![cover image](https://wikiwandv2-19431.kxcdn.com/_next/image?url=https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Porcellio_laevis_female_pleopoda.jpg/640px-Porcellio_laevis_female_pleopoda.jpg&w=640&q=50)
Pleopodal lungs
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Pleopodal lungs are an anatomical feature of terrestrial isopods and a component of their respiratory system. They are ancestrally derived from pleopodal gills, and they facilitate gas exchange on land. They perform a similar function as spiracles do in insects.[1][2]
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/a/ab/Porcellio_laevis_female_pleopoda.jpg/640px-Porcellio_laevis_female_pleopoda.jpg)
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/dc/Armadillidium_vulgare_%E2%80%93_pleon%2C_pleopodal_lungs.png/640px-Armadillidium_vulgare_%E2%80%93_pleon%2C_pleopodal_lungs.png)
en endopodite
ep epimeron
ex exopodite
lg pleopodal lung
pp pleopod
pr protopodite
pt pleotelson
ur uropod
![Thumb image](http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/c/c9/FMIB_47699_Structure_of_the_Breathing_Organs_of_Porcellio_scaber.jpg/640px-FMIB_47699_Structure_of_the_Breathing_Organs_of_Porcellio_scaber.jpg)
Pleopodal lungs are identifiable on woodlice as white patches on the lower 5 segments (the pleon) on the ventral side (underside). The number of pleopodal lungs vary by species – they may have up to five pairs, or only two pairs as in Porcellio laevis; a minority of species lack pleopodal lungs entirely.[1]