The respiratory system Have you ever felt short of breath…. All of this falls within the respiratory system. The respiratory system is divided into two different portions. The first portion is made up of the upper airways and the second portion is made up of the lower airways. Muscles, difficulty breathing, failure, hypoxic drive, extra. The upper airway consists of the nasal passages, oral cavity, pharynx, larynx, epiglottis and trachea. The nasal cavity is a gigantic space located behind the nose; both nostrils connect to this cavity and bring air into our body. The oral cavity is a section of the mouth that lies behind the gums and teeth and is held together by the soft and hard palate. Just behind the oral cavity is the pharynx which runs into the esophagus. Respiratory distress does not only occur in adults, but c HELPPPPPPPPPPPPPP“Acute respiratory distress syndrome (ARDS) occurs when fluid builds up in the tiny, elastic sacs of air (alveoli) in your lungs." When there is fluid in the lungs, there is less room for oxygen, which leads to an inadequate amount of oxygen reaching the organs, which therefore cannot function properly It is common and easier to develop respiratory distress when illness or trauma is present. Because your body is already weakened, there is a greater chance that people will have more severe problems. “Many people who develop ARDS do not survive "The risk of death increases with age and severity of the disease. Of the people who survive ARDS, some recover completely while others suffer permanent lung damage." illness or have suffered some type of trauma, so when they discover they have respiratory distress they are already hospitalized for previous problems“Respiratory failure is a syndrome in which the respiratory system fails in one or both of its gas exchange functions: oxygenation and elimination of carbon dioxide”. There are two different types of respiratory failure; there is type I and type II. Type I, called hypoxemic respiratory failure, occurs when arterial oxygen tension is less than 60 mm Hg with normal or low arterial carbon dioxide tension. Type I is the most common with respiratory failure. Respiratory failure is generally associated with another disease, such as fluid filling in the alveolar units. “Some examples of type I respiratory failure are cardiogenic or noncardiogenic pulmonary edema, pneumonia, and pulmonary hemorrhage.” Type II, called hypercapnic respiratory failure, occurs when arterial oxygen tension is greater than 50 mm Hg. “Hypoxemia is common in patients with hypercapnic respiratory failure who breathe room air.” There are also many examples of type II, such as "...drug overdose, neuromuscular disease, chest wall abnormalities, and severe airway disorders (e.g., asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease [COPD])." Most of the signs and symptoms of respiratory failure, both type I and type II, are very similar. Some of the signs and symptoms are shortness of breath, cyanosis (if oxygen levels are very low) and high carbon dioxide levels can also cause rapid breathing and/or confusion