Main article: Human body
Why the lungs are so called
The name "light" came from an interesting property. The organ got its name for a reason. This is the only part of the human and animal body that does not drown in water. The rest of the organs do not have this property.
Light have different sizes
Half of the organ is not at all the same size. The left side is smaller than the right. It consists of two lobes, while the second half consists of three. This is necessary so that there is room for the heart in the chest.
Alveoluses
The alveoli are tiny sacs located at the ends of the tubes in the lungs and in direct contact with the blood. Gas exchange is carried out through the alveoli.
The newborn at the time of birth has from 50 to 100 million fully formed alveoli.
By the 15th year of life, the number of alveoli increases to about 400 million, and only then development stops.
The total surface area of all alveoli is 90 m2, that is, about half of the tennis court.
This is three times that of the gut and 45 times that of the skin.
When the air reaches the lungs, oxygen dissolves blood into through the alveoli, and carbon dioxide gas , on the contrary, enters the lungs to exhale from the body.
Visualization of the breathing process - alveoli dilation and decay in the lungs.
10% of a person's blood is constantly in the lungs
The lungs are a reserve for restoring blood loss. The organ constantly contains 450 ml of blood, which is a tenth of its total volume in the body. In case of injury, the lack of this fluid is compensated from the reserve.
Breath
And a day a person takes from 17,280 to 23,040 breaths.
On average, a person uses approximately one-eighth of the maximum lung volume when inhaling, so we have a large reserve volume.
Due to what the air gets to us in the lungs
Breathing involves a lot of muscles. The lungs themselves do not have the ability to expand or contract. A person breathes due to the work of the abdominal muscle, diaphragm and intercostal muscles. In this case, inhalation and exhalation occurs due to the occurrence of a difference between pressure inside the organ and atmospheric.
In the human chest there is a pleural cavity in which the lungs are located. The pleural cavity is something like a very airtight lung cover, inside of which there is always negative pressure. And also in the chest there are respiratory muscles that contribute to the expansion of this cavity during inhalation.
So, when there is a contraction of the respiratory muscles - the pleural cavity increases (and the pressure in it decreases directly proportionally) and the air itself begins to be sucked inside along the pressure gradient.
In words, the process of inhalation and exhalation itself is quite difficult to understand, so the visualization of this process is below.
The bottle is the pleural cavity. Left arm - respiratory muscles Balloons are light.
Hyperventilation
During panic or hysteria, people often have rapid breathing (hyperventilation).
At the same time, there is too much oxygen in the blood and too little carbon dioxide, which leads to disruption of the brain, dizziness occurs, a person can faint.
The easiest way out of the situation is to breathe into the bag, that is, inhale your own exhalation, while the content of gases in the blood will remain normal.
Too much oxygen and little carbon dioxide acts excitingly on the brain, which again leads to increased breathing and exacerbates the vicious cycle that has developed.
Lung surgery
2022: Russia performed a world-unique operation to restore the pulmonary artery in a child
Doctors at the Meshalkin Center in Novosibirsk performed a unique operation to restore the pulmonary artery, and a small child needed surgery. This became known in August 2022. Read more here.
Lung pollution
The lungs change color during life. In a newborn child, lung tissue has a pale pink tint. With age, due to inhalation of dust and other air impurities, the color gradually darkens.
The respiratory system provides for the maximum possible purification of air from harmful impurities, dust, soot. However, she cannot fully cope with this task in the conditions of her current life. According to 2019 data, over 60 years, 16 grams of dust, 0.1 grams of metals and 200 grams of chemicals accumulate in the lungs of an urban resident.
2022: Home airway clearance system released
On November 30, 2022, Electromed announced the release of the SmartVest Clearway airway cleaning system. The device for high-frequency oscillation of the chest wall is the fifth generation of technology that the company is developing. Read more here.
Rattles
2023: Wheezing Lung Sound Analysis Device Released
On March 15, 2023, TytoCare announced Tyto Insights technology based on artificial intelligence, designed to analyze lung sounds for possible wheezing. Read more here.
Heart protection
Lungs are needed not only for breathing. One of the functions of this part of the body is to protect the heart from possible damage. The organ serves as a kind of pillow that softens shocks and shocks.
Lung disease
Technologies for the treatment of respiratory diseases
2024: Russia has created a flexible implant for the chest. It completely restores the biomechanics of breathing
On June 17, 2024, information appeared that an innovative flexible implant for the chest was developed in Russia, which completely restores the biomechanics of breathing. This breakthrough was made possible by the efforts of the CML AT Medical Engineering Center of the Northwestern Nanocenter. Read more here
2023
Israeli company unveils artificial lung
On October 30, 2023, Israeli startup Inspira Technologies introduced a new development - the artificial lung INSPIRA ART500. The development received a patent in the United States. Read more here.
The world's first breathing VR simulator has been launched in Russia. He restores the lungs after SARS
Russia In launched the world's first breathing simulator using virtual reality (). VR The complex is recovering lungs from ARVI and coronavirus () COVID-19 infection, reported in early October 2023 in, Volgograd State Technical University (VolgaSTU) which is one of the developers of the new technology. The company "," the Devirta developer of medical IT solutions, also took part in the creation of the product. More. here
Learned to grow lungs from stem cells
In mid-June 2023, Rockefeller University researchers announced the development of a cell culture platform in which mini-lungs can be grown from human embryonic stem cells. Read more here.
Laser device developed to detect lung diseases by inhalation
On April 10, 2023, American researchers from the University of Colorado at Boulder and the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) announced the development of a new technology for detecting diseases based on exhaled air analysis. Read more here.
First device to detect opioid-induced respiratory depression hit the market
On April 3, 2023, the American company Masimo announced the first monitoring system to detect respiratory depression caused by opioids. The over-the-counter solution can be used by adults and adolescents aged 15 and over. Read more here.
Lung Disease Diagnostic Technologies
2024: The first Russian spirograph for diagnosing lung diseases by ultrasound presented
In August 2024, it became known that Russian scientists presented the first domestic spirograph for diagnosing lung diseases using ultrasonic technology. The innovative device, called Spiro, was developed by specialists from the Siberian State Medical University (SibGMU) as part of the Priority-2030 development program. Read more here
2023
Smartphone-connected stethoscope with active noise cancellation technology released like expensive headphones
In October 2023, the CORE 500 stethoscope from Eko entered the market. It has active pressure. Read more here.
Photon radar is introduced that monitors people's breathing without attaching the device to the body
On June 30, 2023, Australian researchers from the University of Sydney reported the development of a photonic radar capable of remotely tracking people's breathing with high accuracy. Read more here.
Artificial lung ventilation devices
Main article: Artificial lung ventilation devices (IVL)
Transplantation
Main article: Lung transplantation
Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTELG)
Main article: Chronic thromboembolic pulmonary hypertension (CTELG)