Ending the Respiratory System with a Current Event about the Main Organ and more Data/Statistics

ENDING THE RESPIRATORY SYSTEM!? WHAT DO YOU MEAN!? 

What I mean by this is that this is my last blog about the respiratory system. Yes, I am sad as well, but it is okay because life goes on.

We saw some interesting statistics and data with an ongoing research about the respiratory system yesterday. Today, we are going to look at a current event about the main organ of the respiratory system and some more interesting data and statistics.

This current event that I found talks about the major organ in the respiratory system, which is the lungs. The function of the lungs is to deliver oxygen and to remove carbon dioxide from your blood ("BBC Science & Nature"). The current event talks about the lung's network of airways, exchanging gases, and breathing. 

Your lungs are like a pair of large sponge-like organs that almost fill your chest cavity ("BBC Science & Nature"). Basically, this current event is talking about how our respiratory system functions. This is almost like my first and second blog, but more descriptive. This current event also talks about our breathing system. When you inhale, your breathing muscles contract, or tightens, which expands your ribs ("BBC Science & Nature"). I feel my chest rising and my diaphragm tightening when I inhale. When you exhale, your muscles relax ("BBC Science & Nature").  I feel my chest lowering and my muscles relaxing when I exhale. 

Since this is my last blog, I am going to give you more data and statistics on the respiratory system.

Did you know that we lose half a liter of water a day through breathing? ("Respiratory - Amazing Facts")

Also, did you know that the breathing rate is faster in children and women than in men? ("Respiratory - Amazing Facts")

Since we are at the end of the respiratory system, did you enjoy the way that I taught you? Did you learn anything out of my blogs? If so, what did you learn? What do you think about my blog? Does it need any improvement? Leave your questions and/or comments below and I will get to it as soon as I can!

Like I said earlier, this is my last blog about the respiratory system. Thank you very much for reading my blogs! I really appreciate it! Hopefully I make another blog later on in the future. I will be looking back at this blog to view the comments! Thank you again, and I hope you learned something about the respiratory system, whether it is something minor or major!

Works Cited:

"BBC Science & Nature - Human Body and Mind - Organ Layer." BBC - Homepage. N.p., n.d. 

Web. 26 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.bbc.co.uk/science/humanbody/body/factfiles/lungs/lungs.shtml>.

"Respiratory - Amazing Facts."District_Homepage_Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. 

<http://warriors.warren.k12.il.us/dburke/amazingfactsrespiratory.htm>.

Data/Statistics and Ongoing Research on the Respiratory System

Yesterday, we looked at one specific part of the respiratory system, which was the bronchial. It was confirmed that bronchial can be replaced with arterial allograft. Today, we are going to look at some interesting numbers and ongoing research about the respiratory system.

We all know that the major organ in the respiratory system would be the lungs. Did you ever wonder how many lung transplants happens in a year? Well, I did some research, and the largest number of lung transplants happened in 2007, which was 1,468 ("Number of U.S. Transplants Per Year, 1988-2008"). 

Did you know that the surface area of the lungs is approximately the same size as a tennis court? ("Respiratory - Amazing Facts")

Did you also know that a person at rest usually breathes between 12 and 15 times per minute? ("Respiratory - Amazing Facts")

Besides data and statistics about the respiratory system, I found an interesting ongoing research about the respiratory system. 

On April 4, 2012, Carolyn Herbert posted up a science article named "X-rays shed new light on lung function." Australian researchers found a new technique for assessing lung function using x-rays (Herbert). Basically, they found a way to look at the anatomy of the respiratory system in the human body. According to the article, Herbert says that this may permit earlier detection of lung diseases. This x-ray device can check to see if that person is going to get a lung disease. Dubsky and his team made this 4D imaging and uses an x-ray source to make movies of the breathing lung (Herbert).  They did experiments on animals, such as mice, but never did it on a human being. Their question to themselves are, "Is 4D imaging safe for use on humans?" (Herbert) As of now, they are still experimenting on this 4D imaging technique for human beings. They estimated that a product for patients will be available within five years, which is in 2017 (Herbert). 

Personally, I hope that these Australian researchers create this x-ray to check our lung function. The reason why is because both sides of my family have asthma. If they create this device, it will benefit not only me, but it will benefit everyone around the world who are having respiratory problems.

Were you interested in the data and statistics that I provided for you? Do you have a friend or family member who has a problem with their respiratory system? Do you think the Australian researchers will be successful creating the 4D imaging x-ray? Why or why not? Leave your questions and/or comments below and I will get to it as soon as I can!

Works Cited:

Herbert, Carolyn. "X-rays shed new light on lung function." ABC.net.au. N.p., 4 Apr. 

2012. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.abc.net.au/science/articles/2012/04/04/3470282.htm>

"Number of U.S. Transplants Per Year, 1988–2008." Infoplease: Encyclopedia, Almanac, 

Atlas, Biographies, Dictionary, Thesaurus. Free online reference, research & homework 

help. | Infoplease.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.infoplease.com/science/health/us-transplants-year-1988-2007.html>.

"Respiratory - Amazing Facts."District_Homepage_Index. N.p., n.d. Web. 25 Mar. 2013. 

<http://warriors.warren.k12.il.us/dburke/amazingfactsrespiratory.htm>.

Bronchial Replacement in the Respiratory System

We went into depth about the respiratory system yesterday. Today, we are going to look at one specific spot in the respiratory system that can be replaced, which is the bronchial.

