# Is lung an organ or a muscle?



## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

I am just wondering because I am hoping that I can feed the whole thing to my girls.


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

It's an organ.


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

I have read that it can be a muscle as well, I just don't know. Thank you for your input.


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## Questdriven (Nov 25, 2009)

If it secretes it's an organ. I believe lung secretes. I hear all the air pockets can cause gas, though, so watch out.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

You'll hear it can be both depending on who you speak with - personally, I feed it like muscle (Loki isn't a huge fan so it's not something we have in the house often anyway)


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## lil_fuzzy (Aug 16, 2010)

No idea how they classify it as a muscle. There is no muscle tissue in lungs, they can't move on their own. They only move because the ribcage around them moves.


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## Loki Love (May 23, 2010)

Lung is an organ, technically speaking but on a nutritional level some don't consider them organ meat because they aren't terribly nutrient dense compared to some of the other organ meats when feeding PMR. Lungs are not something most would consider essential and wouldn't take the place of say liver or kidney.


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## HerdersForMe (Jul 26, 2011)

Like others have said, the lungs are an organ. There's no muscular fibers in the lungs and they cannot move on their own. The muscle that inflates/deflates them is the diaphragm.


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

I also read that it is classified as an organ but can be fed as a very rich muscle meat.


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## abi88 (Jul 2, 2008)

Sarayu14 said:


> I also read that it is classified as an organ but can be fed as a very rich muscle meat.



That is what I have always heard...although if we ever get lucky enough to get any I will be dehydrating them for treats, and MIGHT feed a little!!! :wink:


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## Sarayu14 (Apr 26, 2010)

That sounds like a great idea abi I just wish that I had thought of that before, oh well 20/20 hindsight and all.


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## Kathyy (Jun 15, 2008)

I would love to try dehydrating lung, the commercial stuff is so expensive! Lung is a lot like heart, rich in iron and low in fat but also has lots of vitamin C and potassium. I don't really care so much whether a cut is muscle or organ, more about what it provides.


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## Mr. V (Jan 28, 2010)

In the context of this discussion this is pretty trivial, but, it's interesting to know...

The lungs, like many organs, do contain muscle. Specifically, the lungs are made of bronchi and bronchioles (that mostly are just pathways for air) and alveoli (sacs where gas exchange occurs from lungs to blood). The bronchioles are lined with smooth muscle. This is different from the skeletal muscle that you commonly think of in your arms or the cardiac muscle that makes up the heart. The smooth muscle in the walls of the bronchioles is very sensitive to the concentration of carbon dioxide. A rising level of CO2 causes the bronchioles to dilate. This lowers the resistance in the airways and thus increases the flow of air in and out. There's a lot more going on in there than you think!

You can find smooth muscle most anywhere in the walls of blood vessels, intestines, or most any other tubular type structure in the body.

Obviously this is a small amount and would never be considered as good a source of muscle as heart or skeletal muscle.


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## KuroSaya (Jun 3, 2011)

Nice thread with good info. I've gotten beef lung from hare today and Saya loved it. I fed it as a meal I didn't count it as Saya's other organ though just as something extra to give. 

Saya ate 6oz of it once did fine. thought it's probably rich so take a bit to get used to..

Saya enjoyed it and the lung was nice and chewy.


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