Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
Definition: ALVEOLI |
ALVEOLIPlural1. Of Alveolus |
| Domain | Definitions |
Aerospace | The terminal air sacs deep within the lungs. The inhaled oxygen diffuses across the thin alveolar membranes (the walls of the air sacs) into the blood stream, and at the same time carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood into the alveoli and is exhaled through the lungs. (references) |
Health | Tiny air sacs at the end of the bronchioles in the lungs. (references) |
Mining | The lungs can be thought of as two elastic bags containing millions of little distensible air sacs. These air sacs or alveoli are all connected to the air passages, which branch and rebranch like the twigs of a tree. (references) |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
(From Wikipedia, the free Encyclopedia)
The alveoli (singular: alveolus) are very small porous air sacs found in the lung tissue of certain organisms. The lungs use passive osmotic diffusion which does not require the assistance of ATP-fueled enzyme-based transport. Substances move through the concentration gradient from a higher concentration to a lower concentration. In the alveoli, this means oxygen in the red blood cells will have a lower concentration than in the air. Conversely, carbon dioxide will have a higher concentration in the red blood cells than in the air. This causes the diffusion of oxygen into the blood, binding to haemoglobin protein molecules, and the diffusion of carbon dioxide through to the alveoli to be expelled into the air. Although carbon dioxide and oxygen are the main molecules exchanged, water vapour is also found to be excreted through the lungs.
One of the dangers of this process is that molecules with a high affinity for haemoglobin, such as carbon monoxide, may also bind to red blood cells. Carbon monoxide will readily diffuse past the alveoli in the lungs and into the blood cells. This means that if the concentration of carbon monoxide is high enough, oxygen deprivation will occur. The lungs contain millions of alveoli, each wrapped carefully in a network of capillaries. Often, the lungs and their alveoli are the first line of defence against airborne bacteria. There are many defences employed to protect the lungs, including small hairs in the breathing passages, mucus lining in the lungs, and coughing and sneezing to dislodge mucus contaminated with dust particles or micro-organisms.
Pneumonia is an infection of the alveoli, which can be caused by both viruses and bacteria. Toxins and fluids are released from the virus causing the effective surface area of the lungs to be greatly reduced. If this happens to such a degree that the patient cannot draw enough oxygen from his environment, then he may need supplemental oxygen.
In asthma, the bronchioles, or the "bottle-necks" into the sac are restricted causing the amount of air flow into the lungs to be greatly reduced. It can be triggered by irritants in the air, photochemical smog for example, as well as substances that a person is allergic to.
Emphysema is another disease of the lungs, whereby the delicate lining of the alveoli is broken down, greatly reducing the effective surface area for diffusion. The gradual loss of the lungs' ability to draw oxygen into the blood deprives organs of oxygen. The heart attempts to pump more blood through the body in order to satisfy the body's need for oxygen, which in some cases may cause strain on the heart.
Chronic bronchitis occurs when too much mucus is produced by the lungs. The production of this substance occurs naturally when the lung tissue is exposed to irritants. In chronic bronchitis, the air passages into the alveoli, the broncholiotes, become clogged with mucus. This causes increased coughing in order to remove the mucus, and is often a result of extended periods of exposure to cigarette smoke.
Cystic fibrosis is more a genetic condition caused by the dysfunction of the transmembrane conductance regulator, a transmembrane protein responsible for the transport of chloride ions. This causes huge amounts of mucus to clog the bronchiolites, simular to chronic bronchitis. The result is a persistent cough and reduced lung capacity.
Lung cancer is a common form of cancer causing the uncontrolled growth of cells in the lung tissue. It is often difficult to prevent once started, due to the sensitivity of lung tissue to radiological exposure.
This article is incomplete, and any contributions would be welcome. Improvements in grammar, spelling or factual information presented herein are also welcome.
Source: adapted by the editor from Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia under a copyleft GNU Free Documentation License (GFDL) from the article "Alveoli."
