Our Lungs
You can feel how they work together.
- Put one hand on your chest and the other on the upper part of your tummy.
- Now breathe in deeply. You will feel your chest and your tummy get bigger as the air goes into your lungs.
- Your rib cage goes around your lungs and heart to protect them from damage. Your ribs also move when you breathe in and out.
- The primary functions of your lungs are to transport oxygen from the air you breathe into your bloodstream while taking away carbon dioxide, which is released into the air when you breathe out.
- Most vertebrate animals (animals with spines) have two lungs.
- Your left and right lungs aren’t exactly the same. The lung on the left side of your body is divided into two lobes while the lung on your right side is divided into three. The left lung is also slightly smaller, allowing room for your heart.
- People who have a large lung capacity can send oxygen around their body faster. You can increase you lung capacity with regular exercise.
- When resting, the average adult breathes around 12 to 20 times a minute.
- An average person breathes in around 11,000 litres of air every day.