Respiration, the transportation of oxygen to cells within the body, and then the reverse with carbon dioxide going out of the body, is often confused with the act of breathing. Although they are both necessary functions of the body, healthy respiration lays the ground work for normal breathing patterns.
The respiration process contains several parts, including ventilation (moving air into and out of the lungs), pulmonary gas exchange (exchange of gases between the alveoli and the pulmonary capillaries), gas transport (movement of gases within the pulmonary capillaries through the circulation to the peripheral capillaries in the organs, and then a movement of gases back to the lungs along the same circulatory route), and peripheral gas exchange (exchange of gases between the tissue capillaries and the tissues or organs, impacting the cells composing these and mitochondria within the cells).
For the ordinary person, this goes way beyond the scope of understanding of what goes into this process and what we need to know to effectively take care of our respiration system. However, it is important for everyone to know that there are steps that can be taken to strengthen respiratory function, as well as nasal passage health, immune system, and sinus strength.