GAS EXCHANGE

~JOHN PATRICK RODRIGUEZ

~MQRY JESSA DUMAS
Learning Objectives
• What is gas exchange?
• Basic principles influencing gas exchange
• Structures for gas exchange in plants and animals
• Breathing mechanisms in vertebrates
• The Human respiratory system
• Coordination of gas exchange and circulation
• Control of respiration in vertebrates
• Respiratory adaptations to extreme conditions
• Respiratory problems and on public health
What is GAS EXCHANGE?
• is the uptake of molecular oxygen from the
environment and the discharge of carbon
dioxide to the environment.
• It is often called respiratory exchange or
respiration but it should not be confused
with cellular respiration.
What is RESPIRATION?
• All animals need oxygen for the metabolism
in their cells and must dispose of the
resulting carbon dioxide. The exchange of
these gases is termed

........ RESPIRATION
• The term respiration is normally
associated with free oxygen. But some
intestinal parasites and some mud-
inhabiting invertebrates live in an
environment where there is no oxygen.
These animals may obtain energy
anaerobic in the absence of free oxygen
through glycolysis.
RESPIRATION consist of two stages:

External Respiration ;
• the exchange between environment and
respiratory organs.
Internal Respiration ;
• the exchange between body fluids and tissue cells
Cellular Respiration
• the utilization of oxygen in the cell and
release of carbon dioxide
OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE
• Oxygen is needed in tissues for aerobic cellular
respiration to occur and extract ATP from food.
• Carbon dioxide must be released to prevent
physiological pH in tissues from being very acidic.
In plants however, the carbon dioxide that is
released as a by-product of cellular respiration
may again be taken up for the process of
photosynthesis
Most animals obtain the oxygen from
their environment. The air contains 21%
oxygen, but water (15° C) holds only 0.7%
or less; the oxygen in the water molecule
(H2O) is not available for respiration.
Basic principles influencing gas
exchange:
I. The respiratory surface or organ is the part
of an animal’s body where gases are
exchanged with the environment. To allow for
gas exchange, it must be moist, large
enough, and protected from dessication.
Ordinary respiration in different animals
is performed by various respiration
organ/system, such as the body covering,
gills, lungs, or tracheae. These structures
are unlike in appearance but
fundamentally the same in function;
Basic principles influencing gas
exchange:
II. Respiratory systems rely on the
diffusion of gases down pressure
gradients.
•Partial pressures for each gas
in the atmosphere can be
computed; for example, the
partial pressure of oxygen is
160 mm Hg.
• The partial pressure of oxygen in the
air or water is greater than within an
animal body, where it is constantly
being used up, so oxygen tends to
enter any suitable membrane surface.
The partial pressure of carbon dioxide
is greater within the animal, so it
tends to pass outward
III. Surface-to-volume ratio
A. As an animal grows, the surface area
increases at a lesser rate than its volume,
making diffusion of gases into the
interior more difficult
B. Animals must have a body design that
keeps internal cells close to the surface
(e.g. flatworms) or must have a system to
move the gases inward.
IV. Ventilation
A. It refers to the movement of the
respiratory medium (air or water) over
the respiratory surface.

B. Bony fish moves the gill covers

(operculum) for water carrying oxygen to
flow across the gills.
IV. Ventilation
C. Humans move the muscles of the
thorax to expand and contract the chest
cavity and move air in and out of the
lungs.
V. Respiratory Pigments or Proteins
A. Adaptations of animals for gas exchange include
respiratory pigments that bind and transport gases.

B. The respiratory pigment of vertebrates is hemoglobin

while that of invertebrates (e.g. arthropods and molluscs)
is hemocyanin.

