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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. 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 ...
The lungs are not capable of inflating themselves, and will expand only when there is an increase in the volume of the thoracic cavity. [6] [7] In humans, as in the other mammals, this is achieved primarily through the contraction of the diaphragm, but also by the contraction of the intercostal muscles which pull the rib cage upwards and outwards as shown in the diagrams on the right. [8]
The process of breathing does not fill the alveoli with atmospheric air during each inhalation (about 350 ml per breath), but the inhaled air is carefully diluted and thoroughly mixed with a large volume of gas (about 2.5 liters in adult humans) known as the functional residual capacity which remains in the lungs after each exhalation, and ...
In the first three years of life, the enlargement of lungs is a consequence of the increasing number of alveoli; after this point, both the number and size of alveoli increases until the development of lungs finishes at approximately 8 years of age. [16]
English: The respiratory system consists of the airways, the lungs, and the respiratory muscles that mediate the movement of air into and out of the body. Español : Diagrama esquemático del sistema respiratorio humano , mostrando los pulmones , los alvéolos , y los músculos que permiten al aire entrar y salir del cuerpo.
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structures of the nervous system including the paired vagus nerves, and the paired sympathetic chains, lymphatics including the thoracic duct. It contains three potential spaces lined with mesothelium: the paired pleural cavities and the pericardial cavity. The mediastinum comprises those organs which lie in the centre of the chest between the ...