5.5: Alveoli

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Alveoli

An alveolar duct is a tube composed of smooth muscle and connective tissue, which opens into a cluster of alveoli. An alveolus is one of the many small, grape-like sacs that are attached to the alveolar ducts.

An alveolar sac is a cluster of many individual alveoli that are responsible for gas exchange. An alveolus is approximately 200 mm in diameter with elastic walls that allow the alveolus to stretch during air intake, which greatly increases the surface area available for gas exchange. Alveoli are connected to their neighbors by alveolar pores, which help maintain equal air pressure throughout the alveoli and lung (Figure).

Structures of the Respiratory Zone

This figure shows the detailed structure of the alveolus. The top panel shows the alveolar sacs and the bronchioles. The middle panel shows a magnified view of the alveolus, and the bottom panel shows a micrograph of the cross section of a bronchiole.

(a) The alveolus is responsible for gas exchange. (b) A micrograph shows the alveolar structures within lung tissue. LM × 178. (Micrograph provided by the Regents of University of Michigan Medical School © 2012)

Organs and Structures of the Respiratory System. Authored by: OpenStax CNX. Provided by: OpenStaxCollege. Located at: http://cnx.org/contents/t2sgkCQ-@8/Organs-and-Structures-of-the-R.. License: CC BY-SA: Attribution-ShareAlike. License Terms: Download for free at http://cnx.org/contents/b76b2090-243...2e45bda6ab75@8.