The [blank_start]alveoli[blank_end] are tiny air sacs in the lungs surrounded by tiny blood vessels called capillaries. [blank_start]Oxygen[blank_end] passes from the air sacs into the capillaries where it is taken first to the [blank_start]heart[blank_end] and then pumped to all cells in the body. [blank_start]Oxygen[blank_end] is used by our cells to release energy from food. This is called [blank_start]respiration[blank_end] and produces a waste called [blank_start]carbon dioxide[blank_end]. This is a toxic gas if it builds up in our bodies so it is transported by the blood from the cells back to the heart before finally being pumped to the lungs where it passes back into the [blank_start]alveoli[blank_end] before being [blank_start]exhaled[blank_end].