Nasal cavityThe space behind the nostrils where air comes in. Its floor is the palate.
Hard palateThe bony front part of the roof of the mouth. It is also the floor of the nasal cavity.
NasopharynxThe top part of the pharynx, behind the nasal cavity. It carries air only.
OropharynxThe middle part of the pharynx, behind the mouth. Air and food both pass through it.
LaryngopharynxThe lowest part of the pharynx, behind the larynx. The airway and the food route divide here.
EpiglottisA flexible flap of cartilage that keeps food out of the trachea. It swings down over the opening of the larynx during swallowing.
LarynxThe cartilage box that joins the pharynx to the trachea. It holds the vocal cords.
TracheaThe windpipe, carrying air from the larynx toward the lungs. Rings of cartilage hold it open.
Nose and sinuses: 3 2
Nasal conchaeThree bony shelves on each side wall of the nasal cavity. They add surface area and make incoming air swirl so it is warmed and cleaned.
Paranasal sinusesAir spaces inside the skull bones around the nose. They warm and humidify air. Named for their bones, here the frontal and sphenoidal sinuses.
The palate: 2 1
Soft palateThe muscular back part of the palate, ending in the uvula. It swings up during swallowing to close off the nasopharynx.
Larynx and below: 4 1
EsophagusThe food tube behind the trachea, which the laryngopharynx opens into. It is part of the digestive system, drawn for comparison.
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 : the nasal cavity with superior, middle and inferior conchae that increase surface area and disrupt airflow; the paranasal sinuses (frontal, maxillary, sphenoidal, ethmoidal) warming and humidifying air; the palate as the floor of the nasal cavity, the hard palate of bone in front and the soft palate of muscle behind, with the uvula at its apex swinging up in swallowing to close off the nasopharynx; the pharynx in three parts, the nasopharynx (airway only), oropharynx (air and food) and laryngopharynx (posterior to the larynx, where the digestive and respiratory routes diverge, opening anteriorly into the larynx and posteriorly into the esophagus); the larynx connecting the pharynx to the trachea; the epiglottis, flexible elastic cartilage covering the opening of the trachea when swallowing. Licence: own work
The drawing: Drawn for this site on 2026-10-05 by script. The layout and the outlines follow a public domain plate in Henry Gray, Anatomy of the Human Body (20th US edition, 1918), fig. 994, Sagittal section of nose, mouth, pharynx, and larynx (https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Gray994.png), mirrored so the face looks left; points were read off that plate. Wikimedia Commons credits the plate to Henry Vandyke Carter. Where the picture departs from the plate and from the body: the pharynx is drawn open, as in a living airway, where the plate shows it collapsed; the conchae and the brain are simplified; the fold from the tip of the epiglottis to the back of the larynx is drawn as a heavy line, so the opening of the larynx looks narrower than it is; and the brain, the spinal cord and the back of the neck, which the plate does not show, are our own drawing. Licence: own drawing; outlines after a public domain plate
How it works
A nasal cavity diagram labeled with the rest of the upper respiratory tract, the head and neck cut down the middle. It answers the homework: correctly label the components of the upper respiratory tract. Start with the 8 main parts.
Read the full guide
Nose to throat
Air enters the nasal cavity, where three conchae make it swirl, and the sinuses help warm and humidify it. The palate is the floor: hard in front, soft behind. The pharynx follows in three parts: nasopharynx, oropharynx, laryngopharynx.
Where air and food part
At the bottom of the pharynx the routes divide: air goes forward into the larynx and trachea, food back into the esophagus. When you swallow, the epiglottis folds over the larynx and the soft palate closes off the nose.
The three parts of the pharynx are named for what lies in front: the nose, the mouth, the larynx.
Questions and answers
What are the components of the upper respiratory tract?
The nose and nasal cavity with the conchae and sinuses, the pharynx (nasopharynx, oropharynx and laryngopharynx) and the larynx. References differ on whether the larynx ends the upper tract or starts the lower one.
What are the three parts of the pharynx?
The nasopharynx behind the nose, which carries only air; the oropharynx behind the mouth, for air and food; and the laryngopharynx behind the larynx, where air and food separate.
What does the epiglottis do?
It is a flexible flap of cartilage that swings down over the opening of the larynx when you swallow, so food and drink go into the esophagus, not the trachea.