Aiden Walker

Science
Fish & Human Respiratory
System Essay
October 21, 2008

A respiratory system is a system of organs that in animals provide oxygen to the body. Different

animals have different types of respiratory systems depending on their environments. Two examples

are fish and humans. Fish live in the water and use gills to breath. Humans, on the other hand, live on

land and breath air through their lungs.

A gill is a part of the body found in many aquatic animals. It is a respiration organ whose

function is to remove oxygen from water for use by the animals body and excrete carbon dioxide,

which is a waste product.

In fish, the gills are thin, leafy structures on each side of its body just behind the head. Each gill

has two rows of thread-like gill filaments covered with thin membrane. Capillaries, which are very

small blood vessels, supply blood to the gills. Because of the large amount of surface area it has, both

oxygen and carbon dioxide pass easily through the thin gill tissue. Carbon dioxide waste is released

back into the water to be carried away. The oxygen is then circulated by the blood stream to other parts

of the body.

The primary part to the human respiratory system is the lungs. Air reaches the lungs by

inhaling through the mouth or nose. The lungs remove oxygen from the air and excrete carbon dioxide

to be exhaled. This happens at the alveoli, which are tiny, thin-walled air sacs Then it gets shot into

the bloodstream and then gets moved around the body.

Compare : both have thin tissue that have direct contact the both have 2 organs

contrast:one is internal and other is nearly external

one breaths water other breaths air

fish have to gulp or move throu the water to get oxygen humans have an organ that sucks the are In