NURSING 2LA2 Lecture Notes - Lecture 6: Tumor Necrosis Factor Alpha, Obstructive Lung Disease, Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness
28 Nov 2016
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Document Summary
The respiratory system is composed of the airway passages, the lungs and the associated blood vessels. The purpose of the respiratory system is to provide for oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange between air and blood. Ventilation is the movement of air from the atmosphere into and out of the lungs. Air must be taken in through the upper airway passages composing the nose, nasal passages, mouth, pharynx, and larynx. The air then proceeds from there to the lower airway consisting of the trachea, the bronchi, and bronchioles of the lungs. The process of taking air in is called inspiration. Perfusion is the movement of blood through the lungs. Diffusion is the movement of gases between the roughly one million alveoli or air filled sacs within the lungs and the capillaries that supply the alveoli. In diffusion, gases move across the alveolar capillary membrane.
