mass transport in animals Flashcards
What are the adaptations that exchange surfaces have to increase the rate of diffusion?
- Large surface area
- Thin to produce a short diffusion pathway
- Maintained concentration gradient
How do you calculate the rate of diffusion
(surface area x difference in concentration) / length of diffusion pathway
Describe how the fish gill anatomy creates a large surface area
- There are 4 layers of gills on both sides of the head made up of stacked gill filaments
- Gill filaments are covered in gill lamellae where diffusion occurs
- This creates a large surface area
Describe the adaptations of fish to increase the rate of diffusion
- Large surface area to volume ratio created by many gill filaments covered by many gill lamellae
- Short diffusion distance due to a capillary network in every lamella and very thin gill lamellae
- Maintain concentration gradient due to the countercurrent flow mechanism
Describe the countercurrent mechanism in fish
Water flows over the gills in the opposite direction to the blood flowing in the capillaries
Describe how the countercurrent mechanism in fish is advantageous
- It ensures that equilibrium isn’t reached as the concentration of oxygen in the water is always higher than that in the blood
- Also ensures that a diffusion gradient is maintained across the entire length of the gill lamellae
Describe the anatomy of terrestrial insects
- Have an exoskeleton made of hard fibrous material for protection and a lipid bilayer to prevent water loss
- Don’t have lungs, they have a tracheal system
What are the adaptations of insects that prevent water loss?
- Small surface area to volume ratio where water evaporates from
- Waterproof exoskeleton
- Spiracles where gases enter and water can evaporate from, they can open and close to reduce water loss
What are the components of the tracheal system?
- Spiracles
- Trachea
- Tracheoles
Describe the spiracles in the tracheal system
- Round, valve-like openings on the length of the abdomen
- Oxygen and carbon dioxide can enter/leave via the spircales
- The trachea attaches to the spiracles
Describe the trachea in the tracheal system
- Network of internal tubes
- They have rings within them to strengthen the tubes and keep them open
- They branch into tracheoles
Describe the tracheoles in the tracheal system
- Small tubes deep inside the abdomen
- They extend throughout all tissues to deliver oxygen to respiring cells
List the different methods of moving gases in the tracheal system in insects
- Diffusion
- Mass transport
- Osmosis
Describe how insects use diffusion to move gases in the tracheal system
- Cells respire
- This uses up oxygen and produces carbon dioxide
- Creating a concentration gradient from the tracheoles to the atmosphere
Describe how insects use mass transport to move gases in the tracheal system
Insect contracts and relaxes their abdominal muscles to move gasses on mass
Describe how insects use osmosis to move gases in the tracheal system
- During flight, muscle cells respire anaerobically to produce lactate
- This lowers the water potential of the cell
- Water moves into the cell via osmosis which decreases the volume in the tracheoles so more air from the atmosphere is drawn in
Describe the adaptations of insects that ensure efficient diffusion
- The large surface area due to a large number of fine tracheoles
- Short diffusion pathway because walls of the tracheoles are thin and there is a short distance between spiracles and tracheoles
- Steep diffusion gradient due to the use of oxygen and carbon dioxide
Define breathing
Movement of air into and out of the lungs
Define respiration
Chemical reaction to release energy as ATP
Define gaseous exchange
Diffusion of oxygen from the air in the alveoli into the blood and of carbon dioxide from the blood into the air in the alveoli
What does the contraction of external intercostal muscles lead to
External intercostal muscle → contraction → inspiration
What does the contraction of internal intercostal muscles lead to
Internal intercostal muscle → contraction → expiration
Describe the process of inspiration
- external intercostal muscles: contract to pull the ribs up and out
- internal intercostal muscles: relax
- diaphragm: contracts to move down and flattens
- thoracic cavity pressure: initially drops, as air moves in it rise above atmospheric pressure
- thoracic cavity volume: increases
- movement of air: air moves into the lungs, as the atmospheric pressure is higher than that of the thorax
Describe the process of expiration
- external intercostal muscles: relax
- internal intercostal muscles: contract to pull the rib down and in
- diaphragm: relaxes to move up and down
- thoracic cavity pressure: initially high but decreases as air moves out
- thoracic cavity volume: decreases
- the movement of air: air moves out of the lungs as the pressure in the thorax is higher than that of the atmosphere
What type of process is inspiration
An active process that requires energy from ATP
What type of process is expiration
Passive, doesn’t require energy
Compare inspiration and expiration
- External intercostal muscles contract in inspiration, relax in expiration
- Internal intercostal muscles relax in inspiration, contract in expiration
- Diaphragm contracts in inspiration, relax in expiration
- Air pressure in the lungs decreases in inspiration, increases in expiration
- Lung volume increases in inspiration, decreases in expiration
- In inspiration air moves into the lungs from a high to low pressure, in expiration it moves out of lungs from a high to low pressure
Describe the alveoli
They are air sacs made of a single layer of thin flat cells
Describe the adaptations of the alveoli for efficient diffusion
- There are a lot of alveoli in the lungs which gives a large surface area for exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide
- The alveoli epithelium cells are thin to minimize diffusion distance
- Alveolus is surrounded by a network of capillaries to exchange gasses, maintaining a concentration gradient
Describe the movement of air in the alveoli
- Oxygen from the air moves down the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles and into the alveoli down a pressure gradient
- The oxygen diffuses across the alveolar epithelium and then the capillary endothelium down a diffusion gradient
Why do we need a circulatory system?
Needed because multicellular organisms have a low surface area to volume ratio, so the circulatory system allows raw materials to be carried to body cells from specialised transport systems
What is the function of the heart
Heart pumps blood through blood vessels to reach parts of the body
What is the function of the blood
The blood transport respiratory gases, products of digestion, metabolic waste and hormones around the body
Where does the heart get its blood supply from?
Heart gets its supply from coronary arteries
What are the types of circulatory systems?
- Pulmonary circulation
- Systematic circulation
Describe pulmonary circulation
- Deoxygenated blood in the right side of the heart is pumped to the lungs
- Oxygenated blood returns to the left side of the heart