The bronchial is related to the bronchi, which is the large air tubes that start at the bottom of your throat and branch off into each lung ("Glossary - OxygeNation"). In 2010, researchers concluded that you can replace the bronchial with arterial allograft ("Bronchial Replacement with Arterial Allografts"). We all know what arterial is right? If not, then arterial is "of or involving or contained in the arteries" ("Arterial"). I have never heard of allograft, but I searched it up, and it means "a tissue or organ transplanted from a  donor of the same species but different genetic makeup" ("Allograft"). 

The history behind this replacement would be if you get a sleeve lobectomy. What is a sleeve lobectomy? Well, this is a surgery to remove a lung tumor in a lobe of the lung and a part of the main airway ("The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation"). Scientists did some experimenting that demonstrated that aortic grafts are valuable for tracheal and carinal substitutes ("Bronchial Replacement with Arterial Allografts"). This proved that bronchial can be replaced by arterial allografts.

Their method was tested on fifteen sheep and the results were none of the sheep died ("Bronchial Replacement with Arterial Allografts"). In conclusion, this experiment confirmed that arterial allograft can be a substitute for bronchial. If you would like to read more, here is the link: http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20609787.

This was a little history about the replacement of the bronchial in the respiratory system. Think about a friend, family member, even an animal. Did they ever had to replace something in their respiratory system? If so, what was it? Leave your questions and/or comments below and I will get to it as soon as I can!

Works Cited:

"Allograft." Word Net Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. 

<wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=allograft>.

"Arterial." Word Net Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. 

<wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=arterial>.

"Bronchial Replacement with Arterial Allografts." National Center for Biotechnology 

Information. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/20609787>.

"Glossary - OxygeNation." OxygeNation . N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.oxygenation.com/usertools/glossary.php>.

"The Cholangiocarcinoma Foundation."cholangiocarcinoma.org :: the cholangiocarcinoma 

foundation. N.p., n.d. Web. 24 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.cholangiocarcinoma.org/glossary-s.htm>.

Digging Deeper into the Respiratory System

Yesterday, we scratched the surface about the respiratory system and how it works. Today, we are going into depth about the respiratory system. We are going to define every vocabulary word in the respiratory system.

First of all, we know that the nasal cavity is the nose and the oral cavity is the mouth. Our nostrils have hair-like structures, also known as cilia. Cilia protects the nasal passageways and filters out dust and other particles that enter the nose ("The Respiratory System"). The mouth and nose meets at the pharynx, which is located at the back of the throat. Pharynx carries air and food and is the membrane-lined cavity behind the nose and mouth, which connects to the esophagus, which is the pathway for food ("The Respiratory System"). 

To me, the most interesting part about the respiratory system would be the small flap of tissue called the epiglottis. This small flap covers the "air only" passage when we swallow, which stops food and liquid from going into the lungs ("The Respiratory System").

After the epiglottis is the larynx, also known as the voice box. This is located at the top of the trachea where all of the vocal cords are. The trachea, also known as the windpipe, is the pathway for air. The windpipe is also lined with tiny hairs that sweep foreign particles and fluids out of the airway ("The Respiratory System").

When the air passes the trachea, it then divides into two branches, also known as the bronchi ("The Respiratory System"). Each branch enters one of the two lungs of the body. Each branch resembles the limbs of a tree, dividing into smaller, finer branches known as the bronchioles ("The Respiratory System"). At the end of the bronchioles, there are tiny air sacs that looks like grapes, also known as the alveoli. Alveoli are air sacs in the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place ("The Respiratory System"). The alveoli are surrounded by capillaries, also known as tiny blood vessels.

Something that the Hawaiian Islands can relate to would be the alveoli. Like I said before, the alveoli is where the exchanging of oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place. We get our food from the mainland. The mainland people ship the food to the Hawaiian Islands and in return, we give them money for the food. In simple terms, they give us food, we give them money. It is an exchange! Just like the alveoli.

Now that we went into depth about the respiratory system, do you understand how this system works? Can you relate to one of the vocabulary words? If you can, then which one? Leave your questions and/or comments below and I will get to it as soon as I can!

Works Cited:

"The Respiratory System ." YouTube. N.p., n.d. Web. 23 Mar. 2013. 

<http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hc1YtXc_84A>.

What is the Respiratory System?

Have you ever heard the question, "What is the respiratory system?" Did you ever wonder about the respiratory system? If you said yes to both of the questions, then this blog is for you!

In simple terms, the respiratory system is the system where you inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide ("Respiratory System"). Every human in the world uses the respiratory system by breathing. Without the respiratory system, the human population would be a zero. 

The respiratory system includes the nose, mouth, pharynx (throat), larynx (voice box), trachea (windpipe), bronchi, and lungs ("Anatomy of the Respiratory System"). Oxygen goes through the nose or mouth, passes the pharynx and larynx, goes down the trachea, separates by the bronchi, and enters the lungs. Also, there is the diaphragm, which is the main muscle used for breathing and separates the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. 

I use my respiratory system ever since I was born. When I exercise, my body needs more oxygen to feed my muscles as they work harder. Exercising makes my body respond by breathing more quickly and deeply. The more I exercise, the harder my respiratory system works by it speeds up to supply my body with oxygen and also gets rid of carbon dioxide in my system.

This is just the beginning for the respiratory system. Do you understand what the respiratory system is made of? Do you know how this system works? Can you relate to the respiratory system? Leave your questions and/or comments below and I will get to it as soon as I can! 

Works Cited:

"Anatomy of Respiratory System." The Ohio State University Wexner Medical Center. N.p., 

n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. 

<http://medicalcenter.osu.edu/patientcare/healthcare_services/lung_diseases/about/anat

omy/Pages/index.aspx>.


"Respiratory System." Word Net Search. N.p., n.d. Web. 22 Mar. 2013. 

<wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=respiratory%20system>.