Respiratory system

A schematic front view, not to scale. Press a label to hide or reveal it, drag it to move it, and choose a part to read what it does.

Parts

Main parts All parts

Labels

Press a label to hide or reveal it. On wider screens, drag it, or use the arrow keys once it is selected, to move it.

Choose a label to read what the part does.

A simplified schematic, not a scale drawing: sizes and numbers of parts are for illustration only.

Name the parts

A number appears on the diagram; choose the name of the part it points to. If you are wrong you read what your choice does and what the right part does, then try again.

Only the parts to review and an unfinished round are kept, on this device only, with no name or account.

Use it in class

The worksheet and the board get exactly what is set now. You can edit the worksheet before printing, and its answer key comes on a separate page. On the board everything stays editable, and nothing is added to a live lesson.

Worksheet: blank labels Worksheet: blank labels, names given Labelled diagram on the board Blank labels and the names on the board Numbered blank labels on the board

How to use it

Choose Main parts for beginners, or All parts for older classes.
Hide all the labels, then ask the class to name each numbered part before you reveal its label.
Choose a label to read what the part does, and practise naming the parts by their numbers.
For class: print a blank-label worksheet, with its answer key on a separate page, or put the diagram on the board with editable labels.

Worked examples

The route air takes when you breathe in

Nasal cavity / Mouth
Pharynx
Larynx
Trachea
Bronchi
Bronchioles
Alveoli

On breathing in, air passes through these structures in order; it normally enters through the nose, and the mouth is an alternative way in. The bronchi enter the lungs and branch into bronchioles that end in alveoli. Breathed-out air takes the same path in reverse.

The parts and what they do

A simplified human respiratory system (not to scale): the airways that carry air to the lungs, the alveoli where gases are exchanged, and the muscles that move air in and out.

1. Nasal cavity: The space behind the nostrils where incoming air is warmed, moistened and cleaned by hairs and mucus.
2. Mouth · further part: Another way in for air, used mostly during hard exercise or when the nose is blocked; it does not clean or warm air as well as the nose.
3. Pharynx · further part: The throat: a passage shared by air and food that leads air from the nose and mouth to the larynx.
4. Larynx · further part: The voice box: it contains the vocal cords and lets air pass into the trachea.
5. Trachea: The windpipe: a tube kept open by rings of cartilage that carries air from the larynx towards the lungs.
6. Bronchi: The two branches of the trachea; each one carries air into a lung.
7. Bronchioles: Ever smaller tubes that branch inside the lungs and carry air to the alveoli.
8. Lungs: Two spongy organs in the chest where oxygen passes into the blood and carbon dioxide leaves it.
9. Alveoli: Millions of tiny air sacs with very thin walls, surrounded by capillaries, where oxygen enters the blood and carbon dioxide leaves it.
10. Diaphragm: A dome-shaped sheet of muscle below the lungs; when it contracts it flattens and moves down, making the chest bigger so air is drawn in.
11. Ribs · further part: Curved bones that protect the lungs and heart and move up and out when we breathe in.
12. Intercostal muscles · further part: Muscles between the ribs that contract to pull the ribcage up and out when we breathe in.

Sources

The sentences on this page are Bayyinli's own, and the drawing was made for it. These sources were used to check names and facts only: