Facts About Respiratory System
1. Only the lungs can float on water.
Your lungs contain about 300 million balloon-like structures called Alveoli. These structures replace carbon dioxide in your blood with oxygen. These structures become the only organs of the body that can float on water when filled with oxygen.
Medical examiners actually use the “lung float test” to determine stillbirth (death in the womb). If the baby’s lungs are able to float, it means that the baby was born alive. If they don’t, it is stillborn. According to a study published in 2013 in the International Journal of Legal Medicine, this method is accurate 98% of the time.
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2. Even in good health, your lungs can still be contaminated with germs and are therefore not safe.
Studies have shown that the lower lungs are populated with diverse bacteria communities in both healthy and diseased states. It might be reasonable to assume they are norma fauna, which are microbes that live in our bodies and do not cause disease.
3. Many viruses can cause the common cold.
The most common respiratory-system disease today is the common cold. More than 200 viruses can cause a common cold, including the human coronavirus (also known as the respiratory syncytial) and the human coronavirus.
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4. Your nose is a filter and heater and a humidifier.
Your nose has small, bone-like shelves called “turbinates”, which extend from your nose’s lateral wall. The turbinates are lined by many blood vessels that heat the air and warm it to your body. These turbinates are lined with goblet cells, which secrete mucus. The sticky mucus traps microbes and particles inhaled. They are then moved to the back by the “escalator” and swallowed.
5. Natural mechanisms include coughing, sneezing, and yawning
Sneezing and coughing help keep your lungs clean from foreign substances and invaders that you may have unknowingly inhaled. In case of oxygen shortage, yawning can help us breathe in more oxygen and helps our brain to sense it.
6. Some air never leaves your lungs
A small amount of air (called residual volume) stays in your lungs. It prevents the smaller airways and alveoli of your lungs from collapsing. This keeps your lungs open a bit to allow for easier breathing. It’s akin to a balloon that has been opened once or twice. After you exhale, more air can be pushed out of your lungs. You should have at least 1,200 ml left in your lungs. This is a good thing.
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7. You can live with one lung
It will limit your physical abilities, but it won’t stop you from living a normal lifestyle. Many people around the globe live with one lung.
8. If something isn’t right, the switch happens at the nostrils to allow them to swap their work
The right nostril is more dominant during the day, while the left nostril is predominant at night. This shift can be felt at sunrise and sunset.
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9. Children who speak directly from their mouths will develop a lisp.
Four stages of filtration are present in the human nose. The hairs within the nose filter out unwanted substances from the lungs. The air we inhale through our mouths goes straight to stage 4, bypassing all three stages. This can lead to tonsillitis, ear infections, and respiratory tract infections. The bladder shrinkage caused by breathing through the mouth can cause a need to urinate at night.
Our body will change our sides every 30 minutes to maintain a balanced breath between the nostrils.
10. Just by breathing, you can lose a lot of water.
Your cells can take in oxygen, and your body will expel carbon dioxide waste. You also exhale a lot of water when you inhale.
According to a 2012 study in Polish Pneumonology & Allergology, people exhale 17.5 milliliters (0.59 fluid ounces) of water every hour when they are at rest. The study found that exercising can cause you to lose four times as much water.
