The Respiratory System

lungs
The primary organs of the respiratory system are lungs, which function to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide as we breathe. (Image credit: Leonello Calvetti | Shutterstock)

Oxygen goes in, carbon dioxide goes out. Sounds simple enough, but your respiratory system — composed of your lungs, trachea, sinuses, and sundry microscopic helpers — works a grueling 24/7 job just to keep your blood oxygenated, and your body alive. Learn all about the air you breath (and the respiratory organs that make it possible) here.

Latest about The Respiratory System

Woman holding her breath.

Why can't you suffocate by holding your breath?

By Ashley Hamer published

The human body has a number of mechanisms that prevent you from holding your breath until you suffocate.

Health
photo of a student holding a pen and notebook as she looks at a 3D model of the systems of the human body

What are the systems of the body? Fast facts about the human body and how it works

By Rachael Rettner, Scott Dutfield, Nicoletta Lanese last updated

Reference Learn all about the human body's many systems and some of its individual organs, both vital and vestigial.

Reference
This is the final 3D-printed tracheobronchial splint used in one of the baby boys.

4D Implant Saves Babies with Breathing Problems

By Charles Q. Choi last updated

A new "4D" medical device has saved the lives of three baby boys with life-threatening breathing problems, researchers say.

Health
Researchers have discovered a new never-before-seen cell in the human lungs, which plays a vital role in the functioning of the respiratory system.

New part of the body found hiding in the lungs

By Harry Baker published

The newfound cells help to maintain a healthy respiratory system.

Anatomy
Respiratory system: A woman breathes into the cold as she takes a break from exercising.

Respiratory system: Facts, function and diseases

By Kim Ann Zimmermann published

The respiratory system is responsible for taking in oxygen and expelling carbon dioxide. The main organs are the lungs, which work in concert with the cardiovascular system.

Anatomy
tuft cells

After a Bout of Flu, Mice Grow Taste Bud Cells in Their Lungs

By Stephanie Pappas published

This is not a good thing for lung function.

Flu
dirty socks

Can You Really Get Sick from Smelling Dirty Socks?

By Yasemin Saplakoglu published

A man in China had a habit of walking home from work every day, taking off his socks and… taking a great big whiff of them, according to news reports.

Health
A man coughed up a large blood clot that was in the shape of his bronchial tree, or the lung's branched airway passages.

Man Coughs Up a Giant Blood Clot in the Shape of His Lung

By Rachael Rettner published

A man in California surprised his doctors when he coughed up an unusual looking blood clot: It was in the shape of his lung.

Heart & Circulation
An artist's interpretation of the dinosaur-era bird <i>Archaeorhynchus spathula</i>, which was a bit larger than a modern pigeon.

Exquisitely Preserved Lungs from 120 Million Years Ago Stun Scientists Studying Early Bird

By Laura Geggel published

Ancient organs rarely fossilize, so paleontologists were stunned to find the incredibly well-preserved remains of a lung that belonged to bird from the dinosaur age, a new study finds.

Birds
child drinking milk

Does Drinking Milk Make Your Body Produce More Mucus?

By Laura Geggel published

A persistent myth about milk — that drinking it can lead to the production of more gooey mucus in your body's airways — is completely false, a new review finds.

Health
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Archives