cell biology of the respiratory tract

Question 1

how many litres of air do we inhale on a daily basis? and can it change? if yes how?

Answer 1

12000 litres. it can change with increasing level of exercise.

Question 2

what are the roles of the cells of the respiratory tract?

Answer 2

protect themselves from any damaging agents and effects that could be caused by inhaling some noxious gasses

Question 3

what is the airway epithelium? what is it formed from?

Answer 3

delicate surface layer running continuously from the nasal passages to the terminal bronchioles. it is formed from goblet cells that along with submucosal glands secrete muffins onto the airway surface and ciliated cells that moves the mucus forward by moving in ciliary beats

Question 4

what does the airway smooth muscle do?

Answer 4

controls the “openness” or latency of the airways

Question 5

what is the tracheobronchial circulation?

Answer 5

vast network of blood vessels just below the airway epithelium

Question 6

is there a high tissue perfusion to the airway mucosa? if yes what functions does it confer to contribute to airway homeostasis?

Answer 6

yes there is a high tissue perfusion and it contributes to the gas exchange, the warming up of the air, the humidification of the air, the clearing of inflammatory mediators, clearing of inhales drugs, supplies in inflammatory cells, and with proteinaceous plasma

Question 7

what is the name of the reflex that is activated when a large object is accidentally inhaled? what does it do?

Answer 7

the reflex is the cholinergic reflex that induce tracheal/broncheal constriction

Question 8

is airway function influenced by humoral influences? if yes, what do they do?

Answer 8

airway function is influenced by humeral influences that contribute to maintaining airway homeostasis