Why do some parts of the human body (example: alveoli of lungs, skin, intestines) are said to cover a big area when stretched out, but can also fit inside a small human body?
In: Biology
You’re asking about a lot, so let’s start with the first: the alveoli. Imagine a bunch of grapes. The grapes are the alveoli, with each part of grape skin having the one-celled ability to absorb oxygen and release Carbon dioxide.. The little stems that the grapes are individually connected to are called bronchioles, and they transport the gases. Those lead up to the main stem, which you would hold the bunch of grapes by.
Now: imagine that the bunch of grapes you have in your hand is the size of your thumb.
That’s how the human body works.
If you’re interested, I can go into intestinal villi, which is the same concept as a shag carpet.
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Imagine getting a ball of yarn and stretching it out end to end, it would cover a very large distance compared to its volume when it’s in ball mode.
Those surfaces you mentioned are very very small and are very folded up inside our bodies and the same logic applies, If you were to unfold it and stretch it out it would cover very large distances.
Clench your fist, take a really long ribbon and push it all down into your clenched fist. See how it fits, despite being so long? Because it’s so thin (alveoli etc is even thinner, compared to how long it is a lot of it can fit in a tight space
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