Posted by For my STEAM project I sewed models of human lungs. One healthy model and one of lungs damaged by smoking. The healthy pair of lungs is made of a soft felt, mimicking the ease at which healthy lungs move in the body. They are also larger and more regular in shape. This is due to the structural health and stability of them. I also gave them the pattern of red blood vessels to demonstrate the well oxygenated healthy blood they would circulate. With the unhealthy lungs I made them of a rougher felt to demonstrate the elastin damage. I also made them small, misshapen, and a darker color to demonstrate to tissue breakdown the comes from an over breakdown of the tissue. Lastly, I patterned the blood vessels with black threat to show the under oxygenated unhealthy blood that the damaged lungs produce.
My STEAM partner was Tanner Purdy, and her STEAM project was about smoking damage to lung tissue. The information covered the types of tissue found in the lungs including: epithelium, connective tissue, blood, cuboidal, and loose connective tissue. Each tissue plays an integral role to the lung’s structure and function. Often the tissues will interact as told as the lung layers having “cuboidal tissue supported by loose connective tissue”. The tissues will support other parts of the lungs like the alveolar ducts. Alveoli is found inside the ducts and they help the blood exchange. Blood is important to the upkeep to this organ, so it all ties together.
It is described that if a person smokes, then there is substantial damage to the lungs. Specifically, smoking will target the elastin in the lungs which causes great damage. Elastin is required to contract and expand the lungs so smoking makes it harder to breath. It may also be the reason for causing the lungs to have a physical, sickly appearance. The alveoli as mentioned before is destroyed which reduces the oxygen supply. This affects the lungs as well as the whole body. Tanner’s project consisted of an art project of two felt lungs, one healthy and one damaged from smoking. The healthy lung is portrayed with a soft felt and being bigger than the damaged pair. There are healthy red blood vessels in the lungs. For the damaged lungs, rougher felt is used to portray injury to the elastin. The blood vessels are black which show under oxygenated blood being used. Smoking can ruin any otherwise healthy lungs.
All information found from Tissue Damage of a Smoker by Tanner Purdy.