I understand that when we breathe the air goes to our lungs and then send the waste air out (very simplified). But how does our nose and mouth move to breathe, and how do they make air go into them and push out of them?
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A diaphragm near the base of your lungs. It contacts to pull in air and expands to force it out. It has nothing to do with your mouth and nose other than having to open them to allow the air to come in.
Image an open water bottle. If you squeeze the bottle is lets air out, and if you let it expand, it draws air in.
Now, lets put two straws in the bottle. When we squeeze the bottle it pushes air out of the two straws, and when we expand the bottle it sucks air in through the two straws.
The nose and mouth are just holes, or “orifices”, similar to the straws. All the breathing happens at your lungs via your diaphragm (which is a muscle under the lungs) and your intercostal muscles (which are around the ribs), and all they do is “expand the bottle” and relax.
When you breath only through your nose, you actually just close your mouth hole with your tongue so only air comes through the nose. (Imagine putting a thumb over one of the staws). You can’t really breath through your mouth without breathing through your nose too.
A mussel underneath the lungs moves up and down creating a vacuum causing air to rush in. For breathing out it is the opposite, the mussel causes less space in your lungs forcing the air out
Your nose and mouth don’t do the breathing, they’re just the holes that air moves through. Breathing is controlled by your diaphragm – that’s a big muscle that sits just beneath your lungs. When you inhale, your diaphragm contracts and flattens out. This creates more volume in your chest cavity. Your lungs expand into this area and as they expand, pull air in through your nose or mouth. When you exhale, your diaphragm relaxes and pushes up. This pushes your lungs up as well and that pushes the air out of your lungs through your nose or mouth.
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