The lungs are the paired, spongy organs of breathing that fill most of the chest cavity on either side of the heart. Inside, the airways branch more than twenty times, ending in hundreds of millions of alveoli where gas exchange takes place. Each lung sits in its own pleural sac and is attached to the mediastinum only at its root.
| Location | Thoracic cavity, on either side of the mediastinum, from the apex about 2-3 cm above the medial third of the clavicle down to the diaphragm. |
|---|---|
| Parts |
|
| Nerve Supply | Pulmonary plexus; Vagus nerve (parasympathetic, bronchoconstriction and mucus secretion); Sympathetic fibres from T2-T5 ganglia (bronchodilation) |
| Blood Supply | Pulmonary arteries (deoxygenated blood for gas exchange); Bronchial arteries (nutrition of airways and supporting tissue) |
| Venous drainage |
|
| Lymphatic drainage |
|
Bring oxygen into the blood and remove carbon dioxide, help regulate blood acid-base balance, filter small clots from venous blood, and activate or clear some circulating substances such as angiotensin.
Lung function tests such as spirometry measure how much and how quickly air can be moved and are key to diagnosing asthma and COPD. Breathlessness during exercise has many causes, and lung, heart and fitness factors often need to be separated with exercise testing. Smoking cessation is the single most effective way to protect lung health.
Long-term airflow limitation from chronic bronchitis and emphysema, mainly caused by smoking. It causes breathlessness, cough and reduced exercise capacity.
The leading cause of cancer death worldwide, strongly linked to smoking. Symptoms include persistent cough, coughing up blood, weight loss and breathlessness.
Blockage of pulmonary arteries by clot, usually from leg veins. It causes sudden breathlessness, chest pain and can be fatal.
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