RESPIRATORY

SYSTEM
DS 2017
 INTRODUCTION
made up of structures involved in the exchange of oxygen and
carbon dioxide between the alveolar and the atmosphere –
external respiration

internal respiration – gaseous exchange between blood

capillaries and tissues
 DIVISION

• Upper respiratory tract, above the larynx, and

• Lower respiratory tract, from the larynx down.

 Functions of the Respiratory System
• Functional classifications:
• Conducting portion: transports air.
• Nose
• nasal cavity
• Pharynx
• Larynx
• Trachea
• progressively smaller airways, from the primary bronchi to the bronchioles
 Functions of the Respiratory System
 Functional classifications: continued
 Conducting portion: transports air.

 Respiratory portion: carries out gas exchange.

 respiratory bronchioles
 alveolar ducts
 air sacs called alveoli
 Upper respiratory tract is all conducting
 Lower respiratory tract has both conducting and respiratory portions
 Respiratory System Functions
 Gas conditioning:
 Warmed
 Humidified
 Cleaned of particulates
 Sound production:
 Movement of air over true vocal cords
 Also involves nose, paranasal sinuses, teeth, lips and tongue
 Olfaction:
 Olfactory epithelium over superior nasal conchae
 Defense:
 Course hairs, mucus, lymphoid tissue
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 Paranasal Sinuses
• Paranasal sinuses:
• In four skull bones
• paired air spaces
• decrease skull bone weight
• Named for the bones in which they are housed.
• frontal
• ethmoidal
• sphenoidal
• maxillary
• Communicate with the nasal cavity by ducts.
• Covered with the same pseudostratified ciliated columnar epithelium as the nasal cavity.
 APPLICATION
MEDICAL APPLICATION
Sinusitis is an inflammatory process of the sinuses that may persist for
long periods of time, mainly because of obstruction of drainage
orifices. Chronic sinusitis and bronchitis are components of immotile
cilia syndrome, which is characterized by defective ciliary action.
the nasopharynx is the first part of the pharynx. Lined with
respiratory epithelium and contains the medial pharyngeal tonsil and
the bilateral openings of the auditory tubes to each middle ear.
SINUSES
 PHARYNX
 Walls:
 lined by a mucosa
 contain skeletal muscles primarily used for swallowing.
 Flexible lateral walls
 distensible
 to force swallowed food into the esophagus.
 Partitioned into three adjoining regions:
 nasopharynx
 oropharynx
 laryngopharynx
 NASOPHARYNX
 Superiormost region of the pharynx.
 Location:
 posterior to the nasal cavity
 superior to the soft palate
 separates it from the posterior part of the oral cavity.
 Normally, only air passes through.
 Soft palate
 Blocks material from the oral cavity and oropharynx
 elevates when we swallow.
 Auditory tubes
 paired
 In the lateral walls of the nasopharynx
 connect the nasopharynx to the middle ear.
 Pharyngeal tonsil
 posterior nasopharynx wall
 single
 commonly called the adenoids.
 OROPHARYNX
 The middle pharyngeal region.
 Location:
 Immediately posterior to the oral cavity.
 Bounded by the soft palate superiorly,
 the hyoid bone inferiorly.
 Common respiratory and digestive pathway
 both air and swallowed food and drink pass through.
 2 pairs of muscular arches
 anterior palatoglossal arches
 posterior palatopharyngeal arches
 form the entrance from the oral cavity.
 Lymphatic organs
 provide the “first line of defense” against ingested or inhaled foreign materials.
 Palatine tonsils
 on the lateral wall between the arches
 Lingual tonsils
 At the base of the tongue.
 LARYNGOPHARYNX

 Inferior, narrowed region of the pharynx.

 Location:
 Extends inferiorly from the hyoid bone
 is continuous with the larynx and esophagus.
 Terminates at the superior border of the esophagus
 is equivalent to the inferior border of the cricoid cartilage in the larynx.
 The larynx (voice box) forms the anterior wall
 Lined with a nonkeratinized stratified squamous epithelium (mucus
membrane)
 Permits passage of both food and air.
 LOWER RESPIRATORY TRACT
 Conducting portion
 Larynx
 Trachea
 Bronchi
 bronchioles and their associated structures
 Respiratory portion of the respiratory system
 respiratory bronchioles
 alveolar ducts
 alveoli
 LARYNX
 Short, somewhat cylindrical airway
 Location:
 bounded posteriorly by the laryngopharynx,
 inferiorly by the trachea.
 Prevents swallowed materials from entering the lower
respiratory tract.
 Conducts air into the lower respiratory tract.
 Produces sounds.
 CONT---
 Nine pieces of cartilage
 three individual pieces
 Thyroid cartilage
 Cricoid cartilage
 Epiglottis
 three cartilage pairs
 Arytenoids: on cricoid
 Corniculates: attach to arytenoids
 Cuniforms:in aryepiglottic fold
 held in place by ligaments and muscles.
 Intrinsic muscles: regulate tension on true vocal cords

