5. Surprising Facts About Our Breathing Powerhouses
Though we usually take our lungs for granted, these amazing organs have many surprises. Your lungs are not exactly the same size, did you know? Slightly bigger than the left, the right lung allows the heart the required room. This asymmetry is the ideal illustration of how the organs in our body are positioned for best efficiency.
Furthermore amazing is the fact that our lungs are the only organs in the human body able to float on water. This is caused by the small air sacs, or alveoli, which hold some air even beyond our expiration. Forensic science has actually made use of this characteristic to ascertain if a victim discovered in water perished from drowning or from another cause before reaching the water.
Furthermore amazing is the quickness with which our lungs operate. At sea level, a breath taken moves roughly at 80 km per hour. A marathon runner would finish a race in little over thirty minutes at this speed! Fast gas exchange guaranteed by this high-speed air movement is essential for the oxygen supply of our body.
The pH balance of our blood also depends surprisingly on our lungs. The lungs aid to preserve the acidity of our blood at the ideal level for our body’s operations by regulating carbon dioxide levels. Together with our kidneys, this respiratory control of blood pH helps to maintain stability of our interior environment.
Fascinatingly, our lungs process not only air. Every minute they additionally filter our whole blood supply. Our bodies’ all the blood flows through the lungs, where it absorbs oxygen and releases carbon dioxide. Our lungs thus serve not just as a respiratory organ but also as a vital component of our circulatory system.
The lungs also unexpectedly relate to our voice. Though we generate sound in our larynx, or voice box, our speech is powered by the air from our lungs. The volume and duration of our speech are directly determined by the power and volume of air we exhange from our lungs.
Another startling truth is that hiccups are really a diaphragm defect, the primary muscle used in breathing. The diaphragm contraction creates a quick intake of breath that is stopped by the shutting of the vocal chord, producing the distinct “hic” sound.
Finally, although we cannot create new lungs, these organs have amazing capacity for healing and regeneration to some degree. For example, the lungs start to heal themselves practically right away after smoking cessation. Lung function can greatly improve within a few months, highlighting the resiliency of these amazing organs.