Crosswords: ALVEOLI |
| English words defined with "ALVEOLI": alveolar bed, Alveoliform, alveolitis, atelectasis ♦ bronchiole ♦ hyaline membrane disease ♦ Interalveolar ♦ respiratory distress syndrome, respiratory distress syndrome of the newborn. (references) |
| Specialty definitions using "ALVEOLI": alveolar air, alveolar fraction, alveolar oxygen pressure ♦ Hypoventilation ♦ Macrophages, Alveolar, Milk Ejection ♦ Positive End-Expiratory Pressure, Pulmonary Alveoli, Pulmonary Surfactants ♦ respirable fraction ♦ tracheobronchial fraction. (references) |
| Domain | Title |
Books | |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |
| Thumbnail | Description & Credit |  | An alveolar duct is seen in the center. The alveoli are poorly developed and have markedly thickened walls. Macrophages are present in the alveolar spaces; H&E stain; magnification 100X.Credit: CDC. |
Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. | |||
| Subject | Topic | Quote |
Health | Alveolitis - Inflammation of the alveoli. (references) | |
Inhaled air travels through the air ways to the alveoli. (references) | ||
The cells that line the alveoli are called epithelial cells. (references) | ||
Source: compiled by the editor from ICON Group International, Inc.; see credits. | ||
| "ALVEOLI" is generally used as a noun (singular) -- approximately 85.71% of the time. "ALVEOLI" is used about 14 times out of a sample of 100 million words spoken or written in English. Its rank is based on over 700,000 words used in the English language. Some parts-of-speech are not covered due to the samples used by the British National Corpus. (note: percents less than one-hundredth of one percent have been omitted) |
| Parts of Speech | Percent | Usage per 100 Million Words | Rank in English |
| Noun (singular) | 85.71% | 12 | 101,599 |
| Noun (plural) | 14.29% | 2 | 245,945 |
| Total | 100.00% | 14 | N/A |
Source: compiled by the editor from several corpora; see credits.
Expression using "ALVEOLI": Pulmonary Alveoli. Additional references. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. |
| Language | Translations for "ALVEOLI"; alternative meanings/domain in parentheses. | ||||||||||||||||
Chinese | 小窝 (Alveolus). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Danish | efter indaanding foeres stoevpartikler af frie makrofager fra alveolerne til fimreepitelet og elimineres gennem den oevre luftvej i oesophagus(spiseroeret)ell.expectoreres(ophostes) (after inhalation the dust particles are carried by free macrophages from the alveoli to the ciliated epithelium and are eliminated or expectorated into the oesophagus via the upper air passages). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Dutch | de stofdeeltjes worden na opname door vrije macrofagen uit de longblaasjes (alveoli) op het trilhaarepitheel gebracht en via de bovenste ademhalingswegen in de slokdarm (oesophagus) geëlimineerd of opgehoest (after inhalation the dust particles are carried by free macrophages from the alveoli to the ciliated epithelium and are eliminated or expectorated into the oesophagus via the upper air passages). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
French | après inhalation les particules sont amenées par des macrophages libres des alvéoles l'épithélium cilié et elles sont éliminées ou expectorées dans l'oesophage par les voies respiratoires supérieures (after inhalation the dust particles are carried by free macrophages from the alveoli to the ciliated epithelium and are eliminated or expectorated into the oesophagus via the upper air passages), alvéoles pulmonaires (pulmonary alveoli). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
German | Alveoli pulmonis (pulmonary alveoli), Alveoli pulmonales (pulmonary alveoli), Lungenbläschen (air sac, alveolus, pulmonary alveoli), die Staubteilchen werden nach Aufnahme durch freie Makrophagen aus den Alveolen auf das Flimmerepithel gebracht und ueber die oberen Luftwege in den Oesophagus eliminiert oder expektoriert (after inhalation the dust particles are carried by free macrophages from the alveoli to the ciliated epithelium and are eliminated or expectorated into the oesophagus via the upper air passages). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Greek | πνευμονικές κυψελίδες. