Functions of the Lungs

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• QWhat happens to the lungs as we age?

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  A Dr. Michael Roizen, MD , Internal Medicine, answered

  Unfortunately, as we age, structural changes occur in the lungs and other components of the respiratory system: They lose some of their elasticity, the chest wall stiffens, the alveoli's surface area decreases, and your respiratory muscles weaken. The result: a measurable decrease in airflow. Add on the fact that lung problems like asthma or bronchitis can restrict airflow by making the bronchial passages functionally narrower, and you can soon find yourself with more breathing problems.
• QWhat function do the lungs perform?

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  A Columbia University Department of Surgery answered

  The lungs play a critical role in the body, extracting oxygen from inhaled air for distribution via the bloodstream to every cell in the body. Conversely, during exhalation the lungs expel waste -- carbon dioxide produced when cells use oxygen.

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• QWhat is the capacity of an average set of lungs?

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  A Pam Grout , Alternative & Complementary Medicine, answered

  Your lungs are capable of holding up to seventeen pints of air per breath. When you breathe in only two or three pints - which is the average for the adult American - you interfere with the magnificent tool your body has handed you. They're capable of taking in seventeen pints of oxygen because that's how they work best.

• QWhat are the lungs made of?

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  A Dr. Paul M. Ehrlich, MD , Allergy & Immunology, answered

  The lungs are composed of various specialized cells and tissues -- not just simple tubes or pipes. Lining them are epithelial cells with specialized hairs, or cilia, which help trap particles and prevent infection from reaching the lungs. They also help push foreign and waste matter out of the lungs when necessary. Beneath these cells is the "basement membrane" that forms a firm foundation for the epithelial cells, and under that is looser tissue full of mucous glands and other specialized cells such as eosinophils, mast cells, lymphocytes, and white blood cells called polys. Under this layer is smooth muscle.
• QWhat happens when lungs are diseased?

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  A Columbia University Department of Surgery answered

  When lungs become diseased, they no longer can maintain the necessary exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide. A number of diseases and conditions can cause lungs to become so dysfunctional that one or both of them may need to be replaced through transplantation.

• QHow do the right and left lung differ?

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  A National Athletic Trainers' Association answered

  The right lung has three lobes, and the left lung has two. The left lung also has a cardiac notch, where the heart sits. (This answer provided for NATA by the University of Montana Athletic Training Education Program.)
• QWhat is the role of the lungs?

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  A Brigham and Women's Hospital answered

  The lungs take in oxygen, which cells need to live and carry out their normal functions. The lungs also get rid of carbon dioxide, a waste product of the body's cells.
  
  The lungs are a pair of cone-shaped organs made up of spongy, pinkish-gray tissue. They take up most of the space in the chest, or the thorax (the part of the body between the base of the neck and diaphragm).
• QHow do the lungs protect themselves from dust and dirt in the air?

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  A Jumo Health answered

  To protect themselves from dust and dirt in the air, the lungs produce mucus. Mucus traps the dust and dirt so that it gets coughed up and out of the lungs. Breathing in dust, dirt and other particles in the air can damage the lungs, but luckily they're pretty good at keeping themselves clean and healthy.