To maintain life humans must supply the body with oxygen and remove the

waste product of carbon dioxide. An efficient set of lungs and structures

associated with respiration is essential for this maintenance.

Oxygen is required to release energy from food, this energy then being used to
sustain all the different cells within the body. A by-product of this release of
energy from the digested and stored food is carbon dioxide. The combination of
breathing, respiration, and transporting the gases to and from the cells is
undertaken by the cardiorespiratory system.

The process of exchanging gases in the lungs is known as external respiration

and when this occurs between the muscle cells and the blood. It is known as
internal respiration.

The energy that is released from stored food is used in a process known as ATP
(Adenosine tri phosphate) reformation or re-synthesis. ATP is a chemical that is
found in all cells. The breakdown of ATP release energy that is used to sustain
all cells. We have a limited amount of ATP in the body and for us to get through
a day, or play a game we have to reform large amounts of ATP. The re-synthesis
of ATP requires energy. The energy is supplied from the breakdown of food
which requires oxygen – hence the need for breathing and respiration.

The lungs are the center of the respiratory (breathing) system.

Every cell of the body needs oxygen to stay alive and healthy. Your body also
needs to get rid of carbon dioxide. This gas is a waste product that is made by
the cells during their normal, everyday functions. Your lungs are specially
designed to exchange these gases every time you breathe in and out.

Lung anatomy

This spongy, pinkish organ looks like two upside-down cones in your chest.
The right lung is made up of three lobes. The left lung has only two lobes to
make room for your heart.

Bronchial tree
The lungs begin at the bottom of your trachea (windpipe). The trachea is a
tube that carries the air in and out of your lungs. Each lung has a tube called
a bronchus that connects to the trachea. The trachea and bronchi airways
form an upside-down “Y” in your chest. This “Y” is often called the bronchial
tree.

The bronchi branch off into smaller bronchi and even smaller tubes
called bronchioles. Like the branches of a tree, these tiny tubes stretch out
into every part of your lungs. Some of them are so tiny that they have the
thickness of a hair. You have almost 30,000 bronchioles in each lung.

Each bronchiole tube ends with a cluster of small air sacs

called alveoli (individually referred to as alveolus). They look like tiny grape
bunches or very tiny balloons. There are about 600 million alveoli in your
lungs. The small bubble shapes of the alveoli give your lungs a surprising
amount of surface area — equivalent to the size of a tennis court. This means
there’s plenty of room for vital oxygen to pass into your body.

SUMMARY Each lung is divided into lobes. The bronchial tree running through
your lungs is made up of the windpipe, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli.

The respiratory system

The lungs are the main part of the respiratory system. This system is divided
into the upper respiratory tract and the lower respiratory tract.

The upper respiratory tract includes the:

 Mouth and nose. Air enters and leaves the lungs through the mouth
and nostrils of the nose.
  Nasal cavity. Air passes from the nose into the nasal cavity, and then
the lungs.

 Throat (pharynx). Air from the mouth is sent to the lungs via the throat.

 Voice box (larynx). This part of the throat helps air to pass into the
lungs and keeps out food and drink.

The lower respiratory tract is made up of the:

 lungs

 trachea (windpipe)

 bronchi

 bronchioles

 alveoli

Other parts of the respiratory system help your lungs to expand and contract
as you breathe. These include the ribs around the lungs and the dome-shaped
diaphragm muscle below them.

How your lungs work

WHAT IS RESPIRATION? Respiration is made up of two phases called

inspiration and expiration: You inhale (breathe in) oxygen during inspiration.
You exhale (breathe out) carbon dioxide during expiration.

The pathway of a breath

When you breathe, air enters through your mouth and nose and travels:

 down the throat into the trachea

 into the lungs through the right and left main bronchi
  into the smaller bronchi airways

 into the even smaller bronchiole tubes

 into the alveoli

Each alveolus is covered by a net of tiny blood vessels called capillaries.

Oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange happens here. Your heart sends
deoxygenated blood to the lungs. This is blood that is carrying carbon dioxide
rather than oxygen.

As the blood passes through the tiny, thin-walled capillaries, they get oxygen
from the alveoli. They return carbon dioxide through the thin walls to the
alveoli.

The oxygen-rich blood from your lungs is sent back to your heart, where it’s
pumped to your entire body. The carbon dioxide is breathed out of the lungs
and alveoli through your mouth and nose.

How your lungs stay healthy

The alveoli stay partly inflated like a balloon even when you exhale air. Your
lungs make a fluid called surfactant to help them stay open. Surfactant also
contains fatty proteins that help keep the lungs healthy.

Your lungs are self-cleaning.

They make mucus to trap germs and particles. The mucus is then swept up by
cilia, small hairs that line the airways. Normally, you swallow this mucus
without noticing. If you have a respiratory illness, your lungs may make too
much mucus.
The alveoli also contain immune cells called macrophages. These cells “eat”
germs and irritants before they can cause an infection in your lungs.