true or false ?

[Alban]

Hi could anyone correct these statements , there not intended as medical statements just some snippets I picked up. I thought I better find out if there true. I would be interested if anyone else has any ??

There are 300 million Aveoli sacs in each lung

If the aveoli sacs were cut open and laid out they would cover a Tennis court

If the cappilaries surrounding the aveoli were laid out they would stretch 500 miles

If all the arteries veins and cappilaries were laid out they would stretch 50,000 miles

thanks Alban

 

[The Iceni]

Alban once bubbled...
Hi could anyone correct these statements , there not intended as medical statements just some snippets I picked up. I thought I better find out if there true. I would be interested if anyone else has any ??

There are 300 million Aveoli sacs in each lung.

If the aveoli sacs were cut open and laid out they would cover a Tennis court

I believe there are indeed about 700 million alveoli in both lungs. You can work it out, Alban, if you calculate the volume of each alveolus and divide this into total lung volume of about 5 litres and yes, their lining would cover a tennis court;

http://www.innerbody.com/text/card02.html

If the cappilaries surrounding the aveoli were laid out they would stretch 500 miles

If all the arteries veins and cappilaries were laid out they would stretch 50,000 miles

thanks Alban

How long is a piece of string?

Imagine just how much fine cotton could be held in a five litre can? Now imagine how much spider web could be held in a 70 litre container- I guess 50,000 miles would be about right.

 

[Rick Murchison]

We have an affinity for numbers - and exact numbers at that. When contemplating the total length of capillaries, for example, the question that immediately pops into my little pea brain is "whose?"
A Sumo wrestler is likely to have double the capillary mileage of a gymnast a quarter his weight. So the key word missing from your "facts" is "average." And we must temper those numbers with the knowledge that humans are incredibly diverse in size, shape and composition.
Rick

 

[Alban]

thanks Doc's .I am an Instructor at my local club and teach late in the evening , probably not the best time to get someones attention , if I come across interesting snippets I try to include them in the lectures , with these I talk a little about the cardio vascular system then ask them to guess at some of the figures , obviously they are quite supprised and hopefully a little more interested. Unfortunately I probably forget more than I remember.

Thanks once again Alban