5 Amazing Facts - The Lungs
30 Jul2019 Tagged as
Posted by Evolve College News
This week at Evolve college, we are appreciating one of the largest organs in our bodies – the lungs.
So, here are five amazing facts about our lungs – and five reasons to appreciate more than ever your next breath in and out.
- Your lungs are huge – If they were opened up flat they would be around the size of a tennis court.
- 70% of waste is eliminated from your body simply by exhaling. So, it is not just bringing oxygen in that you can thank your lungs for! It has also been found that humans exhale up to 17.5 millilitres of water per hour.
- Every minute, you breath in an average of 13 pints of air. That’s around 5000 gallons of air every 24 hours. With all of that air comes pollutants, mould, viruses and other not-so-healthy air inhabitants. With the use of cilia, which line the respiratory pathways, as well as goblet cells producing mucus, these harmful intruders are trapped and moved away. In the end, they all get coughed up.
- Your right lung is bigger than your left to accommodate for your heart – but you can actually live with only one lung and still lead a normal life – in fact there are many that do!
- If you placed your lungs in water – they will actually float.
So, next time you take a breath in – and a breath out, be reminded how amazing your lungs are, and take a second to appreciate the many complex processes that are taking place every second within them to keep you alive and well – it is no ordinary feat!