What is the respiratory system and how does it do its job? In this presentation we are going to have an introduction to how the respiratory system moves that most important gas, oxygen, into and out of our bodies.
Your body is made up of tiny cells , each of which has a special job that keeps you alive. Every cell in your body needs a special gas called oxygen , that allows the cell to get energy from the food you eat. Oxygen in the air is that we breath. We can store some food in our stomach, so we only need to eat a few times a day. But since we can’t store oxygen, we have a special body system that’s job is to constantly supply our cells with oxygen. That system is called respiratory system.
Another gas, called carbon dioxide is a waste product of your cells. It is very dangerous if it builds up in your body. The respiratory system allows you to get rid of carbon dioxide gas. The job of the respiratory system is pretty simple. The respiratory system moves oxygen into your body and moves carbon dioxide out of your body. The respiratory system works with circulatory system to move oxygen and carbon dioxide in the blood between your lungs your cells throughout your body.
Let’s see how oxygen gets from outside your body to your cells. Air enters your body through your nose and mouth. From there, it goes through your trachea (which is also called the windpipe ). The trachea is the hard tube that's in the front of your neck. See if you can feel yours. Only air goes into your trachea. Food and drinks go down a different tube called the esophagus which is behind the trachea. At the end of your trachea, the air splits off into smaller tubes that go into each of your lungs. The tubes split up into many smaller and smaller tubes. So many in fact, that your lungs contain almost 1500 miles of airways! At the end of these tubes is a place where blood meets the air and picks up the oxygen your body needs. At the same time, the blood gets rid of the harmful carbon dioxide that your cells produce.
So how does the respiratory system move air into and out of the body? By breathing! A big sheet-like muscle called the diaphragm is underneath your lungs. The diaphragm helps you get air in and out of your lungs by moving up and down. When your diaphragm contracts and moves down, you breathe in by sucking air into your lungs. When your diaphragm relaxes and moves up, it forces air out of your lungs as you breathe out! Try taking a really deep breath. Can you feel a stretching feeling in your stomach? That's your diaphragm moving down as you breathe in. Now try breathing out all the air in your lungs. Keep pushing out air until no more comes out. The tightness you feel below your chest is your diaphragm pushing up to get the air out! Without your diaphragm, your lungs couldn't fill up with air or push old air out!
Asthma is an example of a situation when a part of your respiratory system does not work a well as it should. It is a common condition in which the cells lining the insides of the tubes going into the lungs swell up, partly blocking the tubes. As a result not enough air can get into the lungs. Lots of things can set off an asthma attack, like cigarette smoke, some drugs, and infections like colds and the flu. This condition makes breathing more difficult.
So lets review some important facts about oxygen and the respiratory system. Oxygen is necessary for life Oxygen in the air is taken into the body through your lungs when you breath in Oxygen goes from the lungs into the blood and is carried to the cells throughout the body Cells use oxygen to make energy from food Waste (carbon dioxide) from the cells is carried back to the lungs by the blood Carbon dioxide leaves the body when you breath out. We’ll learn more when we see you on the Science Adventure Lab!
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