1. Not Just a Bunch of Hot Air The Respiratory System

2. The Function of the Respiratory System »The respiratory system moves oxygen from the outside into the body and removes carbon dioxide and water. (so it also functions in excretion-removing waste products from the body) »! R emember, the body needs oxygen as an ingredient in the chemical reactions that burn glucose, releasing the energy the body uses.

3. Parts of the Respiratory System »In the beginning… The Nose: cleans air with mucus and hairlike projections called cilia.

4. The Pharynx »The place where the nose and mouth connect in the back of the throat (also is part of your digestive system).

5. The Trachea »Our windpipe: it’s a rigid tube protected by the epiglottis,a flap that prevents food from entering the trachea. »Our windpipe: it’s a rigid tube protected by the epiglottis, a flap that prevents food from entering the trachea. »Also is lined with cilia and mucus

6. Bronchi, Bronchioles, and Lungs »Bronchi are the twin main tubular passages which branch into the 2 lungs »The Bronchi then split into many smaller tubes called Bronchioles. These end in small air sacs called Alveoli. »The Bronchi, Bronchioles, alveoli, and their blood vessels make up the lungs. »Lungs are two large sacs and are the main organs of the respiratory system

7. Alveoli (not a kind of pasta) »Small raspberry shaped sacs surrounded by capillaries at the ends of bronchioles where gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide) are exchanged.

8. How it all works When you inhale you contract the diaphragm ( a large muscle beneath the lungs) moving it down, which lowers the lung’s air pressure, drawing in air. When you exhale you relax the diaphragm moving it up, increasing the lung’s air pressure, so air rushes out.

9. How you speak »Air moves across slit like openings in your larynx (vocal cords) located below your pharynx. This causes them to vibrate, making sound. »They (the openings in the larynx) shorten when you make high-pitched sounds and lengthen when you make low-pitched sounds.