RESPIRATORY SYSTEM DISSECTION
The respiratory system consists of the Epiglottis, Glottis, Trachea, Larynx, Bronchi, and Lungs. The purpose of the respiratory system is the intake of oxygen gas from the surrounding environment and the excretion of Carbon Dioxide gas. Oxygen is needed in your cells to break down sugars to produce energy, and as a result your cells produce Carbon Dioxide as a waste product.
- Epiglottis - flap of tissue that seals off the windpipe and prevents food from entering
- Glottis - The opening to the Trachea
- Trachea - the wind pipe that carries air from the mouth to the lungs
- Larynx - This is part of the Trachea and functions as the voice box. It contains the vocal cords that air travels over as it moves in and out of the trachea.
- Bronchus - A bronchus is a branch in the trachea. The first branches are called primary bronchi, the second branches secondary bronchi, and so on.
- Lungs - the function of these respiratory organs is gas exchange. When you inhale Oxygen rich air is taken into the lungs and travels down ever smaller branches of the lungs until it reaches the alveoli. Alveoli are tiny, thin walled sacs that are wrapped in tiny blood vessels called capillaries. At the alveoli oxygen gas diffuses out of the lungs and into the blood, where the heart pumps the oxygen to the rest of the body. Once the blood reaches the capillary beds in the body's tissues, oxygen diffuses out of the capillaries and into the cells, while Carbon Dioxide diffuses out of the cells and into the capillaries. The carbon dioxide then takes the same route through the blood vessels, back to the aveoli, back into the lungs, and is then exhaled back out of the body.