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Italian | dopo inalazione le particelle vengono portate dagli alveoli all'epitelio ciliato per mezzo di macrofagi liberi ed eliminate o espettorate nell'esofago attraverso levie respiratorie superiori (after inhalation the dust particles are carried by free macrophages from the alveoli to the ciliated epithelium and are eliminated or expectorated into the oesophagus via the upper air passages). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Korean | 치조 (Alveolus). (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Pig Latin | alveoliay após inalação,as partículas são trazidas por macrófagos livres dos alvéolos para o epitélio ciliado e são eliminadas ou expectoradas no esófago pelas vias respiratórias superiores (after inhalation the dust particles are carried by free macrophages from the alveoli to the ciliated epithelium and are eliminated or expectorated into the oesophagus via the upper air passages). (various references) alveolos pulmonares. (various references) | ||||||||||||||||
Misspellings | |
"ALVEOLI" is suggested in spellcheckers for the following: albeola, Alberola, Almelo, alveola, alveolata, alveoloi, Alverley, alvioli, alvoli, aveoli, avioli, Calveley, Elvaloy, Malvolti. (additional references) | |
| Source: compiled by the editor, based on several corpora (additional references). | |
| # of Phoneme Matches | Pronunciation | Word(s) rhyming with "ALVEOLI" (pronounced alvē"ulī') |
| 3 | -u l ī' | alkali, stimuli. |
Source: compiled by the editor (additional references); see credits. | ||
Scrabble® Enable2K-Verified Anagrams | |
| Words within the letters "a-e-i-l-l-o-v" | |
-1 letter: villae. | |
-2 letters: alive, ileal, laevo, olive, villa, viola, voila, voile. | |
-3 letters: aloe, evil, ilea, lave, leal, leva, levo, live, love, olea, olla, oval, vail, vale, veal, veil, vela, vial, vile, vill, viol, vole. | |
-4 letters: ail, ale, all, ave, avo, ell, ill, lav, lea, lei, lev, lie, oil, ole, ova, via, vie, voe. | |
-5 letters: ae, ai. | |
| Words containing the letters "a-e-i-l-l-o-v" | |
+1 letter: violable, volatile. | |
+2 letters: volatiles. | |
+3 letters: alleviator, insolvable, inviolable, labiovelar, volatilise, volatilize, vorticella. | |
+4 letters: alleviation, alleviators, colligative, dissolvable, equivocally, inviolately, labiovelars, nonvolatile, outcavilled, outrivalled, overcalling, overliteral, ultraviolet, vectorially, volatilised, volatilises, volatilized, volatilizes, vorticellae, vorticellas. | |
+5 letters: alleviations, behaviorally, bioavailable, devotionally, irresolvable, levitational, lovabilities, proverbially, slaveholding, ultraviolent, ultraviolets, valpolicella, violableness, volatileness, volatilities. | |
| Source: compiled by the editor from various references; see credits. SCRABBLE® is a registered trademark. All intellectual property rights in and to the game are owned in the U.S.A and Canada by Hasbro Inc., and throughout the rest of the world by J.W. Spear & Sons Limited of Maidenhead, Berkshire, England, a subsidiary of Mattel Inc. Mattel and Spear are not affiliated with Hasbro. | |
Hexadecimal (or equivalents, 770AD-1900s) (references)41 4C 56 45 4F 4C 49 |
| Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519; backwards) (references)
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| American Sign Language (origins from 1620-1817 in Italy and, especially, France) (references)
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| Semaphore (1791, in France) (references)
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| Braille (1829, in France) (references)
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Morse Code (1836) (references).- .-.. ...- . --- .-.. .. |
| Dancing Men (Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, 1903) (references)
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Binary Code (1918-1938, probably earlier) (references)01000001 01001100 01010110 01000101 01001111 01001100 01001001 |
HTML Code (1990) (references)A L V E O L I |
ISO 10646 (1991-1993) (references)0041 004C 0056 0045 004F 004C 0049 |
| British Sign Language (Fingerspelling, BSL; 1992, British Deaf Association Dictionary of British Sign Language) (references)
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Encryption (beginner's substitution cypher): (references)35465639494643 |
| 1. Definition 2. Crosswords 3. Usage: Commercial 4. Images: Photo Album | 5. Quotations: Non-fiction 6. Usage Frequency 7. Expressions 8. Translations: Modern | 9. Derivations 10. Rhymes 11. Anagrams 12. Orthography | 13. Bibliography |
Copyright © Philip M. Parker, INSEAD. Terms of Use.
