OUR LUNGS
Our lungs are, essentially, a network of connected tubules that bring oxygen from the air into our blood, nourishing the trillions of cells that make up our bodies. The lungs also clean the blood of carbon dioxide waste created when cells use oxygen. We breathe in about 22,000 times per day!
shipping
Every time you breathe in and out, thank your alveoli. They absorb the oxygen you breathe and send it to your left atrium. From there, it goes out the aorta and through your body. When the red blood cells take the oxygen and give back carbon dioxide, the alveoli absorb the harmful gas and send it back through your lungs and out your mouth.
up and down...
The diaphragm is a muscle at the bottom of the lungs that controls inhaling and exhaling. When it contracts, air pressure in the lungs decreases. Air rushes in from the outside to regulate the pressure. This is what we call inhaling. Exhaling happens when the diaphragm pushes upward and forces the air out of the lungs and through the mouth.
air exchange
When you breathe in, oxygen enters your lungs. It is then absorbed by your blood vessels, which orbit the body and send oxygen around to the body cells. Once the blood cells' oxygen supply is depleted, they return to the alveoli and trade in carbon dioxide for more oxygen to continue the cycle.
reinforced steel
Not quite. The rings of cartilage around the trachea serve a similar purpose, though. About sixteen to twenty of these rings wrap around the trachea, making up an essential part of the respiratory system. They keep the trachea from collapsing in on itself. Without these cartilage bands, many animals would not be able to survive. Without an open trachea, no air would be able to pass through the mouth to the body cells. Thank your trachea for the job they do.