The Purpose and Function of The Respiratory System

Our body is made up of different systems. All of these systems collaborate together to make our human body function properly. Without all of these we wouldn’t be able to go through life normally. If you take just one away, the whole body will cease to work properly. The main systems are the nervous, respiratory, circulatory, immune, digestive, excretory, skeletal, muscular, and the reproductive system. One of them is the respiratory system. This is the system that deals with breathing and the respiration process. They all work together in harmony and unison to keep us alive.

The respiratory system, transports air to our lungs and diffuses oxygen into our blood. It also removes carbon dioxide. This system is also known as the “Gas Exchange System”. You inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide. There are four processes. The first, is breathing in with your nose, the air then travels down your windpipe. Then the diaphragm, which flattens out making the lungs expand and fill with air. Afterwards, the air travels to our lungs into the bronchi. The alveoli allow oxygen to be passed into the red blood cells while the carbon dioxide is getting diffused out. The system consists of the nose, pharynx, larynx, trachea, lungs, and diaphragm. In the lungs are bronchi, bronchides, and alveoli. The nose filters, moistens, and warms the air. The pharynx is where the trachea and the esophagus divide into two. The larynx is the voice box. The trachea is the windpipe where air travels from the throat to the lungs. The bronchi are the major air passages that lead to lungs and that diverge from the windpipe. The lungs are a pair of organs that consists of two elastic sacs with two passages. That is where the oxygen gets absorbed and the carbon dioxide removed. The diaphragm plays a major role in breathing, because it increases the volume of the chest and inflates the lungs. Alveoli are located in the bronchioles. The bronchioles are bronchi that divide into narrower tubes. Alveoli are hollow cavities in the bronchioles where the oxygen/CO2 exchange happens. All these parts combine to make up the respiratory system.

The respiratory system affects you in different. If your body cannot breathe, your cells will not get the oxygen they need. This will mean that your cells will begin to die quickly. Breathing is involuntary. It helps us stay alive. If we had to think about breathing, we would never sleep. If it’s running well, you will not get tired as easily. If it’s not functioning properly, the amount of oxygen in the blood will fall and the poisonous gases will not be exhaled properly. People with problems, such as asthma, get out of breath and tired quickly because there isn’t enough oxygen available to help them do the less-essential tasks. More of it is saved for essentials, like the brain.

There are ways to prevent malfunctions of the respiratory system. First of all, you should never smoke! Smoking can cause lung cancer, which is very dangerous. Also, you should exercise. When you exercise, your body needs more oxygen, so the respiratory system must make adjustments to help meet the demands of the body. Pollution causes unhealthy lungs, so you should avoid some areas, especially in the summer. However, air pollution isn’t just an outdoor problem. There are a number of indoor sources, such as fireplaces and wood-burning stoves, mold, pet dander, construction materials, and even air fresheners and some candles.

All in all, we need the respiratory system to breathe. You will die if you don’t breathe. The system helps get rid of carbon dioxide and help fill our cells with fresh new oxygen. All of that happens in less than 2 seconds. Breathe in and out. See? It only takes a few seconds for all of that complicated process to happen. All of the systems in our body work together to create a healthy body. In our opinion, the respiratory system is very important just like all the others because they all work together like a team.