RESPIRATION AND

GAS EXCHANGE
Key concepts
 Types of respiration
 Cellular Respiration is the chemical breakdown of food substances to yield ATP.
 Different organisms use different kinds of breathing mechanisms in order to transport oxygen
throughout their bodies.
 Evolutionary adaptations of gas exchange systems and respiration
 Different plant adaptations in acquiring CO2 from the environment evolved: C3, C4, and CAM
pathways.
 Structural adaptations of respiratory apparatus depend on the animal’s habitat. The three
most common respiratory organs are gills, tracheae, and lungs.
 The respiratory system and circulatory system cooperate directly with each other.
 Mammalian respiration
 The respiratory system is divided into the upper respiratory tract (nasal passages, mouth,
throat, larynx and trachea) and lower respiratory tract (bronchi and the lungs).
 Air enters (inhalation) the respiratory system due to a pressure drop inside the lungs (negative
pressure).
 Air exits (exhalation) the respiratory system due to an increase in pressure inside the lungs.
 Breathing is regulated by control centers in the brain (medulla oblongata and pons)
 Gases are transported via passive diffusion throughout the body.
 Respiratory diseases and their prevention
 Respiratory disorders may be congenital or environmental.
 Respiratory disorders can be prevented through a combination of proper diet and lifestyle
change.
Vocabulary words
 aerobic respiration  emphysema  pneumonia
 epiglottis  pons
 air sacs
 positive pressure breathing
 gas exchange
 alveolus  residual volume
 gills
 anaerobic respiration  respiratory medium
 glottis  respiratory pigments
 asthma  glycolysis  respiratory surface
 blood pH  hemocyanin  rib muscles
 Bohr shift  hemoglobin  spiracle
 larynx (voicebox)
 surface tension
 breathing  syrinx
 lung Cancer
 bronchiole  thoracic cavity
 lungs  tidal volume
 bronchus
 medulla oblongata  trachea or windpipe
 C3 pathway  myoglobin  tracheae
 C4 pathway  nasal cavity  tuberculosis
 CAM pathway  negative pressure breathing  ventilation
 vital capacity
 cell respiration  nose
 vocal cords of the larynx
 parabronchi
 countercurrent exchange
 partial pressure
 cutaneous respiration
 pharynx
 diaphragm
 photosynthesis
 dissociation curve
Cellular Respiration
- Transformation of chemical energy into ATP
- Overall Reaction: C6H12O6 +6O2 → 6CO2 +6H2O + 36 ATP

1 Glucose molecule
(6C) from digestion

Glycolysis in the
cytoplasm 
2 pyruvate molecules
(3C)
2 ATPs

Aerobic Respiration in the

mitochondria Anaerobic Respiration in
Krebs Cycle (2 ATPs) the cytosol 
Electron Transport Chain ethanol/lactic acid/CO2
(32 ATPs)
 CO2+ H2O
NADH and FADH2 are
e- donors that enable the
formation of ATP
 6 CO2 + 6 H2O + light
Photosynthesis energy → C6H12O6 + 6O2

 Method of converting sun

energy into chemical
energy usable by cells
 Light reactions
 Dark reactions/Calvin
Cycle
 Plant adaptations for
acquiring CO2 from the
environment
 C3 (most abundant)
 CO2 converted to a 3C sugar, 3-phosphoglycerate
 RuBisCO (Ribulose-1,5-bisphosphate
carboxylase/oxygenase) enzyme catalyzes
carbon fixation
 prone to photorespiration, lessens efficiency of
food production during hot and dry days
 C4
 store CO2 in specialized compartments
 convert CO2 into a 4C compound, oxaloacetate
 converted into the 3C sugar and CO2 used in the C3
pathway/Calvin cycle
 minimizes photorespiration and enhances sugar
production
 CAM
 succulent plants
 f ix CO2 at night and store it as 4C organic acids
 minimizes water loss and enhances sugar
production
Gas exchange supplies oxygen for
cellular respiration and removes CO2
 Gas exchange – uptake of
O2 from environment and
discharge of CO2
 Mitochondria need O2 to
produce more ATP, CO2 is
the by-product
C6H12O6 + 6O2  6CO2 + 6H2O + 36 ATP
 Diffusion rate
 α SA  large
 α 1/d2  thin
 Moist so gases are dissolved
first DIFFUSION
Respiratory surfaces and gas exchange

