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| The Respiratory System |
Life thrived on Earth primarily because of presence of Oxygen in the air. All animals and creatures living on earth have respiratory systems of various kinds, some may have lungs, others like fish may use gills, and yet others like some insects may breathe through pores in their bodies. Like other creatures and living organisms, man too needs oxygen to survive. When we breathe, air is taken in through our mouth and nose and filled into two organs in our chest called Lungs and carbon dioxide is released into the air when we exhale.
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The lungs, throat air passage, nasal air passage and the bronchi make up the respiratory system. The lungs are covered with a thin membrane called the Pleura and are housed inside a flexible rib cage. They are made up of air tubes and millions of minute air sacs called Alveoli. As we breath these alveoli take in the oxygen brought to them by bronchiles and pass it on to the blood which is following through blood vessels called capillaries. The lungs are attached to each other at the bottom with the help of a diaphragm. When this diaphragm and the muscles between the ribs contract, they stretch and enlarge the lungs thus resulting in the sucking in of air. When the chest muscles relax, the soft and spongy lungs automatically return to their small size air is expelled out of the lungs.
The air we breathe flows through the wind pipe called the trachea and reaches the lungs. The oxygen in our lungs. The oxygen in our body is used to convert the food we eat into energy. The respiratory system also helps us in making sounds and speaking. The air flowing in and out of our respiratory system allows us to talk or make sounds with the help of two leathery flaps called the vocal cords located in the voice box, called Larynx, at the bottom of the throat. Smoking and air pollution is not good for the respiratory system since it causes lung diseases.
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