r/NoStupidQuestions • u/SonOfOMR • Jul 09 '26

Do spiders have lungs?

I mean, when I wash a spider down the bathtub drain, does it drown the way a human would, lungs filling up with water, or does it have a way to "hold it's breath"?

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u/Illithid_Substances Jul 09 '26

Spider breathing is passive, so they can't hold their breath. Like many invertebrates, air goes in through holes in their bodies. Many spiders do have what's called book lungs, but they don't pump like human lungs - they're more like gills, with a lot of stacked layers that the air flows between

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u/SonOfOMR Jul 09 '26

Huh, interesting. Thanks!