Question

When we inhale air, it flows along a pathway to reach lungs. Which organs are present in this pathway?

Answer 1

Air travels the following pathway: nasal cavity; pharynx; larynx; trachea; bronchi; bronchioles; alveoli.

Explanation:

An inhaled parcel of air will first enter the nasal cavity where mucus-lined passages warm it, humidify it, and filter out small particles.

Air travels along the pharynx - the back of the throat - where it will then pass through a small opening of the larynx called the glottis. This is where the vocal cords are located.

Air then passes into the trachea, a large tube with rings of supportive cartilage, before branching into each of the lungs through smaller tubes called bronchi (sing. bronchus).

The bronchi extensively branch out into smaller and smaller bronchioles throughout the lungs. At the end of the bronchioles are small air-filled sacs called alveoli that exchange gases with overlying blood capillaries.

Through simple diffusion, oxygen of alveolar air moves into the blood while carbon dioxide moves out of the blood and into the alveoli. You breathe the carbon dioxide back out when you exhale.