Gas exchange Flashcards

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1
Q

How are the airways kept clean?

A
  • Goblet cells produce mucus
  • Mucus traps the dirt/bacteria
  • Cilia (cells with hairlike structures) waft the ladened mucus up to the mouth where it is swallowed and destroyed by HCl in the stomach
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2
Q

What is ventilation?

A

Movement of air into and out of the lungs

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3
Q

Describe the process of breathing in (inhalation)

A
  • External intercostal muscles contract
  • Ribs move up and out
  • Diaphragm contracts and flattens
  • Volume inside thorax increases
  • Pressure decreases
  • Air is sucked into the lungs
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4
Q

Describe the process of breathing out

A
  • Internal intercostal muscles contract
  • Ribs move down and in
  • Diaphragm relaxes and become dome shaped
  • Volume inside thorax decreases
  • Pressure increases
  • Air is forced out of the lungs
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5
Q

Compare inhaled and exhaled air

A

Inhaled air contains more oxygen and less carbon dioxide than exhaled air

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6
Q

How are the alveoli adapted for gas exchange?

A
  • Large surface area
  • Good blood supply
  • Thin walls - short diffusion pathway
  • Moist - dissolve gases
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7
Q

Describe the effects of smoking on the body

A
  • Cilia are paralysed - build up of mucus - smoker’s cough - infection - bronchitis
  • Smoke damages alveolar walls - walls break down - decreased surface area for gas exchange -
    emphysema
  • Carcinogens - tumour growth - lung cancer
  • Carbon monoxide combines irreversibly with haemoglobin in red blood cells -
    Carboxyhaemoglobin - less oxygen transported
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