extending respectively into the three lobes of the right lung. On the other side, the left bronchi divides into two bronchi that extend into the two lobes of the left lung.

The Lungs: Lungs are an elastic, spongy, bag like structure, that is hollow. There are two lungs, both located in the thoracic cavity. The thoracic cavity is surrounded by the vertebral column, the sternum, and the diaphragm. The diaphragm form the floor of the cavity, so they are what our lungs rest on.

The right lung is divided into three lobies whereas the left lung has two lobies.The lungs are sorrounded by a narrow shape called pleural cavaty.There are two membranes around pleural cavaty.These membrane secret an oily fluid called pleural fluid.Pleural cavity is filled with pleural fluid. - 15790

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