After learning about the lymphatic system, more specifically innate immunity, I've come across the reflex of coughing, and as someone who experiences it frequently, I want to know how it functions. According to AniMed (2016) air is abruptly expelled from the lungs to the epiglottis when someone coughs. Its goal is to eliminate the unwelcome irritant that is present in the windpipe, also referred to as the trachea. If a person consumes water and an unwelcome irritant enters their trachea, this triggers a coughing reflex because when the epiglottis closes while simultaneously contracting the abdominal and rib muscles, the diaphragm and external intercostal creates a negative pressure around the lung and the accumulation of air goes inside the lung to equalize the pressure. As a result, the pressure is increased, forcing air out with force, which produces the sound of someone coughing. The irritant is expelled by the air that is firmly pushing the epiglottis, allowing the person to breathe comfortably again.
I’ll be able to use this information in my daily life to appreciate how my reflexes are able to save me because without it, I don’t think I’ll be able to survive.
AniMed. (2016). How Cough Forms in Human Body Animation - How Coughing Works Video - Mechanism of Cough Reflex [YouTube Video]. In YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dVac4G3e84Y