What are lungs? Function and Embryonic development of lungs along with the diseases related to lungs
LUNGS
introduction
There are some needs of the body that must and should be fulfilled for its proper and optimum working. Bodies for their proper and normal functions require some materials from the external environment and oxygen is one of them. Oxygen is very crucial for the body as it is involved in many metabolic reactions of the body but the thing is that is not produced in the body and must be supplied from the outside environment. So the pathway that is responsible for the movement of this oxygen in the body is known by the name of respiratory system and in respiratory system there must be some organ at which all of the gaseous exchange must be taking place as it is not just enough to simply take oxygen in the body after taking in into the body it must be diffused into the blood so that it can reach its target site in the body and the structure in the body that is part of respiratory system and is responsible for this gaseous exchange goes by the name of lungs. In simple words the function of the lungs is the gaseous exchange between the body of the organism and its environment. They also makes the ability of speech possible as the voice is produced when air from the lungs vibrates the voice box and it is actually lungs where the oxygenation of the deoxygenated blood takes place it is not the heart that takes out carbon dioxide fro m the blood and pours oxygen in it is the function of the lungs the heart just simply supply the oxygenated blood in the body that it revives from the lungs. Lungs are spongy air filled organs and its precursor from where it is developed during the embryonic development is the foregut. In human and other organism that have lungs they are protected by a double serous membranous layer that goes by the name of pleura and between these two layers there is fluid that is known as the pleural fluid and this pleural membrane aids optimal functioning of the lungs during the process of breathing where as the pleural fluid acts as a lubricant that protects the lungs from any sort of friction that might damage the lungs and also allows pleura to slide effortlessly against each other during the respiratory movements. Both of the lungs hold the heart tight between them and thus by it protects it. Like that of the kidneys lungs have a hilum and it the point in the lungs where all of the structures enter or leave the lungs such as it acts as a entry or exit point for the lungs. The trachea and the bronchi airways form an upside down Y and therefore because of this Y shape it is also known as the bronchial tree. In humans and other mammals there is a pair of lungs that is present in the thoracic cavity and are protected by the ribs and between the ribs and the lungs there are the intercostal muscles lungs are conical in shape if we talk about the sides and the anatomical boundaries of the lungs than we can say that it have
- costal surface
- medial surface
- apex
- base
- anterior boundary
- posterior boundary
- inferior boundary
- blood supply
- nervous supply
- lymphatic supply
- the oxygenated blood supply for the lungs itself is provided by the bronchial arteries
- where as the deoxygentaed blood coming into lungs for the oxygenation comes from the pulmonary artery
- pulmonary circulation
- bronchial circulation
where as if we talk about the nervous supply or the innervation of the lungs than we can describe it as that lungs are supplied by the nerves of the autonomic nervous system such that it gets input from the parasympathetic nervous system and it occurs through the vagus nerve. The action of breathing takes place because of nerve signal sent by the respiratory center in the brain-stem along with the phrenic nerve from the central plexus of the diaphragm
embryonic development of lungs
The precursor of the lungs from which they develop during the time of embrogeneis is the foregut such that the lungs begins to develop as an out-pouching of the foregut such as they arise from the laryngotracheal groove and than continues to mature but they gets inflate for the first time after the birth as during the embryo or fetus state all of the requirements of the developing baby is completed by its mother. At the end of the 4th week of the embryonic development the lung bud divide into two bronchial buds that are the
- left bronchial bud
- right bronchial bud
function of lungs
The main and the most important function of the lungs is the gaseous exchange between the body and the external environment it is also involved in speech formation as the air that vibrated the voice box comes from the lungs if we consider the respiratory pathway than it is as following
- external nostrils
- nasal cavity
- internal nostrils
- pharynx
- larynx
- trachea
- primary bronchi
- secondary bronchi
- tertiary bronchi
- terminal bronchioles
- respiratory bronchioles
- alveolar duct
- alveoli sacs
- alveoli
