Kaplan University
A&P II
Instructor: David Armoogam
September 10, 2010
The respiratory system helps with breathing, inhaling and exhaling. The respiratory systems main function is to give oxygen to the body’s cells and get rid of the carbon dioxide the cells produce. Breathing would be impossible without the respiratory system, which includes the nose, throat, voice box, windpipe, and lungs. In this essay I plan on explaining how the respiratory system functions as well as its parts.
The exchange of two gases called oxygen and carbon dioxide, this process is called respiration. As humans we need oxygen to survive and generate carbon dioxide. Since too much carbon dioxide is bad for our body we trade the carbon dioxide for air every time we take a breath. When we as humans breathe we are getting oxygen from our environment, without oxygen we would be unable to live. When one breathes in air that air fills the lungs and gets close enough to the blood to make an important trade. The trade I speak of is the blood takes in the oxygen and releases the carbon dioxide back into the environment; this process takes place every time we take a breath. Many people think that respiration is breathing which is not the case at all. Breathing is simply the process of air going in and out of the lungs, which are also referred to as pulmonary ventilation. People don’t think of how they breathe on a normal basis. Inspiration and expiration is the key whether you know it or not. Inspiration simply moves air into the lungs and expiration moves air out of the lungs. I know it seems simple, I thought so too but it is hardly a simple process. A change in the thoracic cavity is responsible for the change of air pressure in the thoracic cavity and the lungs. The change in air pressure is why the lungs move air in and out. When you breathe air in or inhale which is inspiration you notice your chest gets bigger because it is making room for the oxygen to fill the lungs
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