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ShareThe lung is the essential organ of respiration in air-breathing vertebrates.
Its principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to excrete carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere.
This it accomplishes with its mosaic of specialized cells that form millions of tiny, exceptionally thin-walled air sacs where gas exchange takes place.
Lungs also have nonrespiratory functions.
For more information about the topic Lung, read the full article at Wikipedia.org, or see the following related articles:
Gas exchange — Gas exchange or respiration takes place at a respiratory surface; a boundary between the external environment and the interior of the body. For ... > read more
Pulmonary alveolus — An alveolus (plural: alveoli), is an anatomical structure that has the form of a hollow cavity. In the lung, the pulmonary alveoli are spherical ... > read more
Trachea — Trachea is a common biological term for an airway through which respiratory air transport takes place in organisms. In terrestrial vertebrates, such ... > read more
Excretory system — The excretory system is the system of an organism's body that performs the function of excretion, the bodily process of discharging wastes. The ... > read more
Breath — Breathing transports oxygen into the body and carbon dioxide out of the body. Aerobic organisms require oxygen to create energy via respiration, in ... > read more
Apnea — Apnea, apnoea, or apnœa is a technical term for suspension of external breathing. During apnea there is no movement of the muscles of ... > read more
Human physiology — Human physiology is the science of the mechanical, physical, and biochemical functions of normal humans or human tissues or organs. The principal ... > read more
Emphysema — Emphysema is a chronic lung disease. It is often caused by exposure to toxic chemicals or long-term exposure to tobacco smoke. Emphysema is ... > read more
Oxygen therapy — Oxygen therapy is the administration of oxygen as a therapeutic modality. Oxygen therapy benefits the patient by increasing the supply of oxygen to ... > read more
Mechanical ventilation — In medicine, mechanical ventilation is a method to assist or replace spontaneous breathing. Mechanical ventilation can be life-saving and is a ... > read moreNote: This page refers to an article that is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the article Lung at Wikipedia.org. See the Wikipedia copyright page for more details.
Editor's Note: This article is not intended to provide medical advice, diagnosis or treatment.
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