FoundationPart of the Respiratory
Lungs
Pulmones
Paired organs that draw in air and trade oxygen for carbon dioxide across a vast, delicate surface.
Explore in 3D
In short
Alveoli fold a tennis-court-sized exchange surface into the chest.
The right lung carries three lobes and the left only two, leaving a notch for the heart.
Key facts
- Size
- Each about 25 cm tall
- Weight
- About 1 kg for the pair
- Location
- Either side of the heart, within the ribcage
- Blood supply
- Pulmonary and bronchial arteries
- Function
- Exchanges oxygen for carbon dioxide
- Daily
- Moves around 11,000 L of air
- Tissue type
- Alveolar tissue
- Latin term
- Pulmones
Structures to know
8 labelled structures
Trachea
Trachea
Carries air to the lungs
Open Trachea in 3DRight Lung
Pulmo dexter
Three lobes
Open Right Lung in 3DLeft Lung
Pulmo sinister
Two lobes, room for the heart
Open Left Lung in 3DBronchus
Bronchus principalis
Branching airway
Open Bronchus in 3DLung Base
Basis pulmonis
Rests on the diaphragm
Open Lung Base in 3DApex
Apex pulmonis
The top, above the first rib
Open Apex in 3DHilum
Hilum pulmonis
Where vessels and bronchi enter
Open Hilum in 3DOblique Fissure
Fissura obliqua
The groove between lobes
Open Oblique Fissure in 3D
Numbers at rest
Typical adult values — not a diagnostic reference.
Clinical relevance
Alveoli fold a tennis-court-sized exchange surface into the chest.
- Asthma
- COPD
- Pneumonia
- Pulmonary embolism
- Pulmonary fibrosis
- Bronchitis
- Cystic fibrosis
- Lung cancer
Study material only — this is not medical advice or a diagnostic tool.
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Reviewed 2026-08-18 · Structure names follow Terminologia Anatomica (TA2).