Respiratory System Part 1 - Nasal, Oral, Pharynx

Question 1

what is our respiratory system responsible for?

Answer 1

bringing atmospheric oxygen to our tissues and removing byproducts of respiration (carbon dioxide)

Question 2

what two components can we divide the respiratory system into?

Answer 2

upper and lower respiratory system

Question 3

what does the upper respiratory system consist of?

Answer 3

• the nasal cavity
• pharynx (throat)
• the oral cavity
• upper larynx (above vocal folds

Question 4

what does the lower respiratory system consist of?

Answer 4

• lower larynx
• trachea
• bronchi
• bronchioles
• lungs

Question 5

what are the two areas of the body for inhaled air?

Answer 5

• nasal cavity
• oral cavity

Question 6

the nasal cavity is divided in half, by what?

Answer 6

• the nasal septum

Question 7

the part of the nose that projects off of the face is made of?

Answer 7

cartilage

Question 8

what are the nasal concha?

Answer 8

three bones on each side of the nasal cavity

Question 9

what are the three nasal cochas?

Answer 9

• superior nasal concha
• middle nasal concha
• inferior nasal concha

Question 10

what are the the superior and middle nasal concha made of?

Answer 10

ethmoid bone

Question 11

what is the inferior nasal concha made of?

Answer 11

it is its own bone

Question 12

what does the nasal conchae do?

Answer 12

create spaces in the nasal cavity

Question 13

what is between/beneath each of the conchae?

Answer 13

a little groove/space
- called nasal meatuses

Question 14

what is the benefit of the nasal meatuses?

Answer 14

having a nasal conchae with a nasal meatus underneath will increase the surface area in the nasal cavity

Question 15

what is having a higher surface area/wall space of the nasal important?

Answer 15

because there is a mucous membrane covering all long the walls, having an increased surface area means that there is a better chance of a foreign particle or the cold air hitting a wall so that it can heat and humidify the air or trap the foreign particle

Question 16

what is the respiratory system covered in?

Answer 16

a mucous membrane

Question 17

what does the mucous membrane of the respiratory system do?

Answer 17

• helps to trap foreign particles
• help to humidify/moisten and warm the incoming air

Question 18

how can we control where something goes in our system?

Answer 18

by trapping it in mucous

Question 19

your body is more equipped to deal with foreign things in the _________ than the ____________.

Answer 19

• digestive system
• small spaces of your lungs when oxygen and carbon dioxide are in constant movement

Question 20

why do we want to moisten and warm incoming air?

Answer 20

because once we get into the throat/pharynx, the cells in the wall cannot handle the cold, dry, incoming air very well. it will aggravate and cause pain

Question 21

what is tucked into the nasal meatuses of the nasal concha?

Answer 21

olfactory receptors ( found in some other places as well but mainly there )

Question 22

what do olfactory receptors do in the nasal meatuses?

Answer 22

essentially smell particles

Question 23

what are olfactory receptors connected to?

Answer 23

cranial nerve one (olfactory nerve) which then takes the scent to the brain to tell you what you are smelling

Question 24

where does air go once it is breathed in?

Answer 24

swirls around in the nasal cavity and the goes posteriorly towards the pharynx/throat

Question 25

why might air get looped around in the nasal cavity a few times before going to the pharnyx?

Answer 25

because of the nasal conchae - this is GOOD so that we make sure we trap the foreign particles in the mucous membrane

Question 26

what are the three parts of the pharynx?

Answer 26

1. nasopharynx 2. oropharynx 3. laryngopharynx

Question 27

where is the nasopharynx?

Answer 27

posterior to the nasal cavity

Question 28

where is the oropharynx

Answer 28

posterior to the oral cavity

Question 29

where is the laryngopharynx?

Answer 29

posterior to the larynx

Question 30

where is the oral cavity with in relation to the nasal cavity?

Answer 30

inferiorly

Question 31

what takes up most of the oral cavity?

Answer 31

the tongue

Question 32

what divides the nasal and oral cavity?

Answer 32

the palate

Question 33

what are the two components of the palate?

Answer 33

- the hard palate (anterior) - soft palate (posterior)

Question 34

what is the hard palate made up of?

Answer 34

two bones - maxilla - palatine bones

Question 35

what is the soft palate made up of?

