How Do the Lungs Work?
The lungs are a pair of sponge-like organs located inside the rib cage. The right lung has three sections, called lobes, and the left lung has two. The airways are a series of hollow tubes, which allow oxygen to enter into the lung tissue as we breathe. As you breathe in, oxygen enters the windpipe (trachea), goes through the airways (bronchus and bronchioles) and into small sacs called alveoli. The alveoli are surrounded by blood vessels. The oxygen crosses into the bloodstream from the alveoli and is then carried to the rest of the body. Oxygen is needed to allow cells in our body to function normally. The heart pumps the blood, which carries the oxygen. A thin membrane covers the surface of the lungs and is called the visceral pleura. A membrane also lines the chest wall and is called the parietal pleura. These membranes allow the lungs to slide as we breathe in and out. The lymphatic system is a network of vessels, which filter bacteria and other foreign material, in order to help
An Overview of How Lungs Work? Every part of your body needs oxygen from the air you breathe in order to survive. The lungs are designed to absorb oxygen from the air and transfer it into the bloodstream. The lungs are found inside the chest and are protected by the rib cage. Between the ribs are muscles that are essential for breathing. The most important muscle of breathing is called the diaphragm. It is dome shaped and lies below the lungs separating them from the abdomen. Two thin layers of tissue called the pleura cover each lung and the inside of the rib cage. These layers or membranes, slide back and forth over each other as we breathe. The lungs are made up of several sections called lobes – three on the right and two on the left. The inside of your lungs looks like a giant sponge. It is a mass of fine tubes, the smallest of which end in tiny air sacs called alveoli. These air sacs have very thin walls which are criss-crossed with hundreds of tiny blood vessels called capillari
Lungs provide our body with the oxygen it needs to generate energy in the form of ATP (adenosine triphosphate). ATP is the body’s energy currency, and is necessary for all energy-consuming cellular processes. Over the course of a lifetime, a person may use their lungs to breathe over a billion times. Animals breathe in oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide, the opposite of plant respiration. The lungs are the central component of the respiratory system, which is used for breathing. Fresh air comes in through the mouth, down the trachea (windpipe), into the lungs through cartilaginous pathways called bronchi and bronchioles, where it is absorbed by tiny air sacs called alveoli. Alveoli are about 0.05 mm in diameter, but swell to 0.1 mm during inhalation. By comparison, a typical cell is about 0.01 mm in size. The entire process of inhalation is driven by the diaphragm, a large muscle below the lungs. When the diaphragm is at rest, the lungs open wide, drawing in oxygen. When the diaphragm te
