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Glite Dictionary
🫁 A lung air sac 🦷 A tooth socket
alveolus

alveolus

3 8.2
A tiny air sac in the lungs where oxygen enters the blood and carbon dioxide leaves the blood
  • noun
  • /ælˈviːələs/
  • Specialized
: alveolo
  • The alveolus plays a crucial role in the respiratory system by facilitating gas exchange.

Well, your alveoli have a tendency to collapse.

Examples

  • Each alveolus is surrounded by tiny capillaries that help transport oxygen into the bloodstream.

  • Scarring of the spaces between the alveoli causes the stiffness.

  • Well, your alveoli have a tendency to collapse.

    Andrew Huberman

  • This blood absorbs oxygen from the inflated alveoli and leaves behind carbon dioxide.

  • Organisms contained in droplet nuclei land in the alveoli, which are the n-terminal sacs of the lungs.

  • Oxygen from the air travels through the thin walls of the alveolus and into the surrounding blood vessels.

Synonyms

air sac
vsalveolus
  • Specialized
1 4.0

A thin sac in birds and some other animals that holds air and helps them breathe

is specialized for direct oxygen and carbon dioxide exchange in lungs
air cell
vsalveolus
  • Specialized
1 5.3

A small pocket in the lungs where air moves into the blood

focuses on gas exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide rather than just holding air

Surface Forms

alveolus singular
alveoli plural

Etymology

Alveolus comes from the Latin alveus, which means 'hollow' or 'trough', so it originally meant a 'small hollow'. Think of each lung alveolus as a tiny hollow where air meets blood, which is why the word names the little air sacs that help breathing.