The respiratory system is a group of organs and tissues that work together to help you breathe. It includes the nose, mouth, throat, voice box, windpipe, lungs, bronchial tubes, bronchioles, air sacs, capillaries, and diaphragm. The main function of the respiratory system is to transport oxygen to the body and remove carbon dioxide. The process of breathing starts when you inhale air into your nose or mouth, and it travels down the back of your throat and into your windpipe. The diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle under your lungs, is the main muscle for breathing and does most of the breathing work by expanding and contracting the chest to draw air in and out of your lungs. The respiratory system also cleans waste gases, such as carbon dioxide, from your blood.
The respiratory system performs other roles important to breathing, including bringing air to the proper body temperature and moisturizing it to the right humidity level. Cells in your trachea and bronchial tubes make mucus that keeps air passages moist and helps keep things like dust, bacteria and viruses, and allergy-causing things out of your lungs. Mucus can bring up things that reach deeper into your lungs, which you then cough out or swallow.
Common problems that can affect the respiratory system include allergies, diseases, or infections. Some develop due to irritants you breathe in from the air, including viruses or bacteria that cause infection. Others occur as a result of disease or getting older. Common diseases of the respiratory system include asthma, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and lung cancer.
In summary, the respiratory system is a vital system that helps you breathe and transport oxygen to your body while removing carbon dioxide. It includes several organs and tissues that work together to perform these functions, and it also performs other roles important to breathing. Common problems that can affect the respiratory system include allergies, diseases, or infections.