disorders of the lungs
Despite of the normal regulated activities of the lung many abnormalities can occur in lung it can be because of any reason anything that interferes with the normal functions of the lung can cause a abnormality there can be a lot of reasons as a result of which a person can get a lung sickness and some of the are as following
- bacteria or bacterial infection
- viral infections
- fungus
- polluted air
- inhaling for a long time in stagnant air
- cigarette
- tobacco
- second hand smoke
- chemical
- allergic reactions
- genetic disorders
- pollen
- dust
- chronic cough
- breath shortness
- chronic mucus
- chest pain
- trouble breathing
- feeling like you are not getting enough air
- constant cough
- coughing blood
- coughing mucous
- pain or discomfort while breathing
- wheezing
- over production of mucous
- magnetic resonance imaging
- rigid bronchoscopy
- flexible bronchoscopy
- lung biopsy
- sputum cytology
- sputum culture
- spirometry
- pulmonary functional test
- computed tomography
- arterial blood gas test
- complete blood test
- chest x rays
- exhaled nitric oxide test
- lung diffusion capacity
- pulse oximetry
- spirometry
- mucus sample
- lung resection
- vasodilators
- chemotherapy
- radio therapy
- lung transplant
- continuous positive airway pressure
- mechanical ventilation corticosteriods
- bronchodilators
- antiviral drug
- antibiotics
- pleurocentesis
- chest tube
- video assisted thorascopic surgery
- thoracotomy
- antibiotics
- anti viral medications
- anti fungal medications
- anti inflammatory medications
- inhaled bronchodilators
- steam therapy
- controlled coughing
- exercise
- drain mucus from the lungs
- green tea
- anti inflammatory foods
- chest percussion
- avoid smoking
- avoid second hand smoke
- avoid pollution
- wear mask in case of pollution
- check your home for molds and if there are any than get rid of them
- don't chew tobacco
- get regular health check ups
- asthma
- chronic obstructive pulmonary disease
- bronchitis
- pneumonia
- tuberculosis
- pneumothorax
- severe acute respiratory syndrome
- pulmonary embolism
- pulmonary hypertension
- pertussis
- mesothelioma
- influenza
- hypersensitivity pneumonitis
- histoplasmosis
- coccidioidomycosis
- lung cancer
- acute respiratory distress syndrome
- interstitial lung disease
- cystic fibrosis
- lymphangioleiomyomatosis
- bronchiectasis
- pleural effusion
- pleurisy
- obesity hypoventilation syndrome
- sarcoidosis
- pulmonary fibrosis
- acute bronchitis
- chronic bronchitis
- emphysema
emphysema
It is a condition in which there is rupturing of the inner walls of the alveoli creating larger air spaces that reduces the surface area of the lungs which in turn reduces the oxygen that reaches the bloodstream when you exhale the damaged alveoli don't work properly and the air becomes trapped that leaves no room for fresh oxygen rich air to enter most of the people that are suffering from emphysema also suffer from the chronic bronchitis it is more common among smokers as the substances present in the smoke of tobacco weakens the walls of the alveoli and the irritant substances of the smoke generally causes smokers cough and that burst the already weakened alveoli and also a result of constant coughing the absorbing surface of the lung is greatly reduced and hence the person suffering from the emphysema can't oxygenate his blood properly and least excretion of air with more concentration of carbon dioxide makes him breathless and exhausted some of the common symptoms of emphysema are as following
- frequent lung infection
- over production of mucus
- wheezing
- anxiety
- sleeping problems
- tobacco smoke
- marijuana smoke
- air pollution
- dust
- chemical fumes
- antibiotics
- inhaled steroids
- bronchodilators
- pulmonary rehabilitation
- supplementary oxygen
- lung volume reduction surgery
bronchitis
In this condition there is an inflammation of the bronchial tubes that carries the air to the lungs it is further divided into two types that are
- chronic bronchitis
- acute bronchitis
- cough
- over production of mucus
- fatigue
- shortness of breath
- fever
- chills
- chest discomfort
- dust
- certain fumes
- burning coal
- fire smoke
- air pollution
pulmonary fibrosis
It is a condition of lungs that occurs when lung tissues become damages or scarred such as this thickened stiff tissues where there as damage before makes it difficult for the lungs to work properly such that at that point the lungs would constrict and there would be less space for the air to pass the lungs damage caused by pulmonary fibrosis cannot be repaired but by the use of different medications and therapies can sometimes help to ease symptoms and improve quality of life some of the symptoms are that associated with this disorder are as following
- shortness of breath
- dry cough
- fatigue
- unexpected weight loss
- aching muscles and joints
Good and very informative
ReplyDeleteVery informative and authentic stuff
ReplyDeleteWanna collaborate?