Lungs

The lungs are the primary organs that make up the respiratory system and in the human body are located within the chest cavity on the right on either side of the heart. The purpose of these organs is to transfer oxygen into the blood stream and extract carbon dioxide out of the blood and remove it from the body. This process allows the blood to carry oxygen to the cells throughout the body and then return carrying the waste products of the cells back to the lungs to be extracted and expelled. This cycle happens 14 to 16 times a second while the average adult is at rest and can increase to over 60 times a second with increased physical activity. http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/lungs-article.html

When a person breathes in the air is drawn in through the mouth and or the nose and then down to the lungs via the windpipe and the bronchi. Once inside the lungs the air is divided into tens of thousands of smaller tubes called bronchioles which then transport the air into little sacs called alveoli. These small spongy structures are where oxygen is exchanged for the carbon dioxide that is carried by the deoxygenated blood. Once this exchange takes place the waste air is the expelled back out of the body along the same path that fresh air came in on. Once this is complete the entire process begins again. http://science.nationalgeographic.com/science/health-and-human-body/human-body/lungs-article.html

The lungs are affected by anything that we can breathe in from the air and this includes a plethora of substances. Any kind of air pollution can cause problems with lung health. Working in an environment that has particles floating in the air such as industrial shops where wood or metal or other substances that are potentially even more dangerous can bring about problems ranging from congestion to lung cancer. Smoking delivers particles of substances that can cause problems ranging from COPD to lung cancer and can even exacerbate other problems such as bronchitis or pneumonia. Persons who work in areas where chemicals, particles or pollutants are likely to be in the air they breathe should use the appropriate breathing protection. http://www.lungusa.org/healthy-air/

Major diseases that involve the lungs are asthma, emphysema, COPD - chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, lung cancer, pulmonary fibrosis and mesothelioma.American Lung Association: Diseases A to Z Merck Manuals: Idiopathic Interstitial Pneumonias