Respiratory System and Environment

**53**

**1. Introduction**

**Chapter 4**

**Abstract**

Environmental Media and

*Ibiwumi Saliu and Evangelisca Akiomon*

**Keywords:** air, water, soil, lung inflammation, cancer, nausea

nisms to defend itself and prevent pathogens from entering the body.

Defect is any abnormality or imperfection that is capable of impairing quality, function or utility [1]. A respiratory defect is therefore any impairment in the vital function or utility of the respiratory system caused by abnormalities (congenital or induced) in one or more of the respiratory organs. The major organs of the respiratory system are the nose and nasal cavity, larynx, pharynx, bronchi, alveoli, trachea and the lungs. They function primarily to provide oxygen to body tissues for cellular respiration, remove the waste product carbon dioxide, and help to maintain acid-base balance [2]. Due to the anatomy of the respiratory tract, it is constantly exposed to microbes, which is why the respiratory system includes many mecha-

Lungs are the powerhouse of the respiratory system. Through inhalation oxygen is brought into the body with and exhalation rids the body of carbon dioxide. Harm to the lungs can result from presentation to numerous things noticeable all around,

Associated Respiratory Defects

Environmental media majorly connotes abiotic components of the natural environment, namely, air, water and soil. Pollution to these media has resulted to a great deal of respiratory defects. Epidemiologic studies conducted in the U.S. and abroad provide evidence of associations between short and long-term exposure to fine particles in the air and both decrements in lung function growth in children and increased respiratory symptoms. Particles deposited in the respiratory tract in sufficient amounts induce lung inflammation, which has been demonstrated in both animal and controlled human exposure studies. More recently, the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) also conducted an evaluation on the carcinogenicity of outdoor air pollution in the respiratory tract, including particle pollution, and concluded that both are Group I agents (carcinogenic to humans). Air pollution has been given great priority as a causal factor for respiratory defects; meanwhile dust particles from contaminated soil could also cause a great havoc. Moreover polluted water is also a major causal pathway. According to world health organization (WHO) 80% diseases are waterborne. Though water is an important natural resource used for drinking and other developmental purposes in our lives but health risk associated with polluted water includes different diseases in which respiratory diseases are the major ones. Bacterial, viral and parasitic diseases are spreading through polluted water and affecting human health. Poliomyelitis virus is responsible for poliomyelitis, sore throat, fever, nausea, which are all due to polluted water.
