The smallest branches of the airways in the lungs, located at the end of the bronchioles and connecting to the air sacs where gas exchange happens.
From bronchi- (bronchus, the main airway) + -ole (diminutive suffix meaning small). The -ole ending indicates these are smaller versions of the larger bronchi.
Your bronchioles are where your lungs finally stop branching like a tree—they're the tiny twigs that connect to the leaves (alveoli) where oxygen actually gets into your blood!
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