Science Common Sense

1003 - How does the respiratory system work?

The respiratory system is how your body takes in oxygen and gets rid of bad air. Here's how it works:

1. You breathe in air through your nose or mouth.
2. The air then goes down your throat, also called the trachea.
3. From there, it goes into your bronchial tubes.
4. The air splits into smaller tubes (like tree branches), until it reaches the smallest tubes called bronchioles.
5. Then it reaches the alveoli (air sacs).
6. In these air sacs, oxygen gets into your blood.
7. At the same time, the bad air (carbon dioxide) in your blood leaves and goes back the other way out of your body.

The whole process is called breathing.