hi let's talk about the respiratory system today I'd like to give you a quick overview of the anatomy
and the functions of the respiratory system so the anatomy of the respiratory system is relatively
straightforward there are two pathways by which gases may enter and leave the body the first would
be through the nostrils and the nasal cavity the second would be through the mouth and the oral
cavity both of these pathways come together in a common area called the pharynx or colloquially
your throat the pharynx is continuous with your voice box or larynx which is then continuous with
your trachea which is the base of your bronchial tree the bronchial tree are your bronchi primary
secondary and tertiary all of the bronchioles and the alveoli that they support finally we
have the lungs the lungs host and surround the bronchial tree the lungs are the heavy lifters of
the respiratory system so to speak this is where gas exchange occurs now the respiratory system is
quite streamlined with respect to function there are three major things that the respiratory system
accomplishes for the body the first being gas exchange your body needs oxygen to live and it
needs to rid itself of carbon dioxide now these are opposite sides of the same coin the oxygen is
the terminal proton acceptor in chemiosmosis which is the last stage of glucose catabolism where an
individual is able to produce copious amounts of ATP to power all of their endergonic cellular
reactions whereas carbon dioxide is a byproduct of glucose catabolism and needs to be removed from
metabolically active tissues you may recall from the cardiovascular system that the respiratory
system is helpful with respect to maintaining pH homeostasis carbon dioxide as a volatile gas can
lower the pH of the blood and if an individual were to increase their rate of respiration if
they were to breathe faster they can blow off more carbon dioxide and thus help to increase
the pH of the blood or make it less acidic another important function of the respiratory system is
the production of sound and vocalization this is accomplished using portions of the larynx
or your voice box in particular there are vocal folds containing vocal ligaments as these vocal
folds are abducted or brought together and air is passed over them rapidly they vibrate as they
vibrate they produce sound and that sound may be shaped by our oral cavity and it's constituents
it may be provided resonance by our nasal cavity and this is one of the major ways in which we can
communicate a third function of the respiratory system is to Nexis with the nervous system for
olfaction as air is brought in through the nose and enters the nasal cavity it's provided with
some turbulence that turbulence brings odorants within the air into contact with the olfactory
nerves cranial nerve one these come down through the ethmoid bone through the olfactory foramina
and this is the basis of smell or olfaction so we've discussed some of the major portions of
the respiratory system and its functions let's talk about these things in a little more detail