The respiratory system enables oxygen to travel from the air we breathe into our lungs and then into our bloodstream. Air enters through the nose or mouth and travels down the trachea into the lungs. In the lungs, oxygen passes into the bloodstream and is circulated throughout the body while carbon dioxide is removed from the blood and exhaled. Problems with the respiratory system can interfere with this process and deprive tissues of oxygen.

1. Illustrated and Animated
The Respiratory System
By Dean Berry, Ed. D.
The Teachers’ Choice Library

2. • Free PowerPoint at
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3. • How does oxygen get from
the air we breathe to our
tissues and organs?
• Which body system
enables this to happen?

4. The first priority for the respiratory system is to get
oxygen into the lungs. Air enters the body through
two orifices. What is the best passage
way for breathing? What about when
you are sleeping or eating?

5. The nose is carefully designed to be the first option for air
intake. The nasal passage contains mucus membranes
and hair-like cilia. What do you think is the
function of these?

6. After air enters through the nose or mouth, it proceeds
through the epiglottis and down the trachea, which is also
known as the wind pipe. What can happen if the
epiglottis opens at the wrong time?

7. As air travels down the trachea, it meets a fork in the road when it
connects to the left and right bronchial tubes. The air is spread
throughout the lungs via the smaller bronchioles. What is
bronchitis?

8. The primary organs of the respiratory system are lungs, which
function to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide as we breathe.
Where do you think the oxygen is going? What
part of our body needs oxygen in order to
function properly?

9. The oxygen we breathe is heading into our lungs where it can
pass into the blood stream as it flows to every cell in the body.
What happens if you put a very tight rubber
band on your wrist for several days?

10. When the supply of oxygen enriched blood is
interrupted, body tissue begins to die. This occurs during
a stroke and a heart attack as well as all other areas of
the body. Having a foot or hand get numb means that
the areas are deprived of the necessary nutrients and
the nerves are unable to do their job.

11. In order for air to move in and out of your lungs, muscles
need to force a contraction and expansion of your lungs as
air is pushed in and out of the respiratory system. The
muscles that perform this critical role are part of an organ
called the diaphragm. What kind of gas does our
body exhale as waste?

12. Fortunately, we do not have to tell our body to breathe unless
we want to add additional control to our breathing. Our
autonomic nervous system tells our heart to beat and our lungs
to breathe. Under what conditions do you need to
control your breathing?

13. As air laden with oxygen enters our nasal and oral passageways, it
proceeds down the trachea(wind pipe) to the left and right bronchi
which send it into each lung. Tiny air sacs collect the oxygen that is
inhaled and the carbon dioxide that is exhaled. What passage
way or part helps reduce the amount of dust and
environmental particles that end up in our lungs
as we breathe?

14. The lungs are covered with airways and capillaries. Why
do you think there are so many blood
vessels in our lung tissue?

15. The tiny air sacs that inflate and deflate when we breathe in and
out are called alveoli. As the alveolus expands, its oxygen supply
moves into the blood stream and toward the heart where
oxygenated blood can be pumped under pressure around the
body. Examine the illustrations below. What small vessel
surrounds the alveolus and enables the oxygen
to enter our bloodstream?

16. Look closely at this illustration. What is being deposited
into the alveolus? Where is this gas coming from?
Where is it eventually going?

17. Observe this video clip in action. What
is being loaded into the bloodstream?
Why is this an important step?

18. Microscopic oxygen atoms leave the tiny air sacks in the
lungs and diffuse into the red blood cells as they bond with
hemoglobin molecules. The hemoglobin/oxygen bonded
molecules then move into the cells of all of our body tissue
and organs. As a result, the tissue in our body remains pink
and alive.

19. Examine this illustration closely. What phenomena is
occurring on the left side of this illustration?

20. Everyone knows how critical it is to keep oxygen flowing into
the body. Approximately, how long do you think
the body can go without oxygen before
serious damage occurs? Where will the
damage occur first?

21. When the body is deprived of oxygen for about four
minutes, brain tissue begins to die. As a result, brain and
body functions can be reduced or eliminated. Severe
damage to portions of the brain generally results in
coma or immediate death.

22. The lungs can be susceptible to a variety of serious
diseases or infections. Pneumonia is an extremely serious
condition where bacteria, mucus, and white blood cells fill
the tiny air sacs with fluid and make breathing very difficult.
Failure to control the bacterial infection can result in death.
How do physicians help the patient fight off
the bacterial infection?

23. Our lungs are delicate organs that can be vulnerable to
disease and deterioration. Pulmonary edema refers to the
deadly condition that occurs when our lungs begin filling
with fluid. What very serious lung condition
causes edema in our lungs?

24. Many other conditions can result in difficulty breathing. The
vast majority of COPD cases are caused by smoking or being
exposed to second hand smoke. COPD is an acronym for
chronic obstruction pulmonary disease. It can sometimes
be caused by air pollution, asthma, or genetics.

25. Long term COPD results in emphysema which is a condition
in which the alveoli(air sacs) become severely damaged
and unable to store and release oxygen.

26. One of the worst life style behaviors people can engage in is
smoking. It results in greater risk for cancer and heart disease.
Smoking increases the number of deaths from strokes, heart
attacks, and various cancers. Why do you think people
smoke when their lungs end up looking like the
images below?

27. Examine the chart below. What do you think
carcinogens are? What percent of lung
cancer patients were smokers?

28. A brand new research study from the United Kingdom has
determined that smokers are eight times more likely to die
from heart attacks than nonsmokers. In fact, smokers can
still quit smoking and achieve some health benefits.

29. Smoking rates have declined dramatically during the last
40 years to new lows. Only 15% of adults and 11% of high
school students in the U.S. smoke cigarettes. Why do
you think smoking rates have declined?

30. Unfortunately, the 15% of the American population that still
smokes can’t seem to shake the power of addiction. The force of
cigarette addiction is as strong as the addiction created by heroine.
What affect do you think nicotine has on the
brain?

31. Compare these two lungs. What
conclusions can you draw from these
pictures?

32. Protecting our respiratory system from disease and
damage should be a high health priority. What is the
role of our lungs? How good of a job will
these lungs be able to do? What happened
to the owner of these lungs?

33. Group Discussion
Meet in groups and discuss the following.
1. Describe how the respiratory system works.
2. Explain how the respiratory and circulatory system
work together to keep our cells functioning
properly.
3. Identify some of the diseases that can affect the
respiratory system.

34. Prepare to Write
Write an explanatory essay describing
how the respiratory system works,
how it interacts with the circulatory
system, and how problems can affect
the respiratory system.

35. Oxygen’s Trip Through our Body
Ted Ed Excellent 5 min
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GVU_zA
NtroE

36. How the Lungs Work
Ted Ed 3 min
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8NUxvJS-
_0k

37. How the Respiratory System Works
5 min Illustrated Excellent!!!
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UTR1IsX5
5dc

38. Respiratory System
3 min Illustrated excellent
• https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc1YtXc_
84A