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Human Anatomy and Physiology Assignment

   

Added on  2020-04-15

11 Pages1865 Words434 Views
Running head: HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGYHuman anatomy and physiologyName of the StudentName of the UniversityAuthor note

1HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGYThe lower respiratory system or tract comprises of trachea, bronchus and bronchioles,alveoli that comprises of lungs. This system pulls the air from the upper respiratory system inabsorbing oxygen and releasing the carbon dioxide outside the body in exchange. There are othersupplementary structures like rib or thoracic cage, diaphragm provides support and protect theabove mentioned structures. The upper respiratory tract has the function to take in the air andpass it to lower respiratory tract towards trachea or wind pipe. There are alveolar and bronchialstructures and the anatomy is such that there is drawing in of air and its processing by thestructures of lower respiratory tract that facilitate gas exchange. Therefore, the following essayinvolves the discussion of structure and function of lower respiratory system facilitating gaseousexchange in reference to physical principles that regulate this process of gas exchange. Physical principles of gaseous exchange involve diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxidethrough the respiratory membrane, ventilation, pulmonary perfusion and exchange of gases. Thelower respiratory tract facilitates gaseous exchange working in reference to the above physicalprinciples of gas exchange. Firstly, the trachea covered by cartilaginous rings is an inch indiameter and tubeless. It extends from bottom of larynx below and behind the sternum where itstarts branching into smaller tubes called bronchi. At the time of inhalation, air is warm andfiltered by upper respiratory tract passing from pharynx to larynx into trachea going down tobronchi and lungs (Cunningham et al. 2014). The cartilaginous rings around the trachea tubesupport it and help to prevent it from over-expansion or collapse when air is sucked too hard.These rings are C-shaped with gap on posterior side that aid trachea in bending when oesophaguspresses hard against swallowed food. The deoxygenated air from lungs passes back up to tracheaduring the process of exhalation.

2HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGYThe next structure is bronchi being the passageways that bring air inside and out oflungs. The tubes of the primary bronchus branch off from bottom of trachea subdividing intofurther secondary and tertiary bronchi finally into bronchioles. These small airways serve thepurpose of delivering oxygen-rich air to the lungs from trachea. During the process of exhalation,deoxygenated blood having rich carbon dioxide leaves the lungs through reverse route (Ionescu2013). Another mechanism takes place in bronchioles where smooth muscle relaxation ofbronchioles causes dilation allowing greater ventilation and bronchoconstriction that causes theopposite effect in bronchioles. Figure 1: Trachea (Cunningham et al. 2014)

3HUMAN ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGYLungs are the main and essential organs for the gaseous exchange in the respiratorysystem. The main gaseous exchange takes place in this organ and responsible for the exchangebetween oxygen and carbon dioxide. The organ is protected inside the thoracic cage divided intoleft and right lung. The left lung comprises of two lobes and has slight small volume ascompared to right lung. There is a curve at the cardiac notch accommodating heart. Right lungcomprises of three lobes being slightly shorter as the diaphragm muscle sits higher below wherethe liver is accommodated. Oxygen taken from the air is absorbed into the bloodstream thatpasses through the microscopic sacs called alveoli into surrounding capillaries (Albertine 2016).The deoxygenated air or carbon dioxide waste diffuses the opposite way from capillaries toalveoli. After this, lungs expel the deoxygenated air during the exhalation process. In this organ,physical principle of gaseous exchange takes place called diffusion. Blood present in theFigure 2: Bronchus (Ionescu 2013)

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