PART 12
Why
& How We Breath
Let
us perform a little experiment. We must have a small bit of candle, a
fruit jar, or a bottle with a large mouth, and a lid. Notice carefully
what we are about to do and what happens.
Place
the candle in the bottom of the wide jar and light it. Use a long
match so you don’t burn yourself. When it is burning well, place the
cover on the top of the jar and wait for the results. Soon the candle
burns dimly, and in a little time the light goes out altogether.
Why
is it that the candle will not burn when shut up in a bottle? A candle
uses air when it burns. If shut up in a small, tight place, it soon
uses up so much air that it can burn no longer. Try the experiment
again, and when the candle begins to burn dimly, take the lid off
quickly. We see that it burns bright again.
Suppose
we shut the wood stove's air control tight, what is the result? The
fire will burn low, and after a time it will probably go out. Why is
this? Evidently the stove needs air to make the wood or coal burn,
just as the candle needs air to make it burn.
If
you should shut up a mouse or any other small animal in a fruit jar,
its life would go out just as the light of the candle went out. The
little animal would die in a short time. Of course we would not do
such a cruel thing as that! A child shut up in a close place would die
from the same cause in a very little time. In fact, many children die
because they get locked in an old refrigerator or freezer, or even get
a plastic bag over their heads, in which they use up all the available
oxygen, causing suffocation.
The
reason why animals need air, and why the fire will not burn without
it, is that the air contains oxygen, and it is the oxygen in the
air, which causes the wood or coal to burn and produce heat. So it is
the oxygen that burns in our bodies and keeps us warm.
When
wood and coal are burned, heat is produced; but some parts of the fuel
are not made into heat. While the fire burns, smoke escapes through
the pipe or chimney; but a part of the fuel remains in the stove in
the form of ashes. Smoke and ashes are the waste parts of the fuel.
The
burning which takes place in our bodies produces something similar to
the smoke and ashes produced by the fire in a stove. The smoke is
called carbonic acid gas [or, properly, carbon dioxide], an invisible
vapor, and escapes through the lungs. The ashes are various waste and
poisonous matters which are formed in all parts of the body. These
waste matters are carried out of the body through the skin, the
kidneys, the liver, and other organs.
We
must breathe to get rid of the carbon dioxide gas, which is brought to
the lungs by the blood be exchanged for oxygen. There are two reasons
then, why we breathe: (a) to obtain oxygen; (b) to get rid of carbon
dioxide.
Did
you ever see a frog breathe? If not, try to find the first opportunity
to do so. You will see that the frog has a very interesting way of
breathing. He goes to the top of the water, puts his nose out a
little, and then drinks the air. You can watch his throat and see him
swallowing the air, a mouthful at a time, just as you would drink
water.
If
you have a chance to see a picture of the inside of a frog you would
find there an odd-shaped bag. This is his air bag. This bag has a tube
running to the throat. When the frog comes to the surface of the water
he fills this bag with air. Then he can dive down into the mud out of
sight until he has used up the supply of air. When the air has been
changed to carbon dioxide gas, he must come to the surface to empty
his air bag and drink it full again.
We
do not drink air as the frog does, but like the frog we have an air
bag in our bodies. Our air bag has to be emptied and filled so often
that we cannot live underwater a long time, as a frog does. We call
this bag the lungs. We have learned before that our lungs are in the
chest. We need so much air and have to change the air in our lungs so
often that we would not have time to swallow it like a frog does. So
nature has made for us a breathing apparatus kind that works like a
pair of bellows. Next we will study our breathing-bellows and learn
how they do their work. =^..^=
MY BODY
TEMPLE
Why
& How We Breath 2
A
large tube called the trachea, or the windpipe, extends from back of
the tongue down the middle of the chest. The windpipe divides into
two main branches called bronchial tubes, which divide again and
again, until the finest branches are not larger than a sewing needle.
