Lung Cancer: The Basics

Christopher Dolinsky, MD and Christine Hill-Kayser, MD Affiliation: The University of Pennsylvania Medical School Last Modified: February 27, 2008What are the lungs?The lungs are two spongy organs found in the chest. They are responsible for delivering oxygen to the bloodstream. When you take a breath in, air moves into the lungs causing them to expand. The air can then come very close to blood that is traveling in small vessels called capillaries. When you breathe out, you exhale substances that you don't need like carbon dioxide. The lungs are...

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Breast Cancer: The Basics

Christopher Dolinsky, MD and Christine Hill-Kayser, MD Affiliation: Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania Last Modified: January 18, 2011What is the breast?The breast is a collection of glands and fatty tissue that lies between the skin and the chest wall. The glands inside the breast produce milk after a woman has a baby. Each gland is also called a lobule, and many lobules make up a lobe. There are 15 to 20 lobes in each breast. The milk gets to the nipple from the glands by way of tubes called ducts. The glands and ducts get...

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Anal Cancer: The Basics

Christine Hill-Kayser, MD Updated by Lara Bonner Millar, MD Affiliation: The Abramson Cancer Center of the University of Pennsylvania Last Modified: January 23, 2012What is the anus?The anus is an organ that lies at the end of the digestive tract below the rectum. It consists of two sections: the anal canal and the anus (or anal verge). The anal canal is a 3-4 cm long structure that lies between the anal sphincter (one of the muscles controlling bowel movements) just below the rectum and the anal verge which represents the transition point between...

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