Lungs

The reason for this is a protective measure in that if something happened to one, you have a back up to rely on. If one lung were to collapse because of a crush type injury, the other lung would have to work twice as hard to provide the same amount of oxygen to the body, but you would survive.

The air that can not be exhaled is called residual volume.

TV = the amount of air displaced during normal breathing.

IRV = The amount of air that can be taken in forcibly beyond tidal volume

Erv= The amount of that can be expelled forcibly.

Vital capacity = the total amount of exchangeable air.

Total Lung capacity = TV + IRV + ERV + RESIDUAL VOLUME

Tar is a resin produced from the burning of tobacco. In a smoker, tar builds up in the lungs and damages them over time.Lung cancer is the most common cancer among men and women in United states and 90% of the cases are caused by cigarette smoking. The bad news is that only 12-15% cases are being cured by treatments available today, mostly because of late diagnosis. In this article we discuss about how smoking affects the lungs in different ways.

Cigarettes are a euphemism for a cleverly crafted product that delivers nicotine in just the right amounts to keep the user hooked for life before killing the person - stated by WHO Director Harlem Brundtland.

One in every ten chronic smoker is killed by lung cancer, but the rest are not let off either - they suffer from other lung diseases like emphysema, asthma, chronic bronchitis and other forms of COPD (chronic obstructive pulmonary disease)

Visit this website to see photos of damaged lungs: Smokers lungs

If you are a smoker, just imagine the foolishness of self-inflicting such damage to your own precious lungs. Breath is the foundation of life and this makes your lungs one of the most vital and irreplaceable organs in your body. A chronic smoker does not gamble with life, he invites death voluntarily. Smoking can destroy your lungs permanently.

Mucus clogging - The cigarette tar sticks to the thin hair like cilia along the nasal and throat passage causing them to get clogged. The function of cilia is to push the dirt accumulated mucus onto the mouth or nose for disposal. Once the cilia gets clogged it can no longer perform its function properly leading to mucus accumulation in the throat and nasal passage. Smoker cough is a common symptom among regular smokers, which is an attempt by the body to forcibly release the clogged mucus. This is how smoking affects your lungs by clogging up its protection from impurities and chemicals.

Reduction in dirt filtering - Another side effected of clogged cilia is that they fail to filter out the harmful chemicals in the cigarette smoke, with time these chemicals start accumulating in the linings of aveoli (air sacs) in the lungs. A clogged aveoli is dangerous because it hampers the oxygen and carbon di-oxide exchange with blood leading to decreased oxygen supply to the heart.

Air sacs malfunction - The air sacs lose their elasticity because of tar deposits and hence fail to expand and contract with each breath leading to congested air pockets. Many air sacs rupture because of undue pressure caused by these air pockets.

Carcinogenic deposits in the lungs - Continued deposits of tar along the linings of the lungs leads to cell degeneration. Most of the chemicals present in the tar are carcinogenic in nature and hence are toxic to the living cells in the inner walls of the lungs. With time the accumulation of toxic chemicals forces the body to create a tumor around the affected area inducing lung cancer.

ANDThe tar in tobacco cigarettes is a major cause of lung cancer, emphysema and bronchitis. The toxins from the tar can damage lung cells that keep tumors from forming. Cigarette tar also damages cilia in the lungs, which protect the lining of the lungs. In addition to the discoloring of teeth, tar can cause periodontitis, a gum disease that can result in the loss of teeth.

Often there are no signs that one could have cancer. Some people are walking around with it right now and may not know and it's a risk we all have to live with. Scientists are still baffled as to why some people have cancer and others don't. We all carry dormant cancer cells, but why do they activate in certain people? That's the key the scientists are trying to unlock.

With some cancers it could come on by a mole that has changed (get your doctor to keep a good check on any moles on your body and this is called Melanoma if it is cancerous.) Ovarian cancer can hide itself until the person begins to experience unusual bleeding or cramping (great pain) or is prone to cysts in this area. Breast cancer of course may be detected by getting a mammogram every year to two years. Seeing your doctor for a pap smear is also a way to detect if you have cancer cells in that area. You can have skin cancer and have a lesion or sore on your body that will not heal and you should see a doctor immediately and it's usually curable.

Not all cancers mean death and if caught early by seeing your doctor for a GOOD over-all physical it's possible to catch many cancers before it's too late.

Dogs are now being trained and used to detect cancer, but it is not used as much as I feel it should be. The dogs detect the cancer from the scent of the cancer cells from people with cancer. Much like a dog that can sniff out drugs. There is a great success rate with this method and it will be used in the near future.

I had a friend that had a mole on her arm. Her dog would get up on her and keep licking it. At first it irritated her and she'd get mad at the dog, but the dog was persistent and her husband told her she should have it checked out. Sure enough it was cancer, the mole was removed and she's fine to this day.

The first and most prominent sign of breast cancer is the forming of lumps in the breast. Routine self examinations are highly suggested to the monitoring of existing as well as new lumps. If you do feel that there is a lump or several lumps, consult a physician immediately. Your doctor will schedule a biopsy of the lump or lumps which will determine whether the cyst is cancerous or benign (non-cancerous). After determining the state of the lump he/she will then make a decision to either leave and monitor closely, or remove the lump. Please be aware that not all breast cysts are cancerous, and that seeing your doctor for regular exams as well as routine self examinations is the best way to prevent and treat such conditions. Take care and good luck.