Mon Prof Augmenté
How smoke harms your airways
Age 13 · Health
Open to everyone until Sunday, November 15
To keep it, print it while it is open.
Cigarette smoke coats the airways in sticky tar and stops the tiny hairs that clean them from working. Its carbon monoxide also sticks to red blood cells in place of oxygen, so the body gets less of the oxygen it needs.
In the picture
- Upright cilia: tiny hairs that sweep mucus and dust out of healthy airways
- Tar-stained mucus: thick, dark and pooled in a smoker’s airway
- Flattened cilia: paralysed or lost, so they can no longer sweep
- Carbon monoxide: grey gas that takes oxygen’s place on a red blood cell
Examples
- A smoker’s morning cough is the body trying to clear the mucus that the cilia can no longer sweep away.
- Smokers can feel out of breath climbing stairs because their blood carries less oxygen.
Key takeaways
- Smoke paralyses and destroys cilia, so tar and mucus build up in the airways.
- Carbon monoxide binds to red blood cells instead of oxygen, so less oxygen reaches the body.
Quiz: How smoke harms your airways (Age 13)
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What does cigarette smoke do to the cilia in your airways?
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What does carbon monoxide from smoke do to red blood cells?
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What is the job of cilia in healthy airways?
The answers, each with its explanation, are in the app. This quiz is free there while the lesson is in the free week.
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