Breathe Deep – The Interdependent Lungs

The human heart pumps blood to all portions of the body, but it relies on the lungs to expel CO2 while drawing in new stores of oxygen that can regenerate the blood supply.

The pathway air takes when entering the body can best be described this way…

•Air enters the nostrils

•passes through the nasopharynx,

•the oral pharynx

•through the glottis

•into the trachea

•into the right and left bronchi, which branches and rebranches into

•bronchioles, each of which terminates in a cluster of

•alveoli [1]

The interior of the lungs contains 300 million alveoli, which are, “Final branchings of the respiratory tree and act as the primary gas exchange units of the lung. The gas-blood barrier between the alveolar space and the pulmonary capillaries is extremely thin, allowing for rapid gas exchange. To reach the blood, oxygen must diffuse through the alveolar epithelium, a thin interstitial space, and the capillary endothelium; CO2 follows the reverse course to reach the alveoli.” [2]

It is estimated that the surface area of the alveoli is roughly equivalent to an area 80 times the size of our skin covering. And each of these alveoli works to provide proper function of the ratio of oxygen to CO2 in our systems.

In essence, whenever you breathe in you are passing oxygen through the walls of the lungs into the blood stream while CO2 gasses are passing back through the lining of the lungs to escape through the nose or mouth.

Most adults breathe between 4-12 times per minute. This allows the body to continue to pass oxygen to every part of your body – even while you sleep.

A variety of muscles (abdominal, intercostals) assist the lungs in drawing air in and pushing CO2 gasses back out.

Multiple independent systems must work together to make sure the lungs take in the needed oxygen. The lungs assist the heart in recharging the blood system with oxygenated blood. The blood infuses the body with the nutrients and oxygen it needs returns to the lungs to deposit CO2 gasses that are expelled.

You lungs will adjust at higher elevations to pull in more air to gain similar oxygen requirments. This is often accomplished through dilated bronchioles. This essentially allows your body to breathe more rapidly with fewer problems than in an oxygen rich environment.

Is it possible that the multiple systems required for efficiently resupplying the body with oxygen is a product of advanced design or a series of random independent improvements over millions of years?

Perhaps the lungs look designed because they are designed.

[1] http://users.rcn.com/jkimball.ma.ultranet/BiologyPages/P/Pulmonary.html

[2] http://oac.med.jhmi.edu/res_phys/Encyclopedia/Alveoli/Alveoli.HTML

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