Need-to-know anatomy

The lungs, two spongy organs located in the chest cavity (also called the pleural cavity), are where the body absorbs the oxygen gas needed to help fuel the body and gets rid of waste carbon dioxide gas. The lungs are not symmetrical; the right lung has three lobes, while the left has two (the heart takes up room on the left side).

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The trachea, commonly called the windpipe, channels air into the lungs. The trachea diverges into tubes called bronchi (where most lung cancers start), and, like branches on a tree, those in turn split into smaller tubes known as bronchioles. The alveoli are the air sacs that sit on the end of the bronchioles, and it's there that the actual exchange of gases takes place. The lining of the lungs is called the pleura.