 Respiratory surface  Simple invertebrates

 Size of organism  Sponges, cnidarians,
 Habitat flatworms, roundworms
 Metabolic demands  diffusion

 Unicellular organisms
 Entire surface area for
diffusion
Respiratory surfaces and gas exchange
 More complex animals
 Thin, moist epithelium
 Separates medium from
capillaries
 Entire outer skin
 Extensively folded and
branched respiratory
organs
Gills in aquatic animals

 Outfoldings of the body

surface suspended in
water
 Sea stars
 Segmented worms or
polychaetes
 Molluscs and
crustaceans
 Fishes
 Young amphibians
 Total surface area is
greater than the rest of
the body
Water as a respiratory medium
 Adv - Surfaces are kept Just keep
swimming
moist swimming
swimming!
 Disadv - O2 concentrations
in water are low
 Ventilation – increasing
flow of respiratory medium
over the surface
 Countercurrent exchange –
process in which two fluids
flow in opposite directions,
maximizing transfer rates
 Why are gills impractical
for land animals?
Air as a respiratory medium
 Adv - Air has a higher  Tracheal system of insects –
network of tubes that bring O2
concentration of O2 to every cell
 Adv - O2 and CO2
diffuse much faster in
the air  less
ventilation
 Disadv - Difficulty of Spiracles
keeping surface moist
 Solution: respiratory
infolding inside the
body
 Lungs
 Heavily vascularized
invaginations of the body
surface restricted to one
location
 Found in spiders, terrestrial
snails, vertebrates
 Amphibians supplement
lung breathing with skin
 Turtles supplement lung
breathing with moist
surfaces in mouth and anus
Mammalian
respiration
 Lung ventilation through breathing

 Positive pressure  Negative pressure breathing in reptiles and

mammals
breathing in frogs  Rib muscles and diaphragm change lung volume
 “Gulping in” air and pressure
Lung volumes  Tidal volume
 Volume of air inhaled and
exhaled with each breath
 Factors
 Vital capacity
 Sex
 Maximum volume inhaled
 Height and exhaled during forced
 Smoking breathing
 Physical activity  Residual volume
 Altitude  Air left in alveoli after forced
exhalation
Avian breathing
•Air sacs - bellows to
keep air flowing
through the lungs
•Syrinx – vocal
organ of birds
Control
centers in
the brain
regulate
breathing
Gases
diffuse down
pressure
gradients

concentration and
pressure drives the
movement of gases into
and out of blood
Respiratory
pigments
 Low solubility of O2 in H2O
 Respiratory pigments are
proteins with metal atoms
 Hemoglobin – Fe
 Hemocyanin – Cu
 Allow reversible binding
of O2
 Cooperativity
 Drop in pH results in a
lowered affinity of
hemoglobin for O2
Respiratory
pigments
 Low solubility of O2 in H2O
 Respiratory pigments are
proteins with metal atoms
 Hemoglobin – Fe
 Hemocyanin – Cu
 Allow reversible binding
of O2
 Cooperativity
 Drop in pH results in a
lowered affinity of
hemoglobin for O2
  CO2 transport
Respiratory  7% in plasma
 23% bound to
pigments hemoglobin
 70% as HCO3- *
 *buffers resist pH changes
Fetal hemoglobin
HbF has greater affinity to O2 than Hb
 low O2% by time blood reaches placenta
 fetal Hb must be able to bind O2 with greater affinity
than maternal Hb
Deep-diving mammals  Seals, whales, dolphins are
capable of long underwater
dives
 Weddell seal  5% O2 in
lungs, 70% in blood
 Huge spleen stores huge
volumes of blood
 Large concentrations of
myoglobin in muscles
 Heart rate and O2
consumption rate decrease
 Blood is redirected from
muscles to brain, spinal
cord, and eyes
Respiratory disorders
 Asthma – chronic  Pneumonia – lung
inflammatory lung inflammation
disease  Tuberculosis – airborne
 Bronchitis – chronic bacterial
inflammation of infection
bronchi (chronic/acute)  Lung cancer – normally
 Emphysema – damage begins in bronchi,
to alveoli usually carcinomas
 Cystic fibrosis –
abnormality in mucus
producing glands