How does the Respiratory system work?
The Respiratory system begins up top with the nose. The nose is the body’s humidification and filtering system. The nose filters dirt and other particles that should not get inside the body. Those nose hairs catch it. When we breath in, the nose is also a humidification system so that the lungs don’t dry out. The mouth and the wind pipe come next. The wind pipe is the trachea. Did you ever hear anyone say, “oh that went down the wrong pipe..?” That is correct. Food goes down the esophagus into the stomach, air goes down the trachea into the lungs. That is why people gag and cough when something goes down the wrong pipe. The lungs are not meant to have food in them. Next the lungs do all of their work. This is where all the air exchange takes place. The air goes into the lungs this is where the gas exchange takes place. The lung tissue is full of blood vessels. The oxygen gets dropped off by the lungs into the blood vessels while at the same time picking up the carbon dioxide. You exhal
