Human Respiratory System Diagram

The airway from the nose to the lungs: 12 parts to name, labeled or blank.

Human Respiratory System Diagram

Name Date

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1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12
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Write the name of each numbered part.Answer key

  1. Nasal cavity
  2. Oral cavity (mouth)
  3. Pharynx (throat)
  4. Epiglottis
  5. Larynx (voice box)
  6. Trachea (windpipe)
  7. Bronchi
  8. Bronchioles
  9. Alveoli
  10. Right lung
  11. Left lung
  12. Diaphragm

Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Licence: own work.

Each numbered ring is a button. Use the arrow keys to move between them and Enter to choose. Names are read out in Study, and once a part is answered.

Next step Next: the alveoli, close up, 14 parts

All 12 parts on the diagram

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Start here: 9 main parts 9

  1. Nasal cavity The space inside the nose. Its conchae make incoming air bounce so it is cleaned and warmed.
  2. Pharynx (throat) A muscular tube behind the nasal and oral cavities. It has three parts: nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx.
  3. Larynx (voice box) Cartilage that connects the pharynx to the trachea. It regulates the air in and out of the lungs. The thyroid cartilage makes the Adam's apple.
  4. Trachea (windpipe) Runs from the larynx down into the chest. Built of 16 to 20 C-shaped pieces of cartilage.
  5. Bronchi The right and left bronchi connect the trachea to the lungs.
  6. Bronchioles Smaller airways that branch through the lungs, about 1 mm across. They end in terminal bronchioles.
  7. Alveoli Tiny grape-like air sacs where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged. They are drawn much larger than life here.
  8. Right lung The body's right lung, with three lobes: superior, middle and inferior.
  9. Diaphragm A dome-shaped muscle at the base of the lungs and chest cavity.

Head and neck: 5 2

  1. Oral cavity (mouth) Below the palate, which forms the floor of the nasal cavity.
  2. Epiglottis A flexible flap of elastic cartilage. When you swallow it swings down and closes the opening to the trachea.

Chest: 7 1

  1. Left lung The body's left lung, with two lobes and a cardiac notch. The notch is an indentation that leaves room for the heart.

How this list was compiled: Read 2026-09-26. OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, section 22.1 Organs and Structures of the Respiratory System, https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/22-1-organs-and-structures-of-the-respiratory-system : structures from the nasal cavity to the diaphragm; the nasal cavity with its conchae cleaning and warming air, its floor the palate; the pharynx of skeletal muscle in three regions, nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx; the larynx of cartilage connecting pharynx and trachea and regulating air volume, the thyroid cartilage with the laryngeal prominence (Adam's apple); the epiglottis of elastic cartilage closing the trachea during swallowing; bronchioles about 1 mm across branching to terminal bronchioles; alveoli as small grape-like sacs of gas exchange. Section 22.2 The Lungs, https://openstax.org/books/anatomy-and-physiology-2e/pages/22-2-the-lungs : the lungs connected to the trachea by the right and left bronchi and bordered below by the diaphragm, a dome-shaped muscle; the right lung of three lobes (superior, middle, inferior), the left of two, with the cardiac notch leaving space for the heart. Section 22.1 also gives the trachea as 16 to 20 stacked C-shaped pieces of hyaline cartilage. Licence: own work

The drawing: Drawn for this site by script, 2026-09-26. Own work, nothing traced. Licence: own work

How it works

A human respiratory system diagram with 12 parts, from the nasal cavity to the diaphragm: the head in profile, then the chest from the front. Start with the 9 main parts, or print a blank respiratory system diagram.

Read the full guide

Following the air

Air enters the nasal cavity, where it is cleaned and warmed, passes down the pharynx and larynx into the trachea, then splits into the two bronchi. Bronchioles branch through each lung and end in the alveoli, where gas is exchanged.

Two different lungs

The right lung has three lobes and the left only two. The left lung also has a cardiac notch, an indentation that leaves room for the heart. The dome-shaped diaphragm sits under both.

  • The drawing faces you, so the body's right lung, the one with three lobes, is on your left.

Questions and answers

What are the main parts of the respiratory system?

The nasal cavity, pharynx, larynx, trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and alveoli carry and exchange the air. The two lungs hold the lower airways, and the dome-shaped diaphragm sits beneath them.

What does the epiglottis do?

It is a flexible flap of cartilage above the larynx. When you swallow, it swings down and closes the opening to the trachea, so food goes down the right way.

Is there a simple version for kids?

Yes: the Start here round asks only the 9 main parts, from the nasal cavity to the diaphragm, and the blank print works as an easy worksheet.

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