GOINDIS NATUROPATHY TRUST(INDIA)
Charity Registration No.845/4 dated 03.09.2003
THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM
SANTOKH SINGH PARMAR
FOUNDER TRUSTEES:
Satyendra Singh Goindi, MSc, LLB, ND
Gurkirpal Kaur Goindi, BA, BEd, DPE, ND
Santokh Singh Parmar, B Arch, Dip TP, Dip LA, MRTPI, AITP, AIIA
Devinder Singh Saroya, PCS
Gurmukh Singh Girn, MSc, MCRP, AITP
4 the Respiratory System
What is Respiratory System?
4.1 Out of different gases in the air only oxygen is important to life and the body. If the brain cells do not get enough oxygen even for a few minutes, they begin to die and the brain gets damaged and the heart stops beating. We live only when we take sufficient oxygen. Every breath we take provides essential oxygen to our body cells which produce the waste product carbon dioxide. The respiratory system includes the cone-shaped 13 cm long tube pharynx (throat), the larynx (voice box), the 13 cm long and about 2.5 cm dia tube trachea (windpipe) and the lungs.
Oral and Nasal Cavities
4.2 Normally, the air enters the body through the nostrils. Tiny hairs in the nose help filter out dust and dirt and thus protect us from many breathing problems. But when the nose is blocked, we can breathe through the oral cavity (mouth), which though is less healthier than through the nose. There are also very tiny hairs in the windpipe, which move like grass in the wind. These tiny hairs help in carrying the trapped debris in the mucus back to the throat, which can be discarded by coughing or swallowing. The cells in the nasal cavity warm and moisten the air before it enters the lungs. The cells lining the nasal cavity and the windpipe secrete a sticky liquid called mucus, which traps any dust, dirt, bacteria and viruses breathed in.
The Epiglottis
4.3 Both nasal and oral cavities meet at the throat. The air from the nose or mouth passes through the throat to the voice box where the vocal chords are located. The voice box is attached to the windpipe as well as the food pipe. When a person swallows, the epiglottis (a special protective flap) closes the opening to the windpipe preventing foods or liquids from entering the lungs. But if by chance food enters the windpipe, it can be brought back to the throat by coughing and then swallowing properly.
The Lungs
4.4 A right and a left lung are located in the chest cavity. They have a spongy appearance resembling a plastic bag with lots of bubble like holes. The lungs are the only organ in the body that can float by themselves. Below the lungs is a sheet of large muscle tissue, the diaphragm, which separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. It is the dome-shaped chief muscle in the respiratory process. The two tubes known as bronchi connect the windpipe to each lung. The bronchi are subdivided many times forming smaller and smaller passages, the smallest of which is known as bronchioles. At the end of each bronchiole is a cluster of tiny air sacs or pockets called the alveoli, which look like a bunch of grapes. Both lungs contain about 300 million alveoli with a large surface area. If all the alveoli could be spread flat, they would cover an area equal to the size of a tennis court. The walls of the alveoli are covered with tiny capillaries through which blood can easily pass into the blood stream. Oxygen passes from the alveoli into these capillaries for delivery to the body‘s cells. Simultaneously, carbon dioxide in the blood stream moves from the capillaries into the alveoli, where it is expelled from the lungs. This simultaneous exchange of the gases is called respiration. Some air always stays in the lungs. Otherwise the lungs would collapse.
Breathing
4.5 Air moves into and out of the lungs with every breath. When a person inhales, the dome-shaped diaphragm contracts, flattens and moves downwards, the rib muscles expand and enlarge the chest cavity upwards and outwards, oxygen-rich air rushes into the lungs, and the alveoli expand as they fill with air and lungs increase in size. When a person exhales, the diaphragm relaxes, becomes dome-shaped again and moves upwards and the rib muscles relax, the chest cavity becomes smaller, and carbon-dioxide-rich air is pushed out of the lungs, which become smaller. The muscles in the abdominal wall also contract to push the abdominal organs upwards against the diaphragm thereby aiding to push the air out of the lungs. This respiration process is automatic and is regulated by the respiratory control centre in the brain stem. In an adult the respiration rate is about 12-20 times a minute. Exercise increases the respiration speed, as our body cells are working hard and need more oxygen. Faster and deeper breathing allows oxygen to be pumped into the blood stream more swiftly from the lungs.
4.6 Why do People Yawn? — Even when people breathe normally, not all the alveoli are filled with oxygen-rich air. That means that some blood may pass through the lungs without getting sufficient oxygen. It is thought that this low blood-oxygen concentration triggers a yawn reflex. Yawning causes a person to take a deep breath, which makes more oxygen available to the alveoli and increases the blood-oxygen concentration.
Santokh Singh Parmar
Naturo-Food Therapist & Lifestyle Consultant
Mobile: +91(0) 9815922330
Websites: www.naturofoodtherapy.org & www.foodtherapy.org
Note: The above information and advice and indicative remedies are not a substitute for the advice, your doctor or naturo-food therapist may give you based on his/her knowledge of yourself.