Healthbeautyidea.com | Respiratory Organs, Locations, and How Do Lungs Work? One of the characteristics of living beings is breathing and humans are one of the living creatures that also perform breathing process.
The respiratory system is one of the systems that play an important role in the human body. The body takes oxygen from the air produced through the photosynthesis process in plants.
The oxygen will then help the body’s metabolic process to produce energy from breaking down food molecules. The human body’s metabolism consists of several phases which include the process of glycolysis, Krebs cycle and the electron transport system.
The entire metabolic function of the human body takes place in the mitochondrial organelles within the cell.
The human respiratory system does not differ considerably from the respiratory system of the vertebrate animal. Human respiration is assisted by the main organ of the lungs. Human lungs have an almost identical part of the lungs of vertebrate animals, but have a more complex arrangement.
Parts of human lungs develop a single unit that allows effective air exchange.
The Respiratory Organs
Before we explain how do lungs work, here we explain about respiratory organs.
The way the human lungs work is closely related to the nose, larynx, trachea, and bronchus. The following is a brief explanation of the respiratory organs:
The nose.
The nose is the earliest respiratory tract and is located at the top. There are 2 cavities in the human nose separated by muscles that serve as a partition
Larynx.
The larynx is composed of cartilage and there is a sound membrane that will vibrate when we make a sound
Trachea.
Trachea has a two-branched channel Called Bronchus and it is directly related to the lungs. It is coated by the mucous membranes and ciliated cells that function to keep dust from entering with the air so it does not continue to enter the lungs.
Bronchial.
Bronchial connect the trachea to the lungs. The right and left lungs each have one bronchi. The bronchi have a branch called Bronchiolus and is found in the lungs.
Read also: How to clear mucus from lungs – Home remedies.
Location of the lungs
As we know, the location of the lungs is on the chest, close to the heart. More precisely the position of the lungs is in the upper chest cavity. The positions of the lungs and heart are adjacent and both are equally protected by the ribs.
The side of the lungs is limited by muscles and ribs, while the lower part is limited by diaphragm with strong muscles. There are two bags of the lungs, the left and the right. Right and left lung turns out to not identical size and weight, but rather have a slight difference.
The left lung has a smaller size because it has to share the place with the heart. The older person’s lung weight is generally 325-550 grams from the left, while for the right the weight reaches 375-600 grams. The difference in size is not very visible because it is not very distant.
The lung shape resembles an elastic sponge or foam and has a very wide inner surface. The lungs can expand as we breathe the air and erode when we exhale.
Read also: Water in lungs: The causes, symptoms, How to prevent and Treat it.
How Do Lungs Work?
The following is an explanation of how does lungs work:
- If oxygen is already up to the bronchi, then oxygen is ready to enter into the lung tract.
- Oxygen diffuses through the blood vessels of the arterial capillaries by diffusion. These capillaries are found in the alveoli which is a branch of bronchioles. In this alveoli there will be an oxygen gas exchange with carbon dioxide.
- Oxygen is tied by hemoglobin in red blood cells (erythrocytes), then circulated to all the body cells that will be later used by mitochondria natural cellular-level respiration to produce an ATP-like energy (adenosine Tripospat).
- Carbon dioxide will be carried by the venous capillaries to be transported to the alveoli and will be secreted in alveoli through the respiration process.
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