Lungs

THE LUNGS

By Katrina Labonte

 The lungs supply the body with oxygen gas by breathing in air. With out oxygen most body cells would only live for a few minutes. Cells use oxygen to break down food into energy, carbon dioxide, gas, and water. This is called respiration. When you breathe in, air is drawn in through the nose and mouth and travels down a large tube called the windpipe. The windpipe divides into two bronchi, one going to each lung. Air passes through these and then through a series of smaller and smaller blood vessels. Oxygen from the air seeps through the walls of the alveoli into blood. The oxygen is picked up by red blood cells and carried around the body. If your diaphragm contracts too quickly, you breathe in air too quickly and hiccup.