Definitions for lung
lʌŋlung

Princeton's WordNetRate this definition:2.8 / 4 votes

1. lungnoun

   either of two saclike respiratory organs in the chest of vertebrates; serves to remove carbon dioxide and provide oxygen to the blood

WiktionaryRate this definition:3.7 / 3 votes

1. lungnoun

   A biological organ that extracts oxygen from the air.

WikipediaRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lung

   The lungs are the primary organs of the respiratory system in humans and most other animals, including some snails and a small number of fish. In mammals and most other vertebrates, two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their function in the respiratory system is to extract oxygen from the air and transfer it into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere, in a process of gas exchange. Respiration is driven by different muscular systems in different species. Mammals, reptiles and birds use their different muscles to support and foster breathing. In earlier tetrapods, air was driven into the lungs by the pharyngeal muscles via buccal pumping, a mechanism still seen in amphibians. In humans, the main muscle of respiration that drives breathing is the diaphragm. The lungs also provide airflow that makes vocal sounds including human speech possible. Humans have two lungs, one on the left and one on the right. They are situated within the thoracic cavity of the chest. The right lung is bigger and heavier than the left, which shares space in the chest with the heart. The lungs together weigh approximately 1.3 kilograms (2.9 pounds). The lungs are part of the lower respiratory tract that begins at the trachea and branches into the bronchi and bronchioles, and which receive air breathed in via the conducting zone. The conducting zone ends at the terminal bronchioles. These divide into the respiratory bronchioles of the respiratory zone which divide into alveolar ducts that give rise to the alveolar sacs that contain the alveoli, where gas exchange takes place. Alveoli are also sparsely present on the walls of the respiratory bronchioles and alveolar ducts. Together, the lungs contain approximately 2,400 kilometres (1,500 miles) of airways and 300 to 500 million alveoli. Each lung is enclosed within a pleural sac of two membranes called pleurae; the membranes are separated by a film of pleural fluid, which allows the inner and outer membranes to slide over each other whilst breathing takes place, without much friction. The inner pleura also divides each lung into sections called lobes. The right lung has three lobes and the left has two. The lobes are further divided into bronchopulmonary segments and pulmonary lobules. The lungs have a unique blood supply, receiving deoxygenated blood from the heart in the pulmonary circulation for the purposes of receiving oxygen and releasing carbon dioxide, and a separate supply of oxygenated blood to the tissue of the lungs, in the bronchial circulation. The tissue of the lungs can be affected by a number of respiratory diseases, including pneumonia and lung cancer. Chronic obstructive pulmonary disease includes chronic bronchitis and emphysema, and can be related to smoking or exposure to harmful substances. A number of occupational lung diseases can be caused by substances such as coal dust, asbestos fibres, and crystalline silica dust. Diseases such as bronchitis can also affect the respiratory tract. Medical terms related to the lung often begin with pulmo-, from the Latin pulmonarius (of the lungs) as in pulmonology, or with pneumo- (from Greek πνεύμων "lung") as in pneumonia. In embryonic development, the lungs begin to develop as an outpouching of the foregut, a tube which goes on to form the upper part of the digestive system. When the lungs are formed the fetus is held in the fluid-filled amniotic sac and so they do not function to breathe. Blood is also diverted from the lungs through the ductus arteriosus. At birth, however, air begins to pass through the lungs, and the diversionary duct closes, so that the lungs can begin to respire. The lungs only fully develop in early childhood.

Webster DictionaryRate this definition:3.0 / 1 vote

1. Lungnoun

   an organ for aerial respiration; -- commonly in the plural

2. Etymology: [OE. lunge, AS. lunge, pl. lungen; akin to D. long, G. lunge, Icel. & Sw. lunga, Dan. lunge, all prob. from the root of E. light. 125. See Light not heavy.]

WikidataRate this definition:4.0 / 1 vote

1. Lung

   The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart. Their principal function is to transport oxygen from the atmosphere into the bloodstream, and to release carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere. A large surface area is needed for this exchange of gases which is accomplished by the mosaic of specialized cells that form millions of tiny, exceptionally thin-walled air sacs called alveoli. To properly explain the anatomy of the lungs, the passage of air through the mouth to the alveoli needs to be looked at. The progression of air through either the mouth or the nose, travels through the oropharynx, nasopharynx, the larynx, and the trachea. The air passes down the trachea, which divides into two main bronchi and these branch to the left and right lungs where they progressively subdivide in a system of bronchi and bronchioles until the alveoli are finally reached, where the gas exchange of carbon dioxide and oxygen takes place. Breathing is driven by muscular action; in early tetrapods, air was driven into the lungs by the pharyngeal muscles via buccal pumping, which amphibians still use. Reptiles, birds and mammals use more of the musculoskeletal system.

