Chordata overview
The phylum Chordata is not the largest phylum, yet it contains the most familiar species, the most significant one being humans. Every animal in this phylum have pyaryngeal slits, which are openings that connect the inside of the throat to the outside of the neck. Another feature is the notochord, which is a rod that supports the nerve cord. The nerve cord is present in every species in Chordata. A few animals that are in this phylum include all mammals, birds, and reptiles.
Humans
Human beings have one of the most developed and complex respiratory systems out of all the creatures we know about. When we breathe, we inhale oxygen and later exhale carbon dioxide. This exchange of gases is the respiratory system's way of getting oxygen to the blood in the body. The function of our mouth, nose, and nasal cavity is to warm and moisten the air that we take it. Right below the pharynx, the throat divides into the trachea and esophagus. There is also a small flap of cartilage called the epiglottis which prevents food from entering the trachea at all times. The trachea is the tube that carries air from the throat into the lungs. The air is brought to things called which alveoli have very thin walls which allow the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. The oxygen goes into the mitochondrion at the end of the alveoli which are little air sacs, and the transfusion occurs. The air then goes up the same way it entered your body and out through your nose or mouth.
Penguins
To begin their respiratory system, penguins use their abdominal muscles to push air into the respiratory system. The air travels through the trachea until the trachea splits into two pathways. Half of the air goes immediately to expand the posterior air sacs. The other half of the air flows into the sprinx and then on to lungs. The air in the posterior air sacs moves into the lungs by using two major bronchi. The air then goes into smaller bronchi. In the atria and within the air capillaries, oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged into and out of the blood by diffusion. With the second inhalation, the air in the major bronchi is pushed to the anterior air sacs. The air is moved to the other air sac and then out of the trachea.
african male lion
This wild animal has a very similar respiratory to humans. They breath continually the way we do using a two way respiratory system, where they breath in oxygen and expel out carbon dioxide. Lions have an upper and lower respiratory tract. The upper respiratory tract is outside the chest cavity, and the lower respiratory tract is inside the chest cavity. Gas-exchanging pulmonary tissues, the way that the oxygen is converted to carbon dioxide that is then transfused into the blood, are located in the lower respiratory tract.