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The alveoli are tiny sacs that are found in the lungs, at the end of bronchioles.They are made up of alveolar tissue. There are millions of alveoli found in the adult body. Alveoli are lined by a fluid that is a chemical substance that decreases the surface or interfacial tension between either a liquid and a gas or a liquid and a solid. This is called surfactant. The fluid is able to help keep the shape of the air sac and also keep it open so that oxygen is able to pass through. Additionally, the alveoli are where the lungs and the blood exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. The oxygen inhaled from the air then passes through the alveoli and into our blood. During this process, carbon dioxide then moves from our blood to the lungs and is exhaled. This process is known as gas exchange and is crucial for the human body. The alveoli is essential to the respiratory system and to parts in our body that helps us breathe. The structure of the alveoli is when humans inhale through their nose or mouth and the air then travels down to our windpipe and through airways known as bronchi then to the lungs. Next, the air moves through the alveolar duct and enters a structure of tiny balloon shapes known as alveolus. These oxygen atoms first move through a layer of lung cells in the alveolus. They then move into a layer in the smallest blood vessels in the body which connect the smallest arteries and veins. This is known as capillary. Overall, the alveoli is crucial to the respiratory system which is responsible for air inhaled and exhaled from our body and works to protect where our gas exchange takes place.
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