RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
RESPIRATION
The main function of the respiratory system is to supply oxygen to the body
and at the same time, get rid of carbon dioxide.
When you breathe air through your nose, it then passes through the nasal cavities, pharynx, and larynx.
From there, it goes down the trachea and reaches the bronchi. Passing through the bronchioles, it arrives at the alveoli, a small, fragile sac-like cluster.
The air enters the lungs, into the cells, and that is where gas exchange occurs.
Oxygen enters the blood and carbon dioxide is expelled, being released into the atmosphere through exhalation.
The exchanges take place at the level of the smallest blood vessels, the capillaries.
There are 600 to 800 million cells, and the total blood area in the lungs is around 100 square meters, equivalent to the surface area of a tennis court.
A huge alveolar area, richly vascularized, increases the amount of oxygen entering the blood cells that were low in oxygen.
Oxygen-rich blood returns to the heart, which acts as a pump to propel it through the circulatory system so that oxygen is distributed to all organs.
It reaches the level of the organ cells, where an exchange occurs: the cells discard carbon dioxide and receive the oxygen necessary for metabolism through cellular respiration.
In short, the role of the respiratory system is to capture oxygen from the atmosphere and distribute it in the blood. On the other hand, it extracts carbon dioxide from the organism to expel it into the atmosphere.