What do lungs do?
Your lungs make oxygen available to your body and remove other gases, such as carbon dioxide, from your body. This process takes place 12 to 20 times per minute.
When you inhale through your nose or mouth, air travels down your pharynx (back of your throat), passes through your larynx (voice box) and into your trachea (windpipe).
Your trachea is divided into two air passages called bronchial tubes. One bronchial tube leads to your left lung, the other to your right lung. For your lungs to perform their best, your airways need to be open when you inhale and when you exhale. They also need to be free from inflammation (swelling) and abnormal amounts of mucus.
Your bronchial tubes lead to smaller air passages called bronchi, and then into bronchioles. The bronchioles end in tiny air sacs called alveoli, where oxygen is transferred from the inhaled air to your blood. Alveoli look like clusters of small round fruits.
After absorbing oxygen, the blood leaves your lungs and is carried to your heart. From there, it’s pumped through your body to provide oxygen to the cells of your tissues and organs.
When cells use oxygen, they produce carbon dioxide and transfer it to your blood. Your bloodstream carries the carbon dioxide back to your lungs. When you exhale, you remove the carbon dioxide.
Your respiratory system prevents harmful substances from entering your lungs by using:
- Small hairs in your nose that act as an air-cleaning system and help filter out large particles.
- Mucus produced in your trachea and bronchial tubes to keep air passages moist and help catch dust, bacteria and other substances.
- The sweeping motion of cilia (small hairs in your respiratory tract) to keep air passages clean. One of the reasons that cigarette smoke is dangerous is that it stops cilia from working properly.
Interesting facts about your lungs
- You can have lobes of your lung removed and live. You can even live with only one lung.
- Lungs are the only organs in your body that will float.
- Exercise can help you increase your lung capacity.
- A typical adult has 300 million to 500 million alveoli.
