Structure and function of the respiratory system

Question 1

Describe the detailed histological structure of the airways and outline the differences between the different parts of the airway.

Answer 1

Decreasing amounts of cartilage moving down the airway.

Move from pseudostratified ciliated squamous epithelial with goblet cells eventually to pneumocytes

Question 2

Describe the structure of the alveoli and the air-blood interface

Answer 2

Single cell thick, increases diffusion. Type 1 (simple) and type II (spherical, mucus secreting?)
Pneumocytes connect to capillaries via basement membrane.

Question 3

Describe the structure of the lung interstitium

Answer 3

High levels of elastane to allow for expansion and recoil - low levels of collagen.
A fine connective tissue with associated inflammatory cells (macrophages), fibroblasts and blood vessels.
Repair by fibrosis reduces recoil ability.