Book lung - Your Art History Reference Guide!

ArtHistoryClub Information Site on Book lung Art History Art History Search        Art History Browse             News        Gallery        Forums        Articles        Weblinks        welcome to our free resource site for all art history lovers!

Book lung

A book lung is a rudimentary type of lung found in arachnids, such as scorpions and spiders; horseshoe crabs also possess book lungs. They are not evolutionarily related to mammalian lungs. Their name describes their structure, as they are "folded" like a book.

The unfolded "pages" (the plates) of the book lung are filled with hemolymph (the arthropod blood). The unfolding maximizes the surface exposed to air, and thereby the chances of gas exchange with the environment. In most species, no motion of the plates is required to facilitate this kind of breathing.

Last updated: 08-21-2005 00:04:28
Last updated: 01-04-2007 01:18:57
The contents of this article are licensed from Wikipedia.org under the
GNU Free Documentation License. See original document.
Art History Search | Art History Browse | Contact | Legal info