Gas Exchange💨 Flashcards
What is the respiratory membrane?
The surface which respiratory gases diffuse
What is diffusion?
The movement of a gas from an area of high concentration to an area of low concentration down a concentration gradient
What is oxyhaemoglobin?
Formation of haemoglobin-oxygen complex
The type of respiration which is just an in and out mechanism.
Pulmonary ventilation
What is external respiration?
Exchange of gases between the lungs and the capillaries
What is internal respiration?
Exchange of gases between the blood and the tissue cells
What is cellular respiration?
The production of ATP which uses oxygen and gives off CO2
What are some factors which affect breathing?
Alveolar surface tension, lung compliance and airway resistance
What does FICKS law describe?
How the rate of diffusion of a substance is proportional to the concentration gradient across a space
What does Dalton’s law state?
That the total pressure exerted in a mixture of gases is equal to the sum of the partial pressures of each individual gas
What happens during inspiration?
Nerve impulses are sent from the respiratory centres to the skeletal muscle fibres of the diaphragm and external intercostal muscles which then contract
What happens during expiration?
The nerve impulses switch off and the diaphragm and external intercostal muscles relax
What is the function of chemoreceptors?
Detect changes in chemical composition of the environment
What is the function of central chemoreceptors?
Detecting changes in carbon dioxide and PH levels in the blood
What is the function of the peripheral chemoreceptors?
Detecting changes in blood chemistry (oxygen, carbon dioxide and PH levels)
