Anatomically speaking, the model shows, in great detail, which changes take place when you move down the airways.
The model shows the following divisions of the airways:
Segmental bronchus
Bronchioles
Terminal bronchiole (without alveoli)
Respiratory bronchiole (with alveoli)
Alveolar duct
Alveolar sac with alveoli
In addition, the model illustrates different divisions of the lung tissue:
Respiratory acinus: are all the alveoli that receive air from the same terminal bronchiole
Lungelobulus: an area of the lung tissue corresponding to 3-5 respiratory acini which is surrounded by connective tissue.
The entire model thus illustrates a lung lobule.
The model also shows how the transition between bronchi and bronchioles is seen where the cartilage in the wall is replaced by an increasing amount of smooth muscle.
Furthermore, the model demonstrates how the various vessels found in relation to the lung tissue run in relation to the bronchi and bronchioles. The following vessel can be seen on the model:
- Branch from A. pulmonalis: leads the oxygen-poor blood from the heart to the alveoli, where it is oxygenated.
- Branch from A. bronchialis: supplies the lung tissue itself with oxygen and nutrients.
- Branch from V. pulmonalis: leads the now oxygenated blood back to the heart.
On the back of the model, the enlarged alveolus shows the difference between the different cells that make up the wall of the alveolus. These are:
- Type-I pneumocytes
- Type-II pneumocytes
- Alveolar macrophages - located on the inside of the alveoli
