Lungs

What are the lungs?

The lungs are the organs of respiration in human body. Each human has two lungs. The lungs are coverer by a thin tissue layer called the pleura. The same kind of thin tissue lines the inside of the chest cavity- also called pleura. A thin layer of fluid acts as a lubricant allowing the lungs to slip smoothly as they expand and contract with each breath. The lungs are protected by the rib cage.



Where in the body are the lungs located?

The lungs are located within our chest cavity inside the rib cage on either side of the heart. The two lings are separated by a structure called the mediastinum. The mediastinum contains the heart, trachea, esophagus, and blood vessels.


What is the size of the lungs?

Each lung is between 10 and 12 inches longs. The lung on the left is a bit smaller than the lung on the tight because it has to make room for the heart to fit in the chest. Each lung weighs 1.1 kilograms (2.4 lb), therefore making the entire organ about 2.3 kilograms (5.1 lb).



What do the lungs do?

Since the lungs process air, they are the only internal organs that are constantly exposed to the external environment. The air that we breathe in contains several gases, including oxygen that is important for keeping us alive, because body cells need oxygen for energy and growth. With each breath, our lungs added fresh oxygen to our blood, which then carries it to our cells. The lungs also enable our body to get rid of carbon dioxide where the air is breathed out.



What is respiration?

Respiration is the set of events that results in the exchange of oxygen from the atmosphere and carbon dioxide from the body's cells. The process of taking air into the lungs is an inspiration, or inhalation, and the process of breathing it out is expiration or exhalation. Lungs breathe in between 2,100 and 2,400 gallons (8,000 and 9,000 litters) of air, each day.



What is the external structure of the lungs?

Occupying most of the space within the thoracic cavity, the lungs extend laterally from the heart to the ribs on both sides of the chest and continue posteriorly towards the spine. Each soft, spongy lung is roughly cone-shaped.

The base of the lungs is concave to follow the contour of the diaphragm. The left lung is slightly smaller than the right lung because 2/3 of the heart is located on the left side of the body. Each lung consists of several distinct lobes. The right lung (the larger of the two ) has 2 lobes.



What is the internal structure of the lungs?

At the bottom of the trachea or the windpipe, there are two large tubes called the main stem bronchi (singular: bronchus). One of the heads into the left lung, while the other leads into the right lung. Inside each lung, the bronchus divides into smaller and still smaller tubes like branches on a big tree. The tiniest tubes, called bronchioles, eventually end in clusters of microscopic air sacs called alveoli (singular: alveolus). Each alveolus has a mesh-like covering if very small blood vessels called capillaries.



How does the exchange of air take place?

The air that we inhale through our mouth and nose goes down our windpipe. On the way, tiny hairs called cilia filter out the mucus and dirt. Passing through the series of bronchi and bronchioles, the inhaled air finally ends up in the alveoli where oxygen from the air is absorbed into the blood in the tiny capillaries. From here, the oxygen hitches a ride on red blood cells and travels through layers of blood vessels to the heart. The heart then sends the oxygenated blood out to all the cells in the body. Carbon dioxide, a waste product of metabolism, travel from the blood to the alveoli, from where it travels in the reverse order-through the bronchioles, out the bronchi, out the trachea, and finally out throughout the mouth and nose.


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