Answer 35

- smooth muscle

Question 36

what is the division of the laryngophara\ynx as you go inferiorly?

Answer 36

- anteriorly: larynx/voice box going down towards the lungs - posteriorly: esophagus and into the digestive system

Question 37

where is sound produced?

Answer 37

the larynx

Question 38

what is the larynx?

Answer 38

a muscular tube with smooth muscles in the walls - shared space between the respiratory system and the digestive system

Question 39

when do we decide if whatever came into our mouth and nose is going to go towards the lungs or down towards the stomach and digestive system?

Answer 39

in the laryngopharynx

Question 40

where is the auditory tube/eustachian tube?

Answer 40

in the nasopharynx

Question 41

what does the auditory tube connect?

Answer 41

the nasal pharynx to the middle ear

Question 42

what is the job of the auditory tube?

Answer 42

help equalize air pressure across the eardrum

Question 43

what is the eardrum?

Answer 43

a thin membrane within the ear

Question 44

what do we do if we need to equalize air pressure on either side of the eardrum?

Answer 44

we open the auditory tube - it will open on its own but we are able to speed up the process by moving the structures around it

Question 45

what system are tonsils apart of?

Answer 45

the lymphatic system

Question 46

what does the tonsils do?

Answer 46

help protect the body from infections - check incoming items to make sure there are not any foreign particles

Question 47

there are several sets of tonsils. what are they?

Answer 47

- pharyngeal tonsils - palatine tonsils - lingual tonsils

Question 48

why do some people get inflammation from infections on the palatine tonsils and get them removed?

Answer 48

- because they are so prone to infection and swelling of them - they are located in a place where incoming food and bacteria are very likely to hit it

Question 49

where does the soft palate drop?

Answer 49

at the bottom of the oral cavity, very posteriorly

Question 50

what is the uvula?

Answer 50

the back of the soft palate in the back of the throat

Question 51

when we are sick, we can see swelling on either side of the uvula. what is it?

Answer 51

the palatine tonsils

Question 52

why do the palatine tonsils swell?

Answer 52

because they are working hard to fight the infection

Question 53

when we swallow, what happens so that food does not go up into our noses?

Answer 53

the soft palate will lift to help cover the opening to the nasopharynx

Question 54

what is the area at the back of the soft palate (uvula) a separation/division of?

Answer 54

- nasopharynx above - oropharynx below

Question 55

what divides the oropharynx and laryngopharanx?

Answer 55

the epiglottis

Question 56

what is the epiglottis?

Answer 56

a piece of cartilage that is part of the larynx

Question 57

what does the epiglottis do when we swallow?

Answer 57

goes down to cover the opening of the larynx so that we don't choke. this way the food goes into the epiglottis and the digestive system

Question 58

what are paranasal sinuses?

Answer 58

openings within the skull/bones and located in bones that they are named after

Question 59

what are the four paranasal sinuses?

Answer 59

- frontal - ethmoidal - sphenoidal - maxillary

Question 60

why do we have open spaces within the bones called paranasal sinuses?

Answer 60

- they all connect directly to the nasal cavity to

Question 61

what are the paranasal sinuses covered in?

Answer 61

mucous membrane - so they help with the humidifying, moistening and warming of inhaled air along with the nasal cavity

Question 62

what does having holes in the bones of the skull for the paranasal sinuses do?

Answer 62

decreases the weight of the skull which is beneficial for the bones in the cervical vertebral column because they are small and the skull and brain are heavy

Question 63

what are the paranasal sinuses for?

Answer 63

- help to maintain intracranial pressure along with the nasal cavity - it gives an open space where extra air can go when there is a pressure change in the external environment

Question 64

when is the only time we notice our paranasal sinuses doing anything?

Answer 64

when we are sick - this is because they are covering in mucous membrane so when you get an infection, the body automatically produces more mucous

Question 65

why does the body produce more mucous when we are sick?

Answer 65

because the body is thinking that we should trap the foreign invaders and get them out - this is why our nose gets really stuffy and the sinuses feel stuffed and clogged and we get headaches right in the frontal and ethmoidal sinus area

Question 66

why do we get headaches in the frontal and ethmoidal sinus area when we are sick?

Answer 66

because there is so much mucous when you are sick that all of the areas have an increased pressure