What's up dudes and what's up ladies? Bryan here, again, and in this video we are going to look at the respiratory system, we're going to look at the functions of the respiratory system, its components, how the system works, and some things you can do to maintain a healthy respiratory system. So, let's roll. The respiratory systems main functions include, transporting air into and out of the lungs, protecting the body against harmful particles that are inhaled, and its most important function, the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. So, it's basically about breathing. Now let's take a look at a diagram, and we'll go through the respiratory systems main components. Starting here with the nose and nasal cavity, the mouth or oral cavity, the pharynx is here, and it is what we consider the throat, the pharynx is considered part of the digestive system, as well as the respiratory system, and it connects the respiratory openings to the larynx and esophagus. The esophagus is not part of the respiratory system, and I'll get to why I put it in the diagram in a minute. Next, we have the larynx, which is also called the voice box because the vocal cords are located here, the trachea, also called the windpipe is here, and it connects to the bronchi, which merge into smaller tubes called bronchioles, and the bronchioles connect to tiny air sacs called alveoli, and then down here is the diaphragm. Now, let's go through a very basic look at what happens during the breathing process. So, air is breathed in through the nose or mouth, when it enters through the nose it gets spread out by these shelf-like things here called conchae, the conchae helps humidify the air and trap some inhaled particles, they also warm the air. The air next passes through the pharynx and enters the trachea, one note here, this little flap like structure is called the epiglottis, and it has an important function. During breathing it is pointed upward allowing air flow into the trachea, however, during swallowing, it folds down to prevent food from going into the trachea, directing the food into the esophagus. If food does enter the trachea, the gag reflex is induced to protect the respiratory system. The epiglottis here, this thing, shows you how amazing the human body is, anyways, back to airflow. So, air continues down the trachea and enters the bronchi, from there it enters into smaller bronchioles and finally into the alveoli, which are surrounded by a network of capillaries. And this, folks is where the magic happens, oxygen enters the alveolar sac and the gas exchange occurs. Capillaries give up their waste carbon dioxide and pick up oxygen. Carbon dioxide is then exhaled through the air passage the oxygen was inhaled through, and the oxygen picked up by the Blood returns to the heart. During this breathing process the diaphragm is busy as well, contracting as we breathe in, which allow the lungs to expand, and relaxing as we exhale. Some minor respiratory disorders include the common cold, influenza, acute bronchitis, which is inflammation of the bronchi, and pneumonia, which is inflammation of the bronchioles and alveoli. Some of the more damaging disorders include chronic bronchitis, where the bronchi become inflamed and narrowed, mainly caused by tobacco smoke emphysema, where the alveoli become overstretched, and lung cancer, which in almost nine out of ten cases is caused by tobacco smoke. What can you do to maintain or improve respiratory system health? Maintain a healthy weight, excess weight compresses respiratory muscles and puts more stress on your lungs, drink plenty of water, dehydration can cause the mucous lining your airways to thicken and become sticky, making you more susceptible to illness, consume foods rich in vitamins, minerals and antioxidants, such as fruits, veggies and nuts, which can help reduce inflammation and fight oxidative damage, limit exposure to common allergens, such as dust mites, pollen, and animal dander, maintain good hygiene, many respiratory viruses are transmitted because of bad hygiene and poor hand-washing, don't over consume alcohol, it dehydrates the body and weakens the immune system. Get more active, regular aerobic activity can help your respiratory system, add indoor plants, plants have been shown to help improve air quality. Bottom line time, as you can see the respiratory system has a major impact on overall health, as you may already know, breathing is kind of important. So, eat a healthy diet, maintain an active lifestyle, and keep up good hygiene. Remember folks, be happy and be healthy. All right, if you have any questions or comments you can leave them below, if you liked the video hit the thumbs up, if you don't like the video hit the thumbs down, it's all good man Till next time, I'm out see ya.