Friday

Lungs

Lungs are the major organ of our respiratory system. They help you obtain oxygen and get rid of carbon dioxide. The gaseous exchange takes place in the tiny air sacs which have just one-cell thick walls. Blood absorbs oxygen and delivers it to every individual cell in the body.

A cylindrical tube, called trachea, is the main link between the human lungs and the nose and mouth. When we breathe in, air travels through the trachea to the main respiratory organs. As the trachea moves down the chest, it splits into two branches, i.e. bronchi, one for each lung.

Each bronchus then further subdivides into several smaller tubes, namely, bronchioles. Thus, each lung contains many bronchioles. They spread all over its structure in order to ensure an even distribution of oxygen. You can view the details in the lungs diagram.

For oxygen to be able to reach all the parts of our body, it dissolves into the blood. The blood stream then distributes oxygen to the entire body. Therefore, there has to be a supply of blood vessels in the lungs. These blood vessels are present on minute, sac-like structures, the alveoli.

The alveolar sacs are present at the end of bronchioles. There are numerous alveoli in each lung. This is to provide the maximum surface area for the exchange of oxygen as well as carbon dioxide with the blood stream.

Do you know the expanse combined surface area of all the tiny alveolar sacs in the lungs? Quite unbelievably, it is equal to the area of an entire tennis court.

It is possible for a person to survive with just one lung. However, he would be weaker than normal individuals who have a pair of these organs.

On average, the volume of air that the respiratory system takes in every day is approximately 9,000 liters!

The pulmonary structures of newly born babies breathe at a faster rate in comparison with those of adults.

Your pulmonary organs play an important role in respiration system of the body. Oxygen moves in when you inhale air. The air travels from the external air passages (mouth and nose) down the trachea and finally into the alveoli through the bronchus and bronchioles.

This oxygen dissolves into the layer of moisture around each alveoli and finally moves into blood capillaries. In this way, a lung plays a vital role in providing oxygen to all the body organs.

It is important for your body to get rid of carbon dioxide which is a waste product of respiration. Once again, these are the pulmonary organs which help in the elimination of this toxic waste product. The path of carbon dioxide from the blood to the external environment is the reverse of the path that the oxygen takes to enter the blood stream.