Gas Exchange ORGANISING ANIMALS AND PLANTS Flashcards
What does the diagram do?
Separates the digestive organs from the respiratory organs. It is a strong sheet of muscle.
What is the job of the ventilation system?
To move air in and out of your lungs which provides an efficient surface for gas exchange to take place in the alveoli.
What happens when you breathe in?
Oxygen rich air moves into your lungs. This maintains a steep concentration in the blood. This means that oxygen continually diffuses into your bloodstream through the gas exchange surfaces of your alveoli.
How are the alveoli adapted?
They provide a very large surface area. This is important for achieving the most effective diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide.
They have a rich supply of blood capillaries. This maintains a concentration gradient in both directions. The blood coming into the lungs is always relatively low in oxygen and high in carbon compression to the inhaled air.
What direction does gas exchange take place?
Down the steepest concentration gradient as possible. This makes it rapid and effective.
What does diffusion take place over the shortest possible distance in gas exchange?
The layer of cells between the air in the lungs and the blood in the capillaries is also very thin. This allows diffusion to take place over the shortest possible distance.