At the end of each tube is a cluster of small pockets called air cells
(alveoli). They look like bunches of hollow grapes and it is these
that assist the blood in exchanging carbon dioxide with oxygen.
If
you will place your fingers upon your throat just above the
breastbone, you will feel the windpipe. Notice the ridges upon it.
These are rings of cartilage, a hard substance commonly called
gristle. These rings keep the windpipe open. Close under the chin you
can find something which feels like a lump, and which moves up and
down when you swallow. This is a little box made of cartilage,
called the voice box, this allows us to talk and sing. This wonderful
device given by our Creator is the larynx.
Two
little white bands are stretched across the inside of the voice box
called vocal cords. When we speak, these bands vibrate like the
strings on a musical instrument.
At
the top of the voice box is a trapdoor that can shut down to close the
entrance to the air passages of the lungs. This little door is called
the epiglottis (ep-i-glot'-tis). The cover of the voice box closes
whenever we swallow anything. This keeps food or liquids from entering
the air passages. If we eat or drink too fast, or when talking, the
voice box will not have time to close its little door and we may
choke.
Our
wonderful Creator made this amazing little door to open and shut just
when it should, without our thinking about it!
The
air goes to the lungs through the mouth or the two openings in the
nose called the nostrils. From each nostril small passages lead
backward through the nose, to the back part of the nasal cavity. There
the passages of the two sides of the nose come together in an open
space behind the curtain called the soft palate at the back of the
mouth. Then the air passes down through the voice box, into the lungs.
In
the chest the air tubes and lung of each side are enclosed in a very
thin covering called the pleura. The chest cavity, where the lungs
are, is also lined by the pleura. A clear fluid comes from the pleura,
which keeps it moist, so that when the two surfaces rub together as
the lungs move, they do not become sore.
The
ribs form a part of the framework of the chest. The ribs are elastic
so they can move in and out. Between them are muscles, some to draw
the ribs together, others to draw them apart. The floor of the chest
is formed by a muscle called the diaphragm, which divides the trunk
into two cavities, the chest and the abdomen.
Now
let's see what takes place in the lungs. Have you seen an old fashion
bellows? When using a pair of bellows, we take hold of the handles and
draw them apart. The sides of the bellows are drawn apart so that
there is more room between the sides. The air then rushes in to fill
the space. When the bellows are full, we then press the handles
together, and the air is forced out a small hole in the front.
This
is how we breathe. To take a deep breath, the muscles pull upon the
sides of the chest to draw them apart. At the same time the diaphragm
moves downward. This makes the cavity of the chest larger and air
rushes in through the nose or mouth to fill the space. When the
muscles stop pulling, the walls of the chest fall back again, and the
diaphragm rises. The cavity of the chest then becomes smaller, and the
air is forced out through the nose or mouth. This happens every time
we breathe.
We
breathe once for each four heartbeats. Small children breathe faster
than grown persons. We usually breathe about eighteen or twenty
times a minute.
When
we breathe, we take in about two thirds of a pint of air and breathe
out the same quantity. Our lungs can hold much more than this. A man,
after he has taken a full breath, can breathe out a gallon of air, ten
times the usual amount. After he has breathed out all he can, there is
still almost half a gallon of air in his lungs that he cannot breathe
out. The lungs hold almost a gallon and a half of air.
Why
did our Creator, Jesus Christ, give us so much more room in the lungs
than we ordinarily use in breathing? If you run up and down stairs
three or four times you will see why we need this extra lung-room. It
is because when we exercise vigorously the heart works faster and
beats harder, and we must breathe faster and fuller to help the lungs
purify the blood as fast as the heart pumps it into them.
The
air which we breathe out contains something called carbon dioxide
gas. If we put a candle down in a wide jar it will burn for some time.
If we breathe into the jar first, the candle will go out as soon as we
put it into the jar. This shows that the air that we breathe out
contains carbon dioxide gas, which will put a candle out. It is
heavier than oxygen and can suffocate a person if it becomes too
concentrated.
