The Respiratory System

Aside from the cardiovascular system that takes in oxygen and trashes out carbon dioxide throughout the body, the respiratory system is also responsible for that same task. The respiratory system is often known for breathing (inhaling and exhaling oxygen). It is divided into two tracts : upper and lower. This week, we have tackled the upper tract of the respiratory system.

In the upper tract of the respiratory system, its primary role is to breathe in oxygen from outside to eliminate carbon dioxide and this repeats infinitely. The major components are the lungs, upper and lower airways, alveoli, thoracic cage, and muscles such as the diaphragm. It has two processes of which it takes in oxygen and carbon dioxide out : ventilation for bulk movement of the air down to to the terminal end of the lungs and respiration for the process gas exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. There are two kinds of respiration which are the external and the internal. External has something to do with gas exchange between the blood and the outside environment while the internal is the exchange of oxygenated blood to the cells and tissues of the body. Note that a person can normally hold their breath around 4-6 minutes otherwise they would die of oxygen depletion exceeding that time.

The function of the upper airway tract of the respiratory system is to regulate body temperature, filtering particles, humidifying gases, provides sense of smell, produces sounds, and ventilates gases down to the airways. It is made up of the nose, sinuses, and the pharynx. In the nasal cavity, there are three regions overall. These are the vestibular, oflactory, and the respiratory region. Finally, in the tracheobronchial tree, it is divided into several parts and branches on each side of the lungs. Normally, it has 19 branches with the diameter of 1.6mm (branches 4-9), 1mm (branches 10-15 and 19), and 0.5mm (branch 16).

The Cardiac Cycle and The Electric Pathway

As we tackle further regarding the basic concepts of the cardiovascular system, it is composed of the main organ, heart, which pumps blood through out the body by collecting deoxygenated blood converting them to be oxygenated to store nutrients in other parts of the body. This is done through the arteries, veins, and capillaries.

The cardiac cycle concentrates more on the rate or the number of beats of your heart per minute. This factor can greatly affect the performance of an individual. For instance, let us compare a man eating balanced meals and exercises regularly while the other not so. As we notice the rate and the number of beats of the heart of the first man is fairly running around 70-80 beats per minute while the other one has a slower rate which indicates potential health problems in the future. In this lesson, there are specific terms that are required to remember and here are some :

*systole - the contraction phase of the heart

*diastrole - the relaxation phase of the heart

*anastomoses - the interconnection web of the heart and its other circulatory parts like the veins, arteries, and the capillaries.

In the second lesson, we can consider the heart serving as an electric pathway for other parts and systems of the body to perform their tasks.

The Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system also known as the circulatory system contains major parts and organs of the body. This system assists all other parts of the body supplying oxygenated blood from the heart to the other different parts of the body containing nutrients required. This can be done through arteries, veins, and capillaries. Each component of the heart has different functions. Arteries are the ones which have the color red and they carry out the oxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs while veins do the opposite and has blue color. Capillaries, on the other hand, are the supporting structures of the veins and arteries connecting them and collecting the oxygenated blood in and out of the heart. This process is called the carbon dioxide process. It explains why we generally breath in oxygen and carbon dioxide out.
This process works starting either by the superior vena cava or the inferior vena cava meaning the blood either coming from the upper or lower parts of the body then to the right atrium which then is followed by the tricuspid valve then to the right ventricle then to pulmonary valve then to the pulmonary artery. After it goes to the pulmonary artery it goes to the lungs in exchange for oxygen through the carbon dioxide. First before it jumps into the heart through the pulmonary vein then to the left atrium, to the mitral valve, then to the left ventricle which then passes through the aortic valve and the aorta then finally the oxygenated blood will be released through the different parts of the body.

Sense of Hearing and Sight Introduction to the Cardiovascular System

As we had tackled the lesson sense of hearing and sight last week, this is a deeper topic about them. Let's first discuss about the sense of hearing. In the concepts of hearing, the ear is divided into three sections : the outer, middle, and inner ear. These divisions contain some of the most important parts and their functions in order to safely transmit and receive sound waves at the right frequency. Otherwise, we would've gone deaf so easily. In the outer ear, contains the pinna (auricle), auditory canal (external auditory meatus), and the eardrum (tympanic membrane). They are the ones responsible for first receiving the sound waves coming from outside and serve as the first line of protection against unstable frequencies. The middle ear we have the hammer (malleus), the anvil (incus), and the stirrup (stapes). They are known in also helping transmit sound waves and conduct them to send messages to the brain. Finally, we have the inner ear having vestibular nerves, semicircular canals, and the cochlea. They are mainly responsible for converting sound waves in order to send messages to the nervous system then to the brain.

The sense of sight is a lot different from sense of hearing. This does not focus more on sound waves but rather the reflection and the refraction of light. It can be either concave or convex as we learn in advanced physics. Our eyes, like the ears, are very delicate, can be easily damaged, and divided into two liquid fillings : aqueous and vitreous humor. They are the ones that make our eyes very watery which is important for removing dirt and other foreign agents away from our bodies. However, there are some pathogens that can resists those liquid fillings and make worsening conditions. One of these abnormal conditions is commonly what we call "sore eyes" or in medical terms conjunctivitis. Conjunctivitis frequently occurs whenever a pathogen or an irritant caused either by allergy or the pathogen itself.

Now we have the introduction to the cardiovascular system also known as the circulatory system. The main organ that consists of the circulatory system is the heart which is the most important part of our body. It helps the other parts of the body like the lungs to breathe in oxygen and release carbon dioxide through exhaling. The heart does this by its subparts which are the artery, veins, and the capillaries. Arteries are known to have the color red, veins for the color of blue, and capillaries for brown-like color. They aren't exactly like the RBCs and the WBCs, but they are somehow related because they also excrete waste but only on the oxygen/air that it's receiving and releasing. Unlike blood cells, they only carry out wastes from foreign agents. The circulatory system is also composed of blood vessels which is a cycle significant for carrying out the oxygen and carbon dioxide in a proper order.