Difference between Right and Left Lung

The respiratory (breathing) system revolves around the lungs. Breathing is a very important part of our life.Our cell in the body needs oxygen in order to workout.

Carbon dioxide must also be expelled from your body. This gas is a waste product produced by cells as part of their normal operations. Every time you breathe in and out, your lungs are intended to exchange these gases.

Structure of the Lungs

The lungs are normally cone-shaped, with an apex, base, three surfaces, and three borders.

The lungs are positioned on either side of the heart in the rib cage in the chest. They have a conical form at the top with a small rounded apex and a large concave base that sits on the diaphragm’s convex surface. 

The apex of the lung protrudes into the root of the neck, just above the level of the first rib’s sternal end. The lungs extend from the lower section of the trachea to the diaphragm, and from near to the backbone in the rib cage to the front of the chest. 

The blunt superior end of the lung is known as the apex. The inferior surface of the lung that rests on the diaphragm is known as the base.

Fissures within the lung separate the lobes (there are two or three).

Surfaces (three) – These correspond to the thorax area they are facing. Costal, mediastinal, and diaphragmatic are their names.

The anterior, inferior, and posterior boundaries of the lungs are the three borders.

Breathing Pathway

When we take a breath, air enters your mouth and nose and goes down the following path;It goes down the throat into the trachea into the lungs via the right and left main bronchi into the smaller bronchi airways into the even smaller bronchial tubes into the alveoli .

Each alveolus is covered by a network of small blood vessels known as capillaries. In capillaries oxygen and carbon dioxide were exchanged. Deoxygenated blood is sent to your lungs by your heart. This is carbon dioxide-carrying blood, not oxygen-carrying blood.

The alveoli provide oxygen to the blood as it travels through the tiny, thin-walled capillaries. Carbon dioxide is returned to the alveoli through the thin walls.

Anatomy of the Left Lung

The left and right lungs are diametrically opposed. The mainstem bronchi differ in length and thickness, with the left mainstem bronchus being long and thin and the right mainstem bronchus being short and fat. There are just two lobes in the left lung. There are two lobes on the left side of the brain: the left upper lobe (LUL) and the left lower lobe (LLL). The middle lobe of the left lung is absent. The lingula, which is a portion of the LUL rather than a separate lobe, is the middle lobe’s equivalent.

The major or oblique fissure, which is the only fissure on the left side, separates the two lobes of the left lung. The left lung is smaller than the right, with just eight segments compared to the right’s ten.

Superior and lingula divisions exist in the upper lobe of the left lung. There are two segments in each of these categories. The apical-posterior and anterior portions of the superior division are the apical-posterior and anterior segments, respectively. 

Anatomy of the right lung

The right lung is divided into three lobes by two interlobular fissures: superior, middle, and inferior. One of them, which links the inferior, middle, and superior lobes, looks a lot like the left lung’s fissure. Its course, on the other hand, is more vertical, cutting the lower border of the anterior extremity about 7.5 cm behind it.

The other fissure separates the superior and median lobes. It begins near the lung’s posterior border and travels horizontally forward, cutting the anterior border on a level with the sternal end of the fourth costal cartilage; it can be traced backward to the mediastinal surface’s hilus.

The following are the differences between the right and left lungs:

Conclusion

The respiratory system of animals is divided into two parts: the right lung and the left lung. The gas exchange between the blood and the external air is facilitated by both lungs.

 The right lung is narrower and shorter than the left. The liver is accommodated at the bottom of the right lung, while the heart is accommodated at the front of the left lung. The structure of each lung in the body is the fundamental distinction between the right and left lung.