- Our lungs are about the size of a pair of footballs[i]
- The surface area of the lungs is roughly the same size as a tennis court [ii]
- Male lungs weigh on average 1060 grams, while female lungs average 930 grams[iii]
- Each day an average person breathes about 25,000 times, and by the time a person reaches 70 years old, they will have taken at least 600 million breaths [iv]
- The lungs are the only organ in the body that can float on water[v]
- In the course of a single day, 8,000 to 9,000 litres of breathed-in air meets 8,000 to 10,000 litres of blood pumped in by the heart through the pulmonary artery[vi]
- The lungs are the largest organ in the body and the only internal organ exposed to the external environment [vii],[viii]
- With each breath, a host of alien substances enter our bodies – including pollens, dust, viruses, bacteria and the constituents of the air in our homes and offices and factories, ranging from animal dander and tobacco smoke to radon and airborne lead[ix]
- New babies at rest breathe between 40 and 50 times per minute. By age five it decreases to around 25 times per minute[x]
- At rest, an adult breathes about 14 to 16 times per minute. After exercise this can increase to over 60 times per minute[xi]
References:
[i] http://library.thinkquest.org/5777/resp4.htm
[ii] http://www.easybreathers.org/explore/airpollution/funFacts.html
[iii] http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Medicentre/en/resources/student/osle/lungs.html
[iv] http://kidshealth.org/teen/your_body/body_basics/lungs.html
[v] http://www.smm.org/heart/lungs/top.html
[vi] http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=22551
[vii] http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=710069
[viii] http://www.virtualmuseum.ca/Exhibitions/Medicentre/en/resources/student/osle/lungs.html
[ix] http://www.lungusa.org/site/pp.asp?c=dvLUK9O0E&b=710069
[x] http://www.smm.org/heart/lungs/top.html
[xi] http://www.smm.org/heart/lungs/top.html