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Respiratory System
The breath-exchange system, drawing life-giving oxygen into blood and expelling carbon dioxide.
Overview
The lungs contain approximately 300 million alveoli providing 70 square metres of gas-exchange surface, roughly the area of a tennis court. The average adult takes 12-20 breaths per minute, circulating 8 litres of air. The diaphragm, the primary breathing muscle, contracts 20,000 times per day.
Components
In Scripture
The divine breath, animating life force breathed directly by God
Neshamah is first used in Genesis 2:7 when God breathes into Adam's nostrils, making him "a living being." This act distinguishes humans from all other creatures: they become personal through direct divine breath. The Greek pneuma (breath/spirit/wind) carries this heritage forward. John 20:22, where Jesus breathes on the disciples saying "Receive the Holy Spirit," is a deliberate echo of Genesis 2:7.
"Then the LORD God formed man from the dust of the ground and breathed the breath of life into his nostrils, and the man became a living being."
Genesis 2:7 (BSB)"I will cause breath to enter you, and you will come to life."
Ezekiel 37:5 (BSB)"When He had said this, He breathed on them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit.""
John 20:22 (BSB)Conditions & Pathologies