Related topics: cystic fibrosis
Lung
hideThe lung or pulmonary system is the essential respiration organ in air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located in the chest on either side of the heart. Their principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere. This exchange of gases is accomplished in the mosaic of specialized cells that form millions of tiny, exceptionally thin-walled air sacs called alveoli.
In order to completely explain the anatomy of the lungs, it is necessary to discuss the passage of air through the mouth to the alveoli. Once air progresses through the mouth or nose, it travels through the oropharynx, nasopharynx, the larynx, the trachea, and a progressively subdividing system of bronchi and bronchioles until it finally reaches the alveoli where the gas exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen takes place.
The drawing and expulsion of air (ventilation) is driven by muscular action; in early tetrapods, air was driven into the lungs by the pharyngeal muscles, whereas in reptiles, birds and mammals a more complicated musculoskeletal system is used.
Medical terms related to the lung often begin with pulmo-, from the Latin pulmonarius ("of the lungs"), or with pneumo- (from Greek πνεύμων "lung")
For more information about Lung, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
This text uses material from Wikipedia and is available under the GNU Free Documentation License.
News tagged with lung
Research yields new agent for some drug-resistant non-small cell lung cancers
Dec 23, 2009 |
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The ability to make, test, and map the atomic structure of new anti-cancer agents has enabled a team of Dana-Farber Cancer Institute scientists to discover a compound capable of halting a common type of drug-resistant ...
Adverse consequences of obesity may be greater than previously thought
Dec 23, 2009 |
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The link between obesity and cardiovascular mortality may be substantially underestimated, while some of the adverse consequences of being underweight may be overstated, concludes a study published in the British Medical ...
Naturally occurring lipid blocks RSV infection in lungs
Dec 21, 2009 |
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Researchers at National Jewish Health have discovered that a naturally occurring lipid in the lung can prevent RSV infection and inhibit spread of the virus after an infection is established. RSV is the major cause of hospitalization ...
Scientists take important step toward the proverbial fountain of youth
Dec 22, 2009 |
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Going back for a second dessert after your holiday meal might not be the best strategy for living a long, cancer-free life say researchers from the University of Alabama at Birmingham. That's because they've shown exactly ...
Researchers Identify Tuberculosis Strain That Thrives on Antibiotic
Dec 21, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists have identified a strain of antibiotic-resistant tuberculosis that thrives in the presence of rifampin, a front-line drug in the treatment of tuberculosis. The bacterium was identified in a patient ...
Gefitinib improves survival compared with standard chemotherapy in lung cancer patients with genetic mutation
Dec 20, 2009 |
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Patients with the most common form of lung cancer (non-small-cell lung cancer) who have mutations in the epidermal growth factor receptor (EGFR) gene have significantly improved progression-free survival if they are treated ...
Research project yields better understanding of the defective protein that causes cystic fibrosis
Dec 18, 2009 |
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A team of researchers studying the protein that, when defective or absent, causes cystic fibrosis (CF) has made an important discovery about how that protein is normally controlled and under what circumstances ...
Researchers find new patterns in H1N1 deaths
Dec 23, 2009 |
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Brazilian researchers have performed the first-ever autopsy study to examine the precise causes of death in victims of the H1N1 swine flu.
Gene therapy makes mice breath easier
Dec 21, 2009 |
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Researchers from Boston University School of Medicine (BUSM) have discovered a new gene therapy that may prevent the progression of emphysema. The study, which appears on-line in the Journal of Clinical Investigation, descri ...
