The lungs
Lungs · pulmones
Two spongy organs that swap the oxygen you breathe in for the carbon dioxide you breathe out.
What it does
Your lungs fill most of your chest on either side of the heart. Air flows down branching tubes that end in hundreds of millions of tiny air sacs, wrapped in fine blood vessels. Oxygen crosses into the blood and carbon dioxide crosses out. The right lung has three lobes and the left has two, making room for the heart.
Surprising fact
If the air sacs in your lungs were spread out flat, they would cover an area roughly the size of a tennis court.
Why it matters
That huge, thin surface makes the lungs very efficient but also exposed. Smoking and air pollution damage it over time, which is why lung health is closely tied to clean air.
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Open in the 3D atlas · Suggest a correction · Not medical advice.
3D models: Z-Anatomy & BodyParts3D (CC BY-SA 4.0 / 2.1 JP). Card text CC BY 4.0.