07/15/2022
The Respiratory System
The respiratory system consists of the lungs, trachea, bronchi, bronchial tubes, and alveoli. The function of the respiratory system is ingestion of the body’s main source of energy — "oxygen.”
Oxygen allows for oxidation to take place within the body. The respiratory system removes carbon dioxide; helps regulate the acid-base balance of the body; and brings hydrogen, carbon, nitrogen, etc., into the body.
These elements are life’s most basic foods. Let's talk about the organ that we know of the most - the lungs. We each come with a set of lungs located in the pleural cavity—one on each
side of the sternum and reaching down from the upper chest (above first rib) to the diaphragm. The lungs are cone-shaped “spongy” organs, which allow outside air (food) to be brought into your body, and toxic gases and byproducts
to be exhaled or eliminated. Your lungs are both a digesting organ and an eliminative organ. The lungs are a digestive organ in the sense that we consume (via breathing) vital
elements, including oxygen, hydrogen, nitrogen, and carbon into the body to be used as catalysts, fuels and the like. Your lungs also act as one of your four major eliminative organs (colon,
kidneys, skin and lungs). As you inhale oxygen and other elements, these are exchanged through the alveoli into the pulmonary arterial capillaries of the
lungs, which then send these elements through the heart and off into the entire system. The byproducts of these elements are carbon dioxide and other gases, which act as a filter for all the “other” debris and toxins that you inhale
(dust, chemicals, gases, etc.). These are then eliminated through the lymphatic capillaries and vascular system, or are expectorated by coughing and spitting the mucus that trapped these toxins. As you can see the respiratory system plays
a major role in our bodily functions so having a robust respiratory system is paramount to maintaining a healthy, secure body.