Respiratory system

The respiratory system (systema respiratorium), or respiratory apparatus (apparatus respiratorius), supplies the body with oxygen and removes carbon dioxide from it. This system consists of the respiratory tract and paired respiratory organs - the lungs. In accordance with the location of the respiratory tract are divided into upper and lower divisions. The upper respiratory tract includes the nasal cavity, nasal and oral parts of the pharynx. The lower respiratory tract includes the larynx, trachea, bronchi (bronchial tree). Respiratory tracts are tubes of different size and shape, the lumen of which is preserved due to the presence in their walls of the bone or cartilaginous skeleton. From the inside, from the side of the lumen, the walls of the respiratory tract are lined with a mucous membrane, which is covered with a ciliated epithelium. In the mucosa, there are many glands secreting mucus, and blood vessels. Due to this, the airways perform not only air-conducting, but also protective function. In them, the air is cleared of foreign particles, moistened, warmed.

In the lungs, gas exchange takes place. From the alveoli of the lungs through diffusion into the blood of the pulmonary capillaries oxygen enters, and back - from the blood into the alveoli leaves carbon dioxide.

The respiratory system includes a complex organ, the larynx, which performs not only an air-conducting, but also a voice-forming function.

Respiratory system

The trachea begins from the lower boundary of the larynx at the level of the VI-VII cervical vertebrae and ends at level IV-V of the thoracic vertebrae, dividing into the right and left main bronchi.

Mediastinum

Mediastinum is a part of the thoracic cavity, bounded by the sternum in the front, the spine behind, the right and left mediastinal pleura from the sides.

Pleura

Pleura (pleura) is a thin serous membrane enveloping each lung (visceral pleura) and lining the walls of its pleural cavity (parietal pleura).

Development of the respiratory system

The development of the external nose and nasal cavity is associated with the formation of the visceral skeleton of the head, oral cavity and olfactory organs. The development of the larynx, trachea and bronchi occurs in connection with the transformation of the primary gut of the embryo. On the ventral wall of the primary intestine, in the region of the pharyngeal and trunk intestine, a saccular protrusion is formed.

Variations and abnormalities of the respiratory, pleura and mediastinal organs

Outer nose. The number of cartilage of the nose varies, often their number is less than usual. In 20% of cases in the back of the septum there are right and left vesicular-nasal cartilages. The size and shape of the nose, the configuration of the nostrils are very variable.

Nasal cavity

The cavity of the nose (cavum nasi) is divided by the septum of the nose into the right and left halves. In front of the face, the nasal cavity opens with nostrils, behind it through the choana, it communicates with the nasopharynx.

Nose: symptoms of diseases in adults and children

The external nose (nasus externus) consists of the root, back, apex and wings of the nose. The root of the nose (radix nasi) is located in the upper part of the face, separating from the forehead with a notch - a transference. The lateral sections of the external nose along the median line connects the dorsum of the nose (dorsum nasi), terminating at the front with the apex.

Larynx

The larynx performs respiratory and voice-forming functions, it protects the lower respiratory tract from the ingress of foreign particles into them. The larynx resembles an irregularly shaped tube, widened at the top and narrowed at the bottom.

Lungs

The right and left lungs are located in the thoracic cavity, each in its own half, in pleural sacks. Between the lungs are the organs of the mediastinum: the heart with the pericardium, the aorta and the upper hollow vein, the trachea with the main bronchi, the esophagus, the thymus, the lymph nodes, etc.

Respiratory system of bronchi

With a decrease in the caliber of bronchi, their walls become thinner, the height and number of rows of epithelial cells decrease. Beshbrian (or membranous) bronchioles have a diameter of 1-3 mm, there are no goblet cells in the epithelium, Clara cells perform their role, and the submucous layer passes into adventitia without a clear boundary.

Respiratory system

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