Lung Cancer

The Lungs

The main function of the lungs is the exchange of gases between the air we breathe and the blood.

Oxygen is exchanged from the air to the blood, and carbon dioxide is removed from the body.

The right lung has three lobes; the left lung two lobes. The major airways connecting the lungs to the trachea, are called the bronchi and its branches, the bronchioles. These eventually end in tiny sacs known as alveoli, where the gas exchange occurs.

The outer surface of the lungs and the chest wall are covered with a thin layer of tissue called the pleura.

Lung cancer can occur in any part of the lung; howerever, 90% to 95% of cancers of the lung are thought to start from the epithelial, the cells lining airways. Cancers in the pleura are called mesotheliomas.

The lungs are a common site of secondary metatases from cancer tumors in other parts of the body. These cancers bear the same tissue as the primary cancer - for instance, a secondary prostate cancer, located in the lungs is NOT lung cancer, rather it is secondary prostate cancer.

Video - Lung Cancer Bronchoscopy

Warning - this video is very graphic [5:09]

A large percentage [90%] of lung cancers are caused by smoking, or breathing secondary smoke. Lung cancer resulted in over 160,000 deaths in 2004 [ The American Cancer Society]

NEXT: Lung Cancer Treatment

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