Let's take a journey through the air passageways of the lungs. Within the
lungs, you can see a network of tubes called the bronchial tree, through which
air enters and leaves your body.
Upon inhalation, the air you breathe in passes through the trachea (windpipe)
and follows the network of bronchial tubes into each lung. The winding passageways
branch into smaller and smaller sections, which end at tiny air sacs called
alveoli. In each alveolus, the oxygen you inhale is exchanged for the carbon
dioxide released from the cells in your body. The carbon dioxide is expelled
in the reverse direction during exhalation.
Review Date: 5/16/2007
Reviewed By: Alan Greene, M.D., F.A.A.P., Department of Pediatrics, Packard Children's Hospital, Stanford University School of Medicine; Chief Medical Officer, A.D.A.M., Inc.
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