The
air which we breathe out also contains impurities that the body is
trying to throw off. These poisons make the air of a crowded, stuffy
room smell bad to one who has just come in from the fresh air. Such a
room can also contain many germs and other harmful bacteria.
Blood
becomes dark in its journey through the body because it loses its
oxygen and receives carbon dioxide, which it has gathered up in the
tissues. In the lungs it takes up a new supply of oxygen, which
restores its bright red color.
With
so many people and animals breathing, after a time the air would
become so filled with carbon dioxide that it would be unfit to
breathe. Our Creator prevented this by a wonderful arrangement. The
carbon dioxide gas, poisonous to us, is one of the most necessary
foods for plants. Plants take in carbon dioxide through their leaves,
and send the oxygen back into the air ready for us to use again. That
is why the air is fresher where trees and plants grow than in the
cities. =^..^=
MY BODY
TEMPLE
PART 14
Helping Our Lungs
A
person may go without eating for a month, or without drinking for
several days, and still live; but a strong man will die in minutes if
he has no air. It is very important that we breathe plenty of pure,
fresh air. There are many things that can make air impure.
Anything
which rots or decays produces an unpleasant odor. Bad odors produced
in this way are not healthy. People may have rotting vegetables in
their cellars, and heaps of garbage in their backyards. We should
remember that bad odors, caused by rotten stuff, are all bad for
health, and can cause disease. Harmful germs may be in rotting stuff.
We need to remove garbage like this if we can, or stay away from it as
much as possible. A compost pile needs to be kept a long ways from our
homes.
Many
of the things we use, such as spray paint, glue, and other chemicals,
can be very harmful to the lungs and should be avoided as much as
possible. Spray cleaners, weed and insect sprays, and air
‘fresheners’, as well as hair sprays are not good for our lungs
either.
Rotten
smells and odours of various sorts can arise from damp, closed-up
places under a house. Ventilator grills should be placed in walls of
these places so they can air out and dry. Rooms which are shaded and
shut up so tight that fresh air and sunshine seldom get into them
should be well aired, cleaned and warmed before anyone lives in them.
The
way to get the fresh air needed, when we are shut up indoors, is to
have windows open at least partly so fresh air comes in and stale air
goes out.
This
is called ventilation. Every house, especially the sleeping rooms,
should be well ventilated. Schoolhouses, churches, and places where
many people gather, need good ventilation.
We
should learn to expand the lungs well in breathing, and use both the
upper and the lower part of our chest. Our clothing should not be
tight around our chest or our waist. We should not wear any
tight bands, especially around our chest. It is not wise to wear
clothing very tight. We need to be able to take good, deep breaths,
and move freely.
We
should sit straight and walk and stand tall, with our shoulders back.
Then, if we remember to breath deeply at times every day, we can get
into the habit of this, and we’ll breathe deeper, even when we are
not thinking about it.
We
should breath through the nose, and not through the mouth. The nose
acts as an air cleaner, to remove particles of dust that are not good
for our lungs. It also warms and moistens the air in cold weather.
We
know smoking is bad for our lungs, but so is alcohol. Both alcohol and
tobacco produce disease of the breathing organs. Smoking injures the
throat and sometimes causes loss of smell. Smoking can also cause lung
and throat cancer and emphysema. Alcohol is damaging to every organ of
the body; for it poisons the blood, so it is also very harmful to the
lungs.
Have
you ever been very out of breath, maybe after running fast? You are
gasping to get enough air. It does not feel good at all, but it soon
goes away. But imagine what it is like to always feel short of breath,
and no matter how you try to breath, you can’t get enough! This is
what smoking has done to many people. They end up not able to walk
across the room without gasping for breath, like you do when you ran a
long way. Never smoke and stay away from those who do! =^..^=
WHAT'S
NEW? 
