- "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."
An understanding of how air flows into and out of the lungs, and the role of the respiratory muscles and nervous system in regulating breathing.
Anatomy of the Respiratory System: Understand the structure of the respiratory system, including the nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, and lungs.
Mechanics of Breathing: Learn how the lungs and chest wall work together to generate and regulate airflow during breathing.
Regulation of Breathing: Understand the central and peripheral mechanisms that control the rate and depth of breathing.
Gas Exchange: Learn how oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between the lungs and bloodstream.
Pulmonary Ventilation: Understand the different types of ventilation techniques used to treat respiratory failure.
Lung Volume Measurements: Learn how to quantify lung volumes and capacities, and how they are used to diagnose and monitor lung diseases.
Respiratory Diseases: Become familiar with the most common respiratory diseases, including asthma, COPD, pneumonia, and lung cancer.
Respiratory Pharmacology: Understand the pharmacological agents used to treat respiratory diseases and symptoms.
Pulmonary Function Testing: Learn how to perform and interpret the results of a variety of pulmonary function tests.
Respiratory System Development: Understand how the respiratory system develops and functions in different stages of life, from neonatal development to senescence.
Environmental and Occupational Lung Diseases: Learn about the different types of lung diseases caused by environmental and occupational exposures.
Sleep Apnea: Understand the pathophysiology, diagnosis, and treatment of sleep-related breathing disorders.
Interventional Pulmonology: Learn about the different interventional and surgical procedures used to diagnose and treat respiratory disease.
Imaging in Pulmonology: Understand the different imaging modalities used in pulmonary medicine, including X-rays, CT scans, and MRI scans.
Cardiorespiratory interactions: Understand the complex interaction between the respiratory and cardiovascular systems, and their role in maintaining homeostasis.
Respiratory Mechanics: It studies the physical principles and functions of the lungs and their role in breathing.
Gas Exchange: It focuses on the transportation of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the rest of the body.
Muscular Control: It deals with the neuromuscular control of breathing and the regulation of respiratory muscles.
Pathology of Breathing: It looks at the various disorders and diseases that affect the respiratory system, such as asthma or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD).
Respiratory Physiology in Exercise: It involves the study of the effects of exercise on the respiratory system.
Environmental Physiology: It explores how environmental factors such as altitude or pollution affect the respiratory system.
Pulmonary Pharmacology: It looks at the medications used to treat respiratory disorders and how they affect the respiratory system.
Pulmonary Rehabilitation: It focuses on the rehabilitation of patients with lung conditions by improving their physical function, quality of life, and reducing symptoms through exercise, education, and supportive care.
Sleep Physiology and Disorders: It involves the study of the respiratory system during sleep and the various sleep-related breathing disorders.
Respiratory Physiology in Neonates: It deals with the unique respiratory physiology of newborns and infants and the various problems that can arise in this population.
- "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."
- "In land animals, the respiratory surface is internalized as linings of the lungs."
- "Gas exchange in the lungs occurs in millions of small air sacs; in mammals and reptiles these are called alveoli."
- "In birds they are known as atria."
- "These microscopic air sacs have a very rich blood supply, thus bringing the air into close contact with the blood."
- "These air sacs communicate with the external environment via a system of airways, or hollow tubes, of which the largest is the trachea."
- "The trachea branches in the middle of the chest into the two main bronchi."
- "These enter the lungs where they branch into progressively narrower secondary and tertiary bronchi that branch into numerous smaller tubes, the bronchioles."
- "In birds, the bronchioles are termed parabronchi."
- "Air has to be pumped from the environment into the alveoli or atria by the process of breathing which involves the muscles of respiration."
- "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."
- "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."
- "Insects have respiratory systems with very simple anatomical features, and in amphibians even the skin plays a vital role in gas exchange."
- "The respiratory system in plants includes anatomical features such as stomata, that are found in various parts of the plant."