Film title: Follow a human breath

Take a moment to feel what happens to your body when you breathe in, or inhale, air.

Inhale

When we inhale our lungs grow bigger.

lungs

This makes air enter our nose and mouth and flow down the windpipe, or trachea, to fill up our lungs.

trachea

The air travels through small tubes called bronchioles...

bronchioles

… and into tiny pockets called air sacs.

air sacs

Air is a mix of different gases, but there is one that's essential to keep our bodies working.

That's oxygen.

oxygen

In the air sacs, oxygen moves from the air into our bloodstream and is circulated all around the body.

At the same time as oxygen enters our bloodstream, another gas, called carbon dioxide, exits.

carbon dioxide

Carbon dioxide is produced when we turn food into energy in our body's cells.

We don't need carbon dioxide.

It's a waste product we breathe out, or exhale.

Exhale

Carbon dioxide passes from our bloodstream into the air in our lungs.

Our lungs become smaller, and the air inside them is forced out through our nose and mouth.

So when you inhale, you breathe in essential oxygen, and when you exhale, you breathe out waste carbon dioxide.

lungs
bronchioles
oxygen
carbon dioxide

Follow the journey of a human breath.

Learning points

• As we inhale, air travels down the trachea to the lungs.
• Oxygen in the lungs passes through bronchioles and air sacs into the blood.
• Exhalation releases carbon dioxide from the body.

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