Inflatable Swine Lungs

The inflatable lungs demonstration uses pig lungs salvaged at a meat processing plant. Unless otherwise noted, anatomical and physiological information concerning pig lungs also holds true for human lungs. It should be noted that the lungs are flaccid organs. They are not muscular and cannot, under normal conditions in the living animal, be inflated to an internal pressure greater than the pressure of the air that surrounds the body.

The inflatable pig lungs in your kit preserved in an aqueous solution of 25% propylene glycol and have been tinted with a nontoxic red dye. Because the special preservation process ensures that the specimens contain insufficient available water for the growth of bacteria and fungi, the lungs can be used repeatedly if they are properly cared for. Do not wash the lungs with water. They should be returned to their storage container when not in use. The residual humectant fluid in the bag may be pink in color due to leaching of dye from the lungs.