B3.1 Gas exchange Flashcards
Gas exchange
Exchange of respiratory gases between the cells and the environment
Concentration gradient
Difference in concentration of a substance between one area and another
lntercostal muscles
Muscles between ribs involved in ventilation
Thorax (Mammals / Insect)
Mammals : upper part of the body separated from abdomen
Insects : region between head and abdomen
Diaphragm
Sheet of tissues, largely muscle, separating thorax from abdomen in mammals
Pleural membrane
Lines lungs and thorax cavity, secretes pleural fluid
Trachea
Windpipe
Bronchus (plural, bronchi)
Tube connecting trachea with lungs
Bronchiole
Small terminal branch of a bronchus
Alveolus (plural, alveoli)
Air sac in the lung
Tidal volume
Volume of air exchanged in each respiratory cycle
lnspiratory reserve
Difference between maximum inspiratory level and tidal volume
Expiratory reserve
Difference between maximum expiratory level and tidal volume
Vital capacity (VC)
Total volume of air exhaled after maximal inhilation
Ventilation rate
Number of inhalations per minute
Partial pressure
Pressure of specific gas in mixture of gases
Oxygen dissociation curve
Graph of percentage saturation of haemoglobin against concentration of available oxygen
Cooperative binding
Process where addition of substance to subunit of a macromolecule increases affinity of neighboring subunit for the same substance
Allosteric protein
Protein that can exist in different conformations depeniding on the binding of a molecule at the allosteric site
Bohr effect
Decrease of oxygen affinity of haemoglobin in response to decreased blood pH resulting from increased CO2 concentration in blood
