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Lungs
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The lungs are the main organs of the respiratory system, the setup you breathe with. Air coming in travels through the airways until it reaches the alveoli, which is where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood in the capillaries, the finest blood vessels.
It helps not to mix up four names that get used as if they meant the same thing. The airways are the tubes that carry the air; the lung is the organ that holds the alveoli; the pleura is the covering wrapped around it, like the jacket on a book; and the pulmonary circulation is the route the blood takes to reach those alveoli.
In brief
The lungs are the main organs of the respiratory system.
The airways carry air to the alveoli, where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged with the blood in the surrounding capillaries.
Follow both routes: air reaches the alveolus through the airways, and blood arrives through the pulmonary circulation. Gas exchange occurs there.
These are not different names for the same thing: the airways carry air, the lungs hold the alveoli, the pleura covers the lungs, and the pulmonary circulation brings blood to the alveoli.
Sources (1)
- National Heart, Lung, and Blood InstituteHow the Lungs Work: The Respiratory SystemPublished
This page explains the topic in general terms; it does not tell anyone what treatment to follow.
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