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Facts about the lungs

  • 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