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A member asked:
How do the lungs physically remove "bad stuff" like tar, or any particles or bad things that got in there? or do they remain in the lungs forever?
A doctor has provided 1 answer
A few ways: the cells that line your airways have cilia on them - basically little hair-like structures that sweep things out of your airway. Anything that makes it all the way down to into the alveoli will either deposit there or will be taken up by special cells that digest the material and transport it to other organs that can get rid of it.
Answered 8/6/2015
2.4k views
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