Learning Objectives

  • Apply the rules of medical language to build, analyze, spell, pronounce, abbreviate, and define terms as they relate to the respiratory system
  • Identify meanings of key word components of the respiratory system
  • Categorize diagnostic, therapeutic, procedural, or anatomic terms related to the respiratory system
  • Use terms related to the respiratory system
  • Use terms related to the diseases and disorders of the respiratory system

Introduction to the Respiratory System

The primary function of the respiratory system is to provide oxygen to body tissues and to remove carbon dioxide. This chapter will begin by reviewing common word components related to the respiratory system that can be used to build definitions of respiratory terminology. Other respiratory terms, whose definitions cannot be easily built from word components, will be described in context based on the anatomy and physiology of the respiratory system, as well as common respiratory diseases and disorders. Medical specialists, diagnostic tests, procedures, and equipment related to the respiratory system will also be discussed.

View Figure 4.1[1] for an illustration of major anatomic structures of the respiratory system.

 

This figure shows the upper half of the human body. The major organs in the respiratory system are labeled.
Figure 4.1 Major Respiratory Anatomic Structures
  1. “2301 Major Respiratory Organs.jpg” by OpenStax College is licensed under CC BY 3.0 ↵

License

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Medical Terminology - 2e Copyright © 2024 by Jonathan Eastabrooks, MBA, RHIA and Open Resources for Nursing (Open RN) is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, except where otherwise noted.

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