Your best friend George is an athletic 20-year-old who smokesregularly. George tells you, “Smoking doesn’t affect me—I canstill run and do the sports I like. All that talk about smokingbeing dangerous doesn’t apply to me.” Do you agree withGeorge? What would you tell him about the dangers of smokingand some of the conditions he may expect to have later in life?
Your best friend George is an athletic 20-year-old who smokes
regularly. George tells you, “Smoking doesn’t affect me—I can
still run and do the sports I like. All that talk about smoking
being dangerous doesn’t apply to me.” Do you agree with
George? What would you tell him about the dangers of smoking
and some of the conditions he may expect to have later in life?
The respiratory system is one of the most important organ systems present. It is very essential for the proper functioning of any organism. The respiratory system in human beings consists of the lungs which in turn consists of the bronchial tree. The bronchial tree starts with the trachea, which branches in the middle of the chest into two bronchi. These two bronchi enter each lung and divide into smaller branches known as bronchioles. These bronchioles terminate into microscopic structures known as alveoli. Alveoli are balloon-shaped sacs present at the ends of the bronchial tree. They have a single-celled membrane. They have mainly two types of cells, type I pneumocytes, and type II pneumocytes. type I pneumocytes are the cells involved in gaseous exchange. The membrane is so thin that easy diffusion of gases can take place. The alveoli are surrounded by surfactant for maintaining structure and surface area. This helps in the exchange of gases. There is a rich supply of blood in the alveoli which allows gasses to diffuse from the alveoli to the blood and vice versa.
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