Exchange Surfaces Flashcards
What are alveoli
Small air sacs in the lungs.
What’s the breathing rate
The number of breaths per minute.
What are the bronchi
Airways in the lungs that lead from the trachea to the bronchioles.
What are bronchioles
Airways in the lungs that lead from the bronchi to the alveoli.
What is cartilage
A flexible, slightly elastic connective tissue.
What is the ciliated epithelium
Tissue containing goblet cells and cells that have cilia on their cell surface.
What is countercurrent flow
Where two fluids flow in opposite directions
What is the diaphragm
A sheet of muscular and fibrous tissue separating the chest cavity from the abdominal cavity. Plays an important role in ventilation.
What are elastic fibres
Long fibres of the protein elastin that have the ability to stretch and recoil.
What is gas exchange
The movement of gases by diffusion across a barrier such as the alveolar wall.
What is a gill
Site of gas exchange in a fish
What are goblet cells
Mucus-secreting cells in ciliated epithelial tissue.
What are intercostal muscles
Muscles between the ribs, responsible for moving the rib cage during breathing. External muscles contract during inspiration and internal muscles contract during forced expiration.
What are macrophages
Large, phagocytic, white blood cells that engulf, ingest and destroy bacteria.
What is mucus
A slimy substance secreted by goblet cells in animal epithelial tissues. It is made up mostly of glycoproteins (proteins bonded to carbohydrates) and is used to protect and/or lubricate the surface on to which it is secreted.
What’s an operculum
A bony flap that covers and protects the gills.
What is residual volume
The volume of air that cannot be expelled from the lungs, no matter how hard you exhale.
What are smooth muscles
A type of muscle (involuntary muscle) found mostly in certain internal organs.
What’s a spiracle
External opening or pore that allows air into and out of the trachaea in
insects
What’s a spirometer
Apparatus that measures air movement into and out of the lungs.
What are squamous epithelial cells
A type of thin, flat cell found in layers or sheets covering surfaces such as skin and the linings of the blood vessels.
What’s a surfactant
A chemical that can reduce the surface tension of a film of water and is found in the alveoli.
What is tidal volume
The volume of air taken in and given out at each breath when a person is breathing regularly.
What’s a tissue
A group of cells, with a common origin and similar structures, which perform a particular function.