 Extrinsic muscles: stabilize the larynx

 TRACHEAL
• is about 4.5in (11.5cm) in length and nearly 1 in (2.5cm) in
diameter.
• It commences at the lower border of the cricoid cartilage (C6)
and terminates by bifurcating at the level of the sternal angle of
Louis (T4/5) to form the right and left main bronchi.
TRACHEA is palpable in the suprasternal notch midway
between
 TRACHEAL (Additional)
 A flexible, slightly rigid tubular organ
 often referred to as the “windpipe.”
 Extends through the mediastinum
 immediately anterior to the esophagus
 inferior to the larynx
 superior to the primary bronchi of the lungs.
 Anterior and lateral walls of the trachea are supported by 15 to 20 C-
shaped tracheal cartilages.
 cartilage rings reinforce and provide some rigidity to the tracheal wall to ensure
that the trachea remains open (patent) at all times
 cartilage rings are connected by elastic sheets called anular ligaments
 TRACHEAL
 At the level of the sternal angle, the trachea bifurcates into two
smaller tubes, called the right and left primary bronchi.

 Each primary bronchus projects laterally toward each lung.

 The most inferior tracheal cartilage separates the primary bronchi

at their origin and forms an internal ridge called the carina.
 CLINICAL RELATION
Lying partly in the neck and partly in the thorax, its relations are:
1.Cervical
•anteriorly— the isthmus of thyroid gland, inferior thyroid veins,
sternohyoid and sternothyroid muscles;
•laterally — the lobes of thyroid gland and the common carotid artery;
•posteriorly — the oesophagus with the recurrent laryngeal nerve
lying in the
groove between oesophagus and trachea
 CONT--
2.Thoracic
In the superior mediastinum its relations are:
•anteriorly— commencement of the brachiocephalic (innominate) artery and left
carotid artery, both arising from the arch of the aorta, the left brachiocephalic
(innominate) vein, and the thymus;
•posteriorly—oesophagus and left recurrent laryngeal nerve;
•to the left—arch of the aorta, left common carotid and left subclavian arteries, left
recurrent laryngeal nerve and pleura;
•to the right—vagus, azygos vein and pleura
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 VASCULAR SUPPLY

Arteries
The arterial supply of the trachea is from the inferior thyroid arteries and
from branches originating from the superior thyroid arteries, bronchial
arteries, and internal thoracic arteries.
Veins
 The inferior thyroid veins drain the trachea, emptying into one or both
brachiocephalic veins.
Lymphatics
The tracheal lymphatic vessels drain into the cervical, tracheal, and
tracheobronchial lymph nodes.
 INNERVATION
• Sympathetic fibers from the cardiac branches of the cervical
sympathetic trunk and thoracic visceral nerves convey
postganglionic fibers to the tracheal muscle for
bronchodilatation.

• Parasympathetic fibers arise from the vagus nerves and the

recurrent laryngeal nerves and pass to the mucosa and tracheal
muscle. These fibers are bronchoconstrictive
 BRONCHIAL TREE
 A highly branched system
 air-conducting passages
 originate from the left and right primary bronchi.
 Progressively branch into narrower tubes as they diverge
throughout the lungs before terminating in terminal bronchioles.
 Primary bronchi
 Incomplete rings of hyaline cartilage ensure that they remain open.
 Right primary bronchus
 shorter, wider, and more vertically oriented than the left primary bronchus.
 Foreign particles are more likely to lodge in the right primary bronchus.
 B. T
 Primary bronchi
 enter the hilum of each lung
 Also entering hilum:
 pulmonary vessels
 lymphatic vessels
 nerves.
 Secondary bronchi (or lobar bronchi)
 Branch of primary bronchus
 left lung:
 two lobes
 two secondary bronchi
 right lung
 three lobes
 three secondary bronchi.
 Tertiary bronchi (or segmental bronchi)
 Branch of secondary bronchi
 left lung is supplied by 8 to 10 tertiary bronchi.
 right lung is supplied by 10 tertiary bronchi
 supply a part of the lung called a bronchopulmonary segment.
 BRONCHIAL TREE & LUNG

