The Chinese word for Lung is Fei. The Lung is one of the five Zang Fu. The Lung system is responsible for inhaling “good Qi” and exhaling “waste Qi.” It is said to “dominate descending and dispersing,” which means that the Lung is involved with the dispersing of fluids evenly throughout the body. The Lung also disperses Wei Qi throughout the body, and therefore has functions that Western science attributes to the immune system. The skin, nose, and pores are under the influence of the Lung. The Lung’s Fu organ “partner” is the Large Intestine. It is considered a “metal” organ in Five Elements theory.
The organ that accommodates the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the blood and the external environment.
One of two organs of respiration in the body into which air is sucked when a person breathes.
Either of a pair of highly elastic, spongy organs in the chest that are the main organs of respiration, inhaling air from which oxygen is taken and exhaling carbon dioxide. The lungs are composed of lobes, the right lung with three, the left with two. The lobes are divided into lobules, each of which contains blood vessels, lymphatics, nerves, and ducts connecting the alveoli, or air spaces, where the actual oxygen-carbon dioxide exchange takes place.
Two bilateral, spongy, cone-shaped structures of respiration contained in the pleural cavity of the thorax.
The major organ of the respiratory system, in which oxygen from the air enters the bloodstream and is exchanged for the waste product carbon dioxide. The two lungs lie in the chest cavity, protected by the ribs. The upper end of each lung lies just above the collarbone, and the bottom ends rest on the diaphragm (the sheet of muscle that separates the chest cavity from the abdomen).
One of the pair of organs of respiration, situated in the chest cavity on either side of the heart and enclosed by a serous membrane. The lungs are fibrous elastic sacs that are expanded and compressed by movements of the rib cage and diaphragm during breathing. They communicate with the atmosphere through the trachea, which opens into the pharynx. The trachea divides into two bronchi, which enter the lungs and branch into bronchioles. These divide further and terminate in minute air sacs, the sites of gaseous exchange. Atmospheric oxygen is absorbed and carbon dioxide from the blood of the pulmonary capillaries is released into the lungs, in each case down a concentration gradient. The total capacity of the lungs in an adult male is about 5.5 liters, but during normal breathing only about 500 ml of air is exchanged (see also residual volume). Other functions of the lung include water evaporation, an important factor in the fluid balance and heat regulation of the body.
Positioned in the chest, the lungs serve primarily as respiratory organs, also acting as a filter for the blood.
One of two cone-shaped spongy organs of respiration contained within the pleural cavity of the thorax.
Spongy tissues composed of microscopic cells in which inhaled air is exchanged for carbon dioxide during one breathing cycle; organs of respiration.
One of a pair of organs in the chest that supplies the body with oxygen, and removes carbon dioxide from the body.