How Our Lungs Work

The lungs are essential organs that obviously play a vital role in a human being's ability to sustain life. The lungs are located in the chest and are part of the human body's respiratory system. They use air to take oxygen in and also work to remove any carbon dioxide from the body. The process of taking oxygen in and removing carbon dioxide is identified as "gas exchange", which is defined as breathing. In order to live and to have normal body function, breathing is absolutely essential. Along with the lungs, in order to sustain life, airways, muscles and linked blood vessels make up the respiratory system.

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Also known as pipes, airways help filter oxygen directly to the lungs and help to remove carbon dioxide. Airways included nasal cavities, Larynx, mouth, windpipe and bronchial tubes. Airways or pipes filter oxygen to the lungs. They also serve to rid the lungs of waste gas or carbon dioxide.

It all begins when the mouth or nose takes in warm and/or wet air. Any dryness or cold air taken in can become an irritant to the lungs. As the air enters the body, it makes it way to the voice box and onto the windpipe. From there, the windpipe divides into two bronchial tubes, which then enters the lungs. To protect the lungs from ingesting food and/or drink, windpipes are protected with the epiglottis, which cover the windpipe during the swallowing process.

The airways also have cilia. These are hairs that are covered with a sticky mucus, which helps to prevent foreign particles and germs from entering the airways as air is taken in. The only exception to airways containing cilia are parts of the nose and the mouth. Cilia works by sweeping foreign particles to the mouth or nose and then digested by swallowing, sneezing or coughed out of the body.

Interesting Facts About Lungs

The left lung is somewhat smaller than the right lung because the left lung sits close to the heart. The smaller left lung leaves space to accommodate the space needed for the heart.

The inside of each lung contains tiny tubes called bronchioles. Bronchioles branch out into lots of air sacs or alveoli. In turn, alveoli are coated with capillaries that are connected to veins and arteries that pump blood throughout the body.

Lungs are composed of five lobes. In some cases, illness causes disease in one or more of the lobes. In certain cases a lobe must be removed, but many times life can still be maintained with the remaining lobes.

Key Points to Remember About Working Lungs

Lungs are located in the chest and are vital to breathing oxygen from surrounding air. In addition, the lungs aid in removing carbon dioxide from the body. A number of tissues and organs make up the respiratory systems, including the lungs, linked blood vessels, muscles and airways. Airways create a way for oxygen rich air to enter the lungs, as well as remove unwanted carbon dioxide. Muscles around the lungs tighten and relax to allow for breathing. They include intercostal muscles, which shrink to allow for more chest space and lung expansion. As the lungs open up to a greater degree, more air is taken in via the mouth or nose. The air makes it way to the lungs's air sacs where oxygen travels from air to blood within the lungs. Here, waste gases or carbon dioxide is moved from the lungs to the air sacs. In turn, oxygen-rich air is delivered throughout the body by blood vessels.

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