Respiratory System
The airway and lungs that exchange oxygen for carbon dioxide roughly 20,000 times a day.
The respiratory system draws air through the nose and throat, warms and filters it, and exchanges gases across a vast internal surface inside the lungs. Breathing is unique among vital functions in being both automatic and consciously controllable, which is why breathing pattern has an outsized effect on stress, focus and exercise capacity.
Key organs & structures
How it connects
Oxygenated blood leaving the lungs is pumped directly by the heart.
Slow nasal breathing activates the parasympathetic ('rest and digest') nervous system.
Airway restriction during sleep is a leading, underdiagnosed cause of poor sleep quality.
Common goals
Common symptoms
Deep-dive guides in the respiratory system
Conditions involving this system
Symptoms involving this system
Did you know?
- • Unrolled, the internal surface area of adult lungs is roughly the size of half a tennis court.
- • Most adults unconsciously breathe through the mouth at some point in the night, which dries the airway and worsens snoring.