Continue with Microsoft TeamsRead About Your Respiratory System
Vocabulary
Read the vocabulary terms to understand the reading better.
Alveoli are tiny, balloon-shaped structures in the lungs that take up the oxygen that is breathed in.
Bronchial tubes are lots of tiny tubes that transfer air from the trachea to the lungs.
Bronchioles are very tiny bronchial tubes.
Chemical tar is a thick, sticky, black chemical substance that is produced by burning and smoking cigarettes and gathers in the lungs of people who smoke.
The diaphragm is a thin muscle at the bottom of the chest that separates the chest from the abdomen and moves down with each inhale and up with each exhale.
The larynx is the part of the throat and respiratory system that contains the vocal cords.
The nasal cavity is a large, air-filled space above and behind the nose.
The pharynx is a tube-shaped section of the digestive tract that connects the mouth and nasal cavities with the esophagus.
The trachea is a thin-walled stiff tube in the throat that carries air to the lungs.
Vocal cords are the lower of two pairs of folds or bands of mucous membrane in the throat that vibrate to produce sound when air passes through.
Your Respiratory System
In and out, in and out. You do not even think about it, but you breathe constantly. You have to since breathing brings in the oxygen your cells need to work. Breathing also takes away the carbon dioxide that the cells produce.
The Respiratory Route
When you breathe in, air enters your nose and mouth and flows into your nasal cavity. There, it is warmed and cleaned. Air then flows down the main part of your throat, or pharynx, to your larynx which contains your vocal cords. Then air enters the trachea, or windpipe, which branches into two bronchial tubes—one leading to each lung. These tubes let air in and out of your lungs, so you can breathe. Those tubes branch into many smaller tubes called bronchioles. Your lungs are at the end of this system of tubes.
Oxygen In, Carbon Dioxide Out
At the end of the bronchioles are bundles of air sacs called alveoli. There, your blood picks up the oxygen you breathe in and drops off the carbon dioxide you breathe out.
Lung Action
You have two lungs: right and left.
Under the lungs is a muscle called the diaphragm. When this muscle moves downward, your lungs expand and fill with air. You breathe in. When the diaphragm relaxes, air is pushed out of the lungs. You breathe out. When you are just sitting, you breathe about 20 times each minute. That number can double when you are running.
Feel Those Rings
Your trachea is made of rings of firm, flexible cartilage. You can run your fingertips up and down the front of your neck to feel these rings.
Sticky and Slimy
In your nose, mucous glands produce a slimy substance called mucus. Mucus keeps your nose moist and traps dirt and germs. It helps keep you healthy.
Up in Smoke
Healthy lungs are pink and clean. But the lungs of a smoker are dark grey due to the chemical tar. That is because chemicals in cigarette smoke damage the trachea. It can no longer keep the tar out. Also, the smallest tubes in the lungs fill up with tar from the cigarettes. Because of this, a smoker’s lungs do not work as well and make breathing difficult.
To learn more about your respiratory system, watch the video by Smile and Learn on Youtube.