Topic 2 Flashcards
Features of Lungs - Gas exchange
Alveoli - Large SA:Vol ratio
Many capillaries - Steep concentration gradient
Constant ventilation - Steep concentration gradient
One-cell-thick walls - Low diffusion barriers
Properties of gas exchange surfaces
High surface area - High SA, Higher diffusion rate (NOT “faster” - More efficient)
Steep Conc. Gradient - Greater Conc. gradient, Faster diffusion
Gas exchange surface - Thicker gas exchange surface, Slower diffusion
Fick’s Law
Rate of diffusion is proportional to (Surface area x Difference in concentration) divided by Thickness of gas exchange surface
Cell Membrane Structure
Phospholipid bilayer - Hydrophilic phosphate head: pointing outwards - Hydrophobic lipid tails: pointing inwards
Fluid mosaic model - Contains proteins/cholesterol/glycoproteins/glycolipids - Channel proteins/Carrier proteins
Fluidity of Cell Membrane
More unsaturated lipid tails, More fluidity of membrane - Kinked lipid tails - Close packing prevented - More cholesterol, Less fluid
Evidence for fluid mosaic model
Phosphate heads darker than lipid tails - peripheral proteins easily dissociated - integral proteins not easily dissociated - Freeze-fracture studies - mouse/human membrane proteins intermixed
Osmosis
“NET” - “PASSIVE” - movement of WATER - partially permeable membrane - DOWN water potential gradient - until solution is “isotonic”
Diffusion:
“NET” - “PASSIVE” - No ATP - movement of molecules/ions - DOWN the conc. gradient - from high to low concentration
Facilitated Diffusion:
Net, “PASSIVE” movement of molecules/ions - through a membrane protein (Carrier/Channel protein) - DOWN the conc. Gradient - from high to low concentration
Active transport
Movement of molecules/ions - AGAINST the concentration gradient - Low to High conc. - Carrier protein needed - ATP hydrolysed for energy - to change shape of protein
Exocytosis
Bulk transport of substances - Out of cell - Secretory vesicle - Fuses with membrane
Endocytosis
Bulk transport of substances - Into cell - Vesicle formed from cell membrane
Channel Proteins:
Specific shape - Can be open/closed depending on presence/absence of a signal - signal can be hormonal - signal can be a change in voltage: “GATED channel”
Carrier Proteins:
Ion/Molecule binds to specific site on the protein - protein shape changes - ion/molecule crosses membrane
DNA Nucleotide
Description
Phosphate group - Deoxyribose sugar (5C)- Organic base (Adenine/Thymine/Cytosine/Guanine) - Linked by condensation reaction - Nucleotides join together by phosphodiester bonds
RNA Nucleotide
Ribose sugar (5C) - Phosphate group - Organic base (Adenine/URACIL/Cytosine/Guanine) - Linked by condensation reaction - Nucleotides join by phosphodiester bonds
DNA
Deoxyribonucleic acid - Double Helix - Sugar-phosphate backbone - Bases held together by H-Bonds - Double stranded - Polynucleotide strands are antiparallel
RNA
Ribonucleic acid - Single stranded - Can fold back on itself
Adenine - Thymine Bond
2 Hydrogen
Cytosine - Guanine Bond
3 Hydrogen