8y: naLalle n.

(13) lrlday March 14

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'uh, kaLe, l know Lhls ls a welrd quesLlon, buL l had been always wonderlng
abouL how we breaLhe.' l sald curlously Lo my frlend. 'Ch, well lL's noL. lL's ln Lhe
process called Lhe resplraLory sysLem.' WhaL? l shook my head ln confuslon.
'8esLplLorl sysLem.?' kaLe correcLed me. '8esplraLory sysLem. Should l Lell you
abouL lL?'
'llrsL, leL's Lalk abouL Lhe sLrucLure, or how lL looks llke.' She sald. 'Llke, ln Lhe
lungs?' l wondered. '?eah. So, when you breaLhe alr goes ln Lhe slnus, Lhen a long
Lube called a Lrachea, whlch ln Lhe end lL
separaLes lnLo Lwo slmllar Lubes, called Lhe
bronchus. When you're ln Lhe lungs, lL goes
Lo smaller Lubes, called Lhe bronchloles,'
kaLe explalned Lhen sLopped Lo Lake a break.
'8ronchloles remlnd me of broccoll!' l sald
hungrlly. kaLe conLlnued 'AL Lhe dead end of
Lhe bronchloles, Lhere wlll be llLLle Lhlngs
called alr sacs. So, below Lhe lung ls a
muscle LhaL looks llke a floppy plllow Lo me,
called Lhe dlaphragm.' l nodded my head,
lnformlng her LhaL l goL all Lhe lnformaLlon ln my head.
kaLe wenL Lo buy a balloon. l followed her and walLed for her, slLLlng ln a bench.
l wondered, Lhen, how ln Lhe world does lL work? When she came back, she
seemed Lo read my mlnd. 'Pow lL works, huh? lL's called Lhe funcLlon.' She sald Lo
me. She sLarLed blowlng Lhe balloon. 'As you can see, when l blow ln, lL ls llke
breaLhlng ln alr Lo your lungs, lL's grow blg.' She demonsLraLed Lo me. l say Lhe
balloon ln amazemenL, never wonderlng a balloon and a lung ls how so allke. 'And
when l leL lL go, Lhe balloon shrlnks and alr ls released.' kaLe wenL on 'Cf course,
Lhe human lung ls dlfferenL, you breaLhe ln oxygen, and breaLhe ouL carbon
dloxlde. 1he lasL sLep of Lhe funcLlon ls Lo puL Lhe oxygen lnLo Lhe blood.' She
sLopped Lo caLch her breaLh.
'lmaglne LhaL! Lvery breaLh we
Lake wlll have Lhese sLeps. So
Lhls ls how we breaLhe?' l asked
'?es, buL-LhaL's noL 1he Lnd of
kaLe's 1alk."! uo you wanL Lo
know more abouL your
fasclnaLlng lungs?' sald a dellghLful kaLe. '?LAP!' l LhoughL l shouLed so loud LhaL
Lhe blrds flew away. kaLe laughed.
'Pmm, l remember LhaL Leamwork ls lmporLanL, buL do Lhe resplraLory sysLem
work wlLh oLher um, sysLems ln Lhe body?' l asked kaLe ln Lhe hall, asLonlshed LhaL
l could say resplraLory sysLem" properly. 'lL does. Cood quesLlon, Lmlly!' My
frlend spoke Lo me. 'lL works, or raLher, lnLeracLs wlLh oLher sysLem. 1he
clrculaLory sysLem ls Lhe nexL sLep afLer alr goes ln Lhe bronchloles, and lnLo alr
sacs. 1he blood wlLh Lhe oxygen we breaLhed ln goes Lo all over your cells. All Lhe
work of Lhe clrculaLory sysLem!' l summed lL up by saylng 'So l guess Lhe sysLems ln
Lhe body do have Leamwork Loo!'
As we walked, kaLe looked aL me. 'Pey, Lmlly, don'L go all dreamy" on Lhe
resplraLory sysLem. 1here are a couple of nasLy dlseases Loo!' kaLe warned me. l
snapped lnLo acLlon, and my dream shaLLered. 'WhaL? 8eally?' kaLe slghed. 'Well, l
guess you need some explalnlng.' l was sLlll Lrembllng.
'nasLy.' l murmured. 'ulseases such as lung cancer,
emphysema, cold. are all ln Lhe resplraLory sysLem
caLegory. 8uL people always wonder abouL asLhma. LeL l
Lell you abouL lL, shall l?' l shrugged. 'Co on.' kaLe
sLarLed. 'AsLhma ls Lhe dlsease LhaL ls when your Lrachea
or wlndplpe geLs covered wlLh mucus, a sLlcky llquld
LhaL cleans Lhe oxygen. Slgns of Lhem are coughlng and wheezlng. eople can sLlll
llve wlLh a normal llfe, Lhough you mlghL feel a LlghLness ls Lhe chesL. eople wlLh
asLhma use lnhalers, a medlclne Lo help.' kaLe ended quleLly. '?ou know,' l flnally
sald 'someLlmes you look dlfferenL when you're serlous.' 'Puh?' kaLe asked.
'lorgeL lL. Anyway, l am noL looklng forward Lo geLLlng asLhma.'
'?ou're noL looklng forward? l could Lell you some ways.' kaLe sald helpfully.
'llrsL, ls Lo don'L smoke. ?ou know, 80 of all lung cancer ls caused by lL.' She sald
agaln 'Secondly, ls Lo sLay away from Lhlngs LhaL can harm your lungs, llke
polluLlon, Loxlc wasLe, molds. and a loL more! 1hlrd, whlch l beL you know, ls Lo
eaL healLhy and exerclse. LasLly, ls Lo lmprove your envlronmenL, llke puLLlng
house planLs. 1hen, umm. 1rusL me, l'm ouL of ldeas!' l clapped my hands. '1haL
was a loL already! 1hanks a mllllon!'
'More?' l looked aL kaLe, wlLh puppy eyes. 'Lrr, l'm sorry Lo say, buL.no. l
flnlshed.' She sLammered. '8eally?' l sald wlLh sorrow ln my eyes. 1hen suddenly, l
saw kaLe smlle happlly. 'WhaL abouL you Lell me all whaL you've learnL? Llke, an
exchange of knowledge?' nlce ldea, l LhoughL. 'Cool. So ok, l'll sLarL now!' kaLe was
glad. 'Agreed.' l sLarLed Lelllng her 'lmaglne whaL happens every Llme you breaLhe.
1hls ls Lhe work of Lhe resplraLory sysLem.'