Respiratory System Pharmacology

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This involves the study of how drugs interact with the respiratory system, including the use of medications to treat respiratory illnesses.

What is the respiratory system?

- "The respiratory system (also respiratory apparatus, ventilatory system) is a biological system consisting of specific organs and structures used for gas exchange in animals and plants."

What factors influence the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system?

- "The anatomy and physiology that make this happen varies greatly, depending on the size of the organism, the environment in which it lives, and its evolutionary history."

How is the respiratory surface internalized in land animals?

- "In land animals, the respiratory surface is internalized as linings of the lungs."

What are the small air sacs called in mammals and reptiles?

- "Gas exchange in the lungs occurs in millions of small air sacs; in mammals and reptiles these are called alveoli."

What are the small air sacs called in birds?

- "In birds they are known as atria."

How do the microscopic air sacs come into contact with the blood?

- "These microscopic air sacs have a very rich blood supply, thus bringing the air into close contact with the blood."

How does the external environment communicate with the air sacs?

- "These air sacs communicate with the external environment via a system of airways, or hollow tubes, of which the largest is the trachea."

What are the two main branches of the trachea?

- "The trachea branches in the middle of the chest into the two main bronchi."

What do the bronchi branch into within the lungs?

- "These enter the lungs where they branch into progressively narrower secondary and tertiary bronchi that branch into numerous smaller tubes, the bronchioles."

What are bronchioles called in birds?

- "In birds, the bronchioles are termed parabronchi."

How is air pumped into the alveoli or atria?

- "Air has to be pumped from the environment into the alveoli or atria by the process of breathing which involves the muscles of respiration."

How does gas exchange occur in fish and other aquatic animals?

- "In most fish, and a number of other aquatic animals, the respiratory system consists of gills, which are either partially or completely external organs, bathed in the watery environment."

What structures in the gills are responsible for gas exchange?

- "Gas exchange takes place in the gills which consist of thin or very flat filaments and lamellae which expose a very large surface area of highly vascularized tissue to the water."

In which animals does the skin play a role in gas exchange?

- "Insects have respiratory systems with very simple anatomical features, and in amphibians even the skin plays a vital role in gas exchange."

What anatomical features are involved in the respiratory system of plants?

- "The respiratory system in plants includes anatomical features such as stomata, that are found in various parts of the plant."