• Question: What would happen if you only had one lung?

    Asked by conraddrgenisi to Audra on 12 Mar 2012. This question was also asked by connorcharlotte, data, cameron13.
    • Photo: Audra Benjamin

      Audra Benjamin answered on 12 Mar 2012:

      You can live a full life with one lung, as long as it is healthy. The lung is made up of lobes, three on the right and two on the left and surgeons will aim to remove lobes instead of a whole lung if possible but sometimes they have to remove a whole lung.

      You don’t use all your lung capacity and physical training can increase your body’s efficiency of using oxygen in the air. So, if your remaining lung is healthy and you are able to exercise, your life wouldn’t be shortened by having one lung.

      Some interesting lung facts: when you are resting, if you weighed about 70kg the lung volume you are using is about 500ml but you can inhale up to 3L and exhale up to 1.5L. Amazing isn’t it!

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