Review: Introduction to the Respiratory System

Here is what we have learned from Introduction to the Respiratory System:

• The entire process of respiration includes ventilation, external respiration, transport of gases, internal respiration, and cellular respiration.
• The three pressures responsible for pulmonary ventilation are atmospheric pressure, intraalveolar pressure, and intrapleural pressure.
• A spirometer is used to measure respiratory volumes and capacities. These measurements provide useful information about the condition of the lungs.
• The frontal, maxillary, ethmoidal, and sphenoidal sinuses are air-filled cavities that open into the nasal cavity.
• The pharynx, commonly called the throat, is a passageway that extends from the base of the skull to the level of the sixth cervical vertebra.
• The larynx, commonly called the voice box, is the passageway for air between the pharynx above and the trachea below.
• The trachea, commonly called the windpipe, is the main airway to the lungs.
• The trachea divides into the right and left primary bronchi, which branch into smaller and smaller passageways until they terminate in tiny air sacs called alveoli.
• The two lungs contain all the components of the bronchial tree beyond the primary bronchi.
• The right lung is shorter, broader, and is divided into three lobes.
• The left lung is longer, narrower, and is divided into two lobes.