The various anatomical features of the human respiratory system include airways, lungs, and the respiratory muscles. The human respiratory system performs important life functions like respiration where molecules of oxygen and carbon dioxide are passively exchanged in the alveoli of the lungs by a process of diffusion.
This exchange takes place between the gases coming from the environment and the blood cells. The human respiratory system is the most advanced among all types of vertebrates as well as invertebrates. Horses possess obligate nasal breathers, elephants have pleural spaces, birds have air sacs, reptiles have lungs, and amphibians breathe through their skin while fish have gills that are used for the process of respiration.
There are various factors that affect the functioning of the human respiratory system and they can lead to various complications. There are various obstructive conditions that may have been caused due to emphysema, bronchitis or asthma. Restrictive condition lie fibrosis, sarcoidosis, alveolar damage and pleural effusions. Vascular diseases like pulmonary edema, pulmonary embolism and pulmonary hypertension. Several infections include pneumonia; tuberculosis, asbestosis, and exposure to pollutants are some of the major causes of complications in the respiratory system. A pulmonologists is a specialist who will deal with the various disease and complications of the human respiratory system.