Lungs Explained Simply How Your Body Gets Oxygen

[00:00:00]Your lungs are working right now.

[00:00:02]In fact, they're working every second of your life.

[00:00:06]You take around 20,000 breaths every day without even thinking about it.

[00:00:12]But have you ever wondered what actually happens when you breathe?

[00:00:16]The main job of your lungs is to bring oxygen into your body and remove carbon dioxide.

[00:00:23]Oxygen is essential because every cell in your body needs it to produce energy.

[00:00:28]Without oxygen, your cells would quickly stop working.

[00:00:32]When you inhale, air enters through your nose or your mouth and travels down your windpipe.

[00:00:39]From there, it moves into your lungs through a network of branching tubes called bronchi.

[00:00:46]These tubes continue splitting into smaller and smaller passageways, almost like the branches of a tree.

[00:00:54]At the end of these tiny branches are millions of microscopic air sacs called alveoli.

[00:01:01]Your lungs contain about 500 million alveoli.

[00:01:06]If you spread them all out, they would cover an area roughly the size of a tennis court.

[00:01:12]This huge surface area helps your lungs absorb oxygen efficiently.

[00:01:17]As blood passes the alveoli, oxygen moves into the bloodstream.

[00:01:22]At the same time, carbon dioxide leaves the blood and enters the lungs.

[00:01:27]When you exhale, that carbon dioxide leaves your body.

[00:01:31]Your lungs and heart work together as a team.

[00:01:34]The lungs load oxygen into the blood.

[00:01:37]The heart pumps the oxygen-rich blood through the body.

[00:01:41]Every breath helps your brain, your muscle, your organs, and your tissues.

[00:01:48]Even while you're asleep, your lungs continually work automatically.

[00:01:53]They never stop supplying your body with the oxygen it needs.

[00:01:57]Your lungs aren't just bags of air.

[00:02:00]They're highly effective organs that keep every cell in your body supplied with one of the life's most important ingredients, oxygen.