Lungs

Your lungs are organs in your chest that allow your body to take in oxygen from the air. They also help remove carbon dioxide (a waste gas that can be toxic) from your body. They form part of the respiratory system.

The respiratory system is a group of organs and tissue that help in breathing. The main parts of the system are the airways, the lungs, respiratory muscles and blood vessels.

The lungs in the respiratory system help in the intake of oxygen and removal of carbon dioxide. This is called gas exchange.

Anatomy of the Lungs

The lungs lie on either side of the breastbone and fill the inside of your chest cavity. Your left lung is slightly smaller than your right lung to allow room for your heart.

The lungs are covered by a protective membrane known as the pleura, and are separated from the abdominal cavity by the muscular diaphragm. They are divided up by fissures into a predictable arrangement of lobes:

• The right lung has the superior lobe, the middle lobe and the inferior lobe, and
• The left lung has the superior lobe and the inferior lobe.

Within the lungs, your bronchi branch into thousands of smaller, thinner tubes called bronchioles. These tubes end in bunches of tiny round air sacs called alveoli.

Each of these air sacs is covered in a mesh of tiny blood vessels called capillaries. The capillaries connect to a network of arteries and veins that move blood through your body.

The pulmonary artery and its branches deliver blood rich in carbon dioxide to the capillaries that surround the air sacs. Inside the air sacs, carbon dioxide moves from the blood into the air. Oxygen moves from the air into the blood in the lungs.

The oxygen-rich blood then travels to the heart through the pulmonary vein and its branches. The heart then pumps the oxygen-rich blood out to the body.

Conditions that affect the Lungs

The lungs are a very important part of your respiratory system. Failure or disease can cause be very uncomfortable and painful. You will also have serious trouble breathing which will reduce your oxygen supply to diminish and a less optimal lifestyle.

Some of the more common lung conditions include:

• Bronchitis and Pneumonia - When germs cause infection in your bronchi and deep in your lungs,
• Asthma - Where breathing certain substances causes your airways to narrow,
• Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) - Caused by long periods of breathing air pollutants and cigarette smoke,
• Pulmonary embolism - Where a blood clot blocks your lung artery, and
• Lung cancer - Where smokers are at greatest risk.

Miracles for Men recommend living a healthy lifestyle free of inducing poisonous substances like cigarette smoke. This is because lung diseases can be very uncomfortable and greatly reduce the quality of life.

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