why could we breath air; BUT not water?

Question

i mean why cant we?????LOL

Answer 1

Because our lungs are designed for air. Water is too dense and would tear up the tiny air sacs in our lungs.

MM

Answer 2

you really want to know?

well don't try this at home kids!

in principal we could breathe water, just like air.
it wouldn't be good for our lungs, true, nor would it be good for our musculature, but it could, in principal be done.

no, the reasons we drown are the following:
1) the disloved oxygen content of the water is too low, not enough can diffuse across the membrane.
2) if one could create a solution with a sufficiently high disolved oxygen content, and the pressure and temperature required did not effect the human involved, one could theoretically survive in that mixture.
we are herein assuming that the sample of water is otherwise pure right?
ok so one would, in that case, eventually die of dehydration because there would be a higher percentage of water inside your body than outside.

now then:
why do fish drown in air?
well, they wouldn't, but their gills sorta don't do so well.
ever tossed a book into a pool?
hmm not recomended, unless its waterproof.
at any rate while the book is under the water, one can turn the pages easily, however, when it is removed, the pages of the book stick togather and cannot be easily turned.
now then, a fish's gills are like that book, they work well under water, the flaps move easily, but when they're outside of the water... they sorta stick togather. that is why a fish drowns outside of water. not because of the oxygen or CO2 content of the air. theoretically, it could breathe, if it had enough surface area on its gills exposed to the air.

Answer 3

Because we have evolved to be accustomed in breath air than water. Also for fishes, their gills give them an opening to take out water that is put in from the mouth. Are physiology is not like this as we use the same opening to enter and exit.

Answer 4

THe reason we cannot breath water is that there is not enough oxygen dissolved in it. But for some types of deep diving water that is hyper-saturated with O2 is breathed in. Weird isn't it. You'd think we drown but we don't.

Answer 5

Becasue fish have gills so they can breath in water...Humans don't so they breathe in air. If we get water in your lungs they just don't work. It's just the way God made us.

Answer 6

there is O2 in water but fish have gills they suck in water an let it pass through them in these gills are capilaries that seperate the O2 from the water thus leting them breath but a human needs much more O2 to sustain the cardiovascular and muscle systems, plus we dont have the "equipment" or gills to let us "filter" the water.

Answer 7

I saw some science program where people could breathe in some liquid? I don't know if that's true though but it was on a documentary.

Answer 8

we have lungs not gills.. fish have small lungs which enables them to take oxygen from the water like a filter we do not have gills which filter air from water

Answer 9

we have lungs that are made for air and fish have gills that are made for water that has oxygen in it and the gills remove this oxygen for the fish

Answer 10

why cant we drink air and breathe water? same question you're asking buddy. it just is. why arent cats called dogs and dogs called cats?