• trachea divides into two primary bronchi that enter the lungs at the hilum, along with
arteries, veins, and lymphatic vessels.
• the primary bronchi course downward and outward, giving rise to three secondary
(lobar) bronchi in the right lung and two in the left lung ,each of which supplies a
pulmonary lobe.
• right main bronchus is wider, shorter and more vertical than the left. It is about 1 in
(2.5cm) long and passes directly to the root of the lung at T5.
• left main bronchus is nearly 2 in (5cm) long and passes downwards and outwards below
the arch of the aorta, in front of the oesophagus and descending aorta.
• lobar bronchi again divide, forming tertiary (segmental) bronchi. Each of these tertiary
bronchi, together with the smaller branches it supplies, constitutes a bronchopulmonary
segment
 Tertiary bronchi give rise to smaller and smaller bronchi, whose
terminal branches are called bronchioles.
 Each bronchiole enters a pulmonary lobule, where it branches
to form five to seven terminal bronchioles
 BRONCHI
• Each primary bronchus extends from the tracheal bifurcation to the hilum of the related
lung.
• The shorter and larger (2.5 cm) right bronchus turns only slightly from the vertical
orientation of the trachea through the mediastinum.
• The length of the left primary bronchus, almost double that of the right primary
bronchus, passes more obliquely laterally to the left.
• The left bronchus crosses anterior to the esophagus to reach the left hilum behind the left
third costal cartilage.
• Both bronchi have mobility and elasticity comparable to that of the trachea, although the
irregularity of the cartilaginous plates increases distally.
• The plates of cartilage decrease in prominence within the lungs, disappearing at the level
of the bronchioles.
 CONT===
 each branch becoming progressively smaller until it reaches a diameter of about 5 mm.
 The mucosa of the larger bronchi is structurally similar to the tracheal mucosa except for
the organization of cartilage and smooth muscle .
 In the primary bronchi most cartilage rings completely encircle the lumen, but as the
bronchial diameter decreases, cartilage rings are gradually replaced with isolated plates of
hyaline cartilage.
 Abundant mucous and serous glands are also present, with ducts opening into the
bronchial lumen.
 In the bronchial lamina propria is a layer of crisscrossing bundles of spirally arranged
smooth muscle , which become more prominent in the smaller bronchial branches.
 Contraction of this muscle layer is responsible for the folded appearance of the bronchial
mucosa observed in histologic section.
 Respiratory Bronchioles, Alveolar Ducts,
and Alveoli
 Contain small saccular outpocketings called alveoli.
 An alveolus is about 0.25 to 0.5 millimeter in diameter.
 Its thin wall is specialized to promote diffusion of gases between
the alveolus and the blood in the pulmonary capillaries.
 Gas exchange can take place in the respiratory bronchioles and
alveolar ducts as well as in the lungs, which contain approximately
300–400 million alveoli.
 The spongy nature of the lung is due to the packing of millions of
alveoli together.
 Gross Anatomy of the Lungs
 Each lung has a conical shape.
 Its wide, concave base rests upon the muscular diaphragm.
 Its relatively blunt superior region, called the apex or (cupola), projects
superiorly to a point that is slightly superior and posterior to the clavicle.
 Both lungs are bordered by the thoracic wall anteriorly, laterally, and posteriorly,
and supported by the rib cage.
 Toward the midline, the lungs are separated from each other by the
mediastinum.
 The relatively broad, rounded surface in contact with the thoracic wall is called
the costal surface of the lung.
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Pleura and Pleural Cavities
 The outer surface of each lung and the adjacent internal thoracic wall
are lined by a serous membrane called pleura, which is formed from
simple squamous epithelium.
 The outer surface of each lung is tightly covered by the visceral pleura,
while the internal thoracic walls, the lateral surfaces of the mediastinum,
and the superior surface of the diaphragm are lined by the parietal
pleura.
 The parietal and visceral pleural layers are continuous at the hilum of
each lung.

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Pleura and Pleural Cavities
 The outer surface of each lung is tightly covered by the visceral pleura, while the
internal thoracic walls, the lateral surfaces of the mediastinum, and the superior
surface of the diaphragm are lined by the parietal pleura.
 The potential space between these serous membrane layers is a pleural cavity.
 The pleural membranes produce a thin, serous fluid that circulates in the pleural cavity
and acts as a lubricant, ensuring minimal friction during breathing.

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