How Do the Lungs Work?

We all need to breathe. Bringing new air into the body and getting rid of old air and wasted gas is an essential part of daily life. The lungs are a key part of this necessary task.

The lungs are part of your respiratory system. Each lung is made up of lobes, or sections. The right lung has three lobes, and the left lung has two lobes.

The left lung is slightly smaller than the right because of the location of your heart. You can think of each lobe as a balloon that inflates when you breathe in and deflates when you breathe out.

Each lung sits next to the heart. They’re protected by a thin tissue called the pleura. Inside the lungs are millions of tiny air sacs called alveoli. These sacs — over 300 million in adult lungs — are overlapped or interwoven by capillaries, which are fine blood vessels.