how does our lungs clean themselves from small things that get in them like dust?
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Our lungs have tiny hair-like structures called cilia and sticky stuff called mucus that help keep them clean. When we breathe in, some particles like dust can enter our lungs. The cilia move in a sweeping motion to push the particles along with the mucus out of our lungs. It’s like a cleaning crew inside our lungs that gets rid of the stuff that shouldn’t be there. We might cough or swallow to remove the mucus and the particles from our bodies. So, our lungs have their own special way of cleaning themselves to stay healthy.
Despite what most comments are saying, the predominant method of removing inhaled particulate matter/dust from the lungs is actually via lung macrophages, not mucocilliary clearance. Macrophages are modified white blood cells that are like large garbage cans for the body – they intake foreign material and store it there. In smokers and individuals that live urban centers/areas of high air pollution, the macrophages appear black on microscopy. This is due to anthrocotic pigment within the macrophage. You can see an image of it in the wiki link below.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Alveolar_macrophage
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/langlo/article/PIIS2214-109X(18)30158-X/fulltext
https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/24058272/#:~:text=Lung%20macrophages%20play%20a%20critically,particulate%20matter%20from%20the%20lung.
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