Upper Respiratory Tract Flashcards
(38 cards)
What are the components of upper and lower respiratory tracts?
- Upper: nasal cavity and sinuses, pharynx
- Lower: larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and lungs
What are the functions of the respiratory system?
- Primary: transport of gases, surface for gas exchange
- Secondary: phonation and smell
What are some common upper respiratory tract infections?
- Common cold
- Sinusitis
- Tonsilitis
Classify the epithelium of the upper respiratory tract
- Pseudostratified, ciliated columnar epithelium with goblet cells
- Lamina propria- thin layer of CT part of the mucous membrane
What are the 3 cell types found in the respiratory epithelium?
- Progenitor cells in the basal lamina that produce goblet cells
- Goblet cells
- Psuedostratified ciliated columnar cells
Describe goblet cells
- Apocrine or merocrine
- Secretion of mucus (Gel-like complex of proteins)
Classify the epithelium in the back of the throat
- Stratified squamous epithelium (non-keratinised)
- Food makes contact here
Classify epithelium of small bronchioles and alveoli
- Small bronchioles= cuboidal epithelium
- Alveoli: simple squamous, type 1 pneumocytes
What is the muco-ciliary escalator?
- Co-ordinated movement of cilia
What are the external nares?
- Nostrils with hairs
What are the nasal conchae and what is their purpose?
- Superior, middle (formed by ethmoid bone)
- Inferior (individual bone
- Also meatus beneath each one to increase SA
- Moisten air
What are choanae?
- Internal nares that joint the throat
What are paranasal air sinuses?
- Air spaces in skull surround nasal cavities
Describe the frontal sinus
- Lined with respiratory epithelium, inside frontal bone
- Infunribrulum drains into frontonasal duct which drains frontal sinus
- Ethmoidal cells also drain here
Describe ethmoidal cells
- Openings of middle ethmoid cells drain into bulla ethmoidalis
- Openings of posterior ethmoid–> lateral wall of superior meatus
- Above this is the sphenoid-ethmoidal recess
Where does the sphenoid-ethmoidal recess drain?
- Drains sphenoid sinus§
Where does the sphenoid-palatine foramen drain?
- Lateral and posterior end of superior meatus
Where is the hiatus semi-lunaris found?
- Under ethmoid bulla
- Maxillary sinus drains into this
What is the Eustachian tube?
- For balance
- Drains into middle ear
Where is the opening of the nasolacrimal duct found and what does it drain?
- Under inferior concha
- Drains eyes and nose
How many openings are there on each side of the nose?
- 11 on each side
- 22 in total
Summarise where each sinus and duct opens into
- Sphenoidal air sinus–> spenoethmoidal recess
- Posterior ethmoidal sinuses–> superior meatus
- Middle ethmoidal sinuses–> bulla ethmoidalis
- Maxillary sinus–> hiatus semilunaris
- Anterior ethmoidal sinuses–> hiatus semilunaris
- Frontal sinus–> infundibulum
- Nasolacrimal duct–> inferior meatus
Describe nerve supply to the nasal cavity
- Pterygopalatine ganglion (parasympathetic) supplies all nasal cavity
- Found in pteryomaxillary fissure
What two nerves in the pterygopalatine ganglion made up of?
- Greater petrosal nerve- branch of cranial nerve VII (facial)
- Maxillary nerve- middle branch of cranial nerve V2 (trigeminal nerve)