Chambers 20th Century DictionaryRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lung

   lung, n. one of the organs of breathing—from its spongy texture.—adjs. Lunged; Lung′-grown, having an adhesion of the lung to the pleura.—n. Lung′wort, an herb with purple flowers and spotted leaves: a lichen on tree-trunks, used as a remedy for pulmonary diseases. [A.S. lunge, pl. lungan, the lungs; cog. with light (adj.).]

U.S. National Library of MedicineRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. Lung

   Either of the pair of organs occupying the cavity of the thorax that effect the aeration of the blood.

Editors ContributionRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. lung

   A type of organ.

   Animals and human beings have a pair of lungs.

   
   

   Submitted by MaryC on December 22, 2019  

Surnames Frequency by Census RecordsRate this definition:0.0 / 0 votes

1. LUNG

   According to the U.S. Census Bureau, Lung is ranked #4578 in terms of the most common surnames in America.
   
   The Lung surname appeared 7,753 times in the 2010 census and if you were to sample 100,000 people in the United States, approximately 3 would have the surname Lung.
   
   47% or 3,649 total occurrences were of Hispanic origin.
   32.3% or 2,509 total occurrences were White.
   14.5% or 1,125 total occurrences were Asian.
   3.6% or 280 total occurrences were Black.
   1.9% or 152 total occurrences were of two or more races.
   0.4% or 38 total occurrences were American Indian or Alaskan Native.

Matched Categories

1. • Respiratory Organ

British National Corpus

1. Nouns Frequency

   Rank popularity for the word 'lung' in Nouns Frequency: #2014

Anagrams for lung »

1. gunl

How to pronounce lung?

1. Alex

   US English

   David

   US English

   Mark

   US English

   Daniel

   British

   Libby

   British

   Mia

   British

   Karen

   Australian

   Hayley

   Australian

   Natasha

   Australian

   Veena

   Indian

   Priya

   Indian

   Neerja

   Indian

   Zira

   US English

   Oliver

   British

   Wendy

   British

   Fred

   US English

   Tessa

   South African

How to say lung in sign language?

Numerology

1. Chaldean Numerology

   The numerical value of lung in Chaldean Numerology is: 8

2. Pythagorean Numerology

   The numerical value of lung in Pythagorean Numerology is: 9

Examples of lung in a Sentence

1. Jaime Hart:

   Studies have shown that pollution increases inflammation and oxidative stress, both of which have been linked to increased mortality, those studies weren't done in lung cancer patients, but it is reasonable to think that similar things may be occurring.

2. Chris Griffiths:

   Although changes of this magnitude are unlikely to cause problems in healthy children, we urgently need to know whether these lung deficits will impact lung function and health in later life.

3. Filippo Bertozzo:

   Birds, especially pet birds, do suffer from pulmonary infection. Birds are dinosaurs, and dinosaurs presented, most likely, a birdlike lung system, i would expect dinosaurs to suffer from similar pulmonary infections as in birds. Of course, Covid is a novel disease, we can not know if something similar happened in the past, so we can't say if dinosaurs suffered from Covid-like diseases.

4. Charles Hennekens:

   We need more analytic studies on this, but in the meanwhile, we believe that trying to combat the epidemic of homicide due to firearms without addressing firearms is like combating the epidemic of lung cancer due to cigarettes without combating cigarettes, to me, it's tragic that this is going on.

5. Jennifer McNary:

   They're one pneumonia away from lung failure.

Popularity rank by frequency of use

References

1. ^ Princeton's WordNet
   http://wordnetweb.princeton.edu/perl/webwn?s=lung
2. ^ Wiktionary
   https://en.wiktionary.org/wiki/Lung
3. ^ Wikipedia
   https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lung
4. ^ Webster Dictionary
   https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/lung
5. ^ Wikidata
   https://www.wikidata.org/w/index.php?search=lung
6. ^ Chambers 20th Century Dictionary
   https://www.gutenberg.org/files/37683/37683-h/37683-h.htm#:~:text=lung
7. ^ Surnames Frequency by Census Records
   https://www.census.gov/topics/population/genealogy/data/2010_surnames.html