Respiratory System: Gas Exchange
Respiratory System: Gas Exchange
Respiratory System: Gas Exchange
Gas exchange
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• gills (aquatic
animals)
• spiracles
(terrestrial insects)
• lungs (most
terrestrial
vertebrates)
Fish Gills
• Fish increase gas
exchange efficiency
using countercurrent
exchange.
1. Alveoli
2. Tracheids
3. Bronchi
4. Esophagus
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• Why are gills so widely seen in aquatic K
animals but not in land animals?
T
• One group of land animals that have gills O
is the Isopods (“pill bugs” and “sow G
bugs”). How can these organisms E
survive on land with gills? T
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Human respiratory system
• Parts of the
respiratory system
include:
• Trachea
• Bronchi
• Bronchioles
• Alveoli
Moving air in and out
• During inspiration
(inhalation), the
diaphragm and
intercostal muscles
contract.
• During exhalation,
these muscles
relax. The
diaphragm domes
upwards.
Alveoli
• The alveoli are
moist, thin-walled
pockets which are
the site of gas
exchange.
• A slightly oily
surfactant prevents
the alveolar walls
from collapsing and
sticking together.
Circulation and Gas Exchange
• Recall the
interconnection
between circulation
and the respiratory
system.
• Gas exchange at
the lungs and in the
body cells moves
oxygen into cells
and carbon dioxide
out.
What happens when you breathe
in?
1. The rib muscles 25% 25% 25% 25%
relax.
2. The diaphragm
contracts.
3. Air leaves the
alveoli.
4. Air moves between
the chest wall and
the lung.
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• How do these
differences in
concentrations assist
gas exchange?
Oxygen transport
• Hemoglobin binds
to oxygen that
diffuses into the
blood stream.
• Some carbon
dioxide can bind to
hemoglobin for
transport.
At the cells
• Cells use up oxygen quickly for cellular
respiration. What does this do to the
diffusion gradient? How does this help
cells take up oxygen?
• Cells create carbon dioxide during
cellular respiration, so CO2 levels in the
cell are higher than in the blood coming
to them. How does this help cells get rid
of oxygen?
Diffusion of O2 from lungs to blood
is rapid because:
1. Active transport 33% 33% 33%
moves oxygen.
2. Hemoglobin takes up
oxygen, keeping
plasma
concentration low.
3. Blood plasma is
oxygen-rich.
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Most of the oxygen in blood is:
25% 25% 25% 25%
1. In the white cells.
2. Bound to
hemoglobin.
3. Combined with
carbon to make
carbon dioxide.
4. Dissolved in the
plasma.
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