Question

relation between lungs and body size of elephant

Answer 1

African elephants are the largest of all land animals, adult males weighing between 1,800 and 6,300 kg (2 and 7 tons/ 4,000 and 14,000 lb.). Females are smaller, weighing between 2,700 and 3,600 kg (3 and 4 tons/ 6,000 and 8,000 lb.). Shoulder height ranges between three and four m (9.8 and 13.1 ft.).             Most mammals breathe air by expanding their chest, through muscular action. When the chest is expanded, a membrane (visceral pleura) attached to the lungs remains still while another membrane (parietal pleura) attached to the chest wall expands outward. The fluid-filled space between the two membranes is called the pleural cavity which widens during chest expansion. The widened pleural cavity helps create a vacuum-like effect, allowing air to be pulled into the lungs.This process differs in elephants because they do not have a pleural cavity. Their lungs are directly attached to the chest wall and therefore rely on direct muscular action to expand the lungs. This direct muscular control enables underwater breathing with the trunk used as a snorke.

Answer 2

The right lung is around 30% larger than the left lung. The right lung has three lobes, the left lung two lobes, to accommodate the heart on the left side.