C. Blood cannot carry sufficient oxygen and carbon dioxide

in dissolved form to meet the body’s requirements;
hemoglobin helps enhance its capacity.
Structures for gas exchange in plants:
Respiratory surfaces or organs in
invertebrates:
I. Cell surface or cell membrane – especially used in unicellular organisms

II. Integumentary exchange – refers to the general body surface or skin used by
animals with high surface-to-volume ratio; e.g. flatworm and earthworm.
Amphibians also use their skin in addition to lungs as gas exchange surface

III. External Gills – used by invertebrates that live in aquatic habitats; gills are highly
folded, thin- walled, vascularized epidermis that project outward from the body;
e.g. crayfish, lobster, sea star, nudibranch

IV. Tracheal system in arthropods – utilizes fine air-conducting tubules to provide

gaseous exchange at the cellular level; it is not dependent on a circulatory system;
e.g. insects, spiders
Respiratory surfaces in vertebrates:
I. External Gills – thin, vascularized epidermis that
project from the body surface of a few
amphibians; e.g. larval salamander

II. Internal Gills – rows of slits or pockets in adult

fishes positioned at the back of the mouth such
that water that enters the mouth can flow over
them as it exits just behind the head.
III. Lungs – internal respiratory surfaces
shaped as a cavity or sac; lungs provide a
membrane for gaseous exchange; since they
are not in direct contact with all other parts of
the body, lungs require a circulatory system to
transport gases to the rest of the body; found
in birds,reptiles, and mammals.
Breathing mechanisms in vertebrates:
I. Amphibians ventilate their lungs by positive pressure breathing
which forces air down the trachea.

II. Birds use a system of air sacs as blower to keep air flowing
through the lungs in one direction only, preventing the mixing of
incoming and outgoing air.

III. .Mammals ventilate their lungs by negative pressure breathing

which pulls air into the lungs when the volume of the lungs
expands as the rib muscles and diaphragm contract. However, the
incoming and outgoing air mix, decreasing the efficiency of
ventilation.
The human respiratory system:
Air enters or leaves the respiratory system
through nasal cavities where air is filtered by
hair and cilia, warmed by blood vessels, and
moistened with mucus.
The coordination of gas exchange and
circulation:
I. Oxygen Transport
A. Oxygen diffuses down a pressure gradient from the lungs
into the blood plasma → red blood cells →binds to
hemoglobin (4 molecules per hemoglobin to form
oxyhemoglobin).

B. Hemoglobin gives up its oxygen in tissues where partial

pressure of oxygen is low, blood is warmer, partial pressure
of carbon dioxide is higher, and pH is lower; these four
conditions occur in tissues with high metabolism.
II. Carbon Dioxide Transport
A. Carbon dioxide diffuses down its partial pressure gradient
from the tissues into the blood plasma and red blood cells
→ air in alveoli.

B. Seven percent is dissolved in plasma, 23% binds with

hemoglobin to form carbaminohemoglobin, and 70% is in
bicarbonate form.

C. Bicarbonate and carbonic acid formation is enhanced by the

enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which is located in the red
blood cells.
III. Coordination of air flow with
blood flow:
A. Gas exchange in the alveoli is most efficient
when air flow equals the rate of blood flow.

B. Local controls within the lungs correct

imbalances in air and blood flow by
constricting or dilating both bronchioles and
arterioles.
The control of respiration in
vertebrates:
I. The nervous system controls oxygen and carbon dioxide
levels for the entire body by regulating the rate and depth
of breathing.

II. The brain monitors the pH of the cerebrospinal fluid

through sensors (reflecting carbon dioxide concentration
in the blood).

III. Secondary control is exerted by sensors in the aorta and

carotid arteries that monitor blood levels of oxygen as
well as carbon dioxide (via blood pH).
Some respiratory adaptations to
extreme conditions
I. Animals that inhabit high altitudes have larger hearts
and lungs, and hemoglobin with a high affinity for
binding oxygen.

II. Many diving animals have unusually high

hematocrits (ratio of the volume of packed red blood
cells to the volume of whole blood) and also muscles
with high amounts of myoglobin (an oxygen-binding
protein found in muscle cells)
Respiratory problems and impact on
public health:
I. In a respiratory disorder like asthma, the
muscles around bronchioles contract more
than usual, increasing resistance to airflow.

II. Emphysema is an abnormal condition of the

lungs marked by decreased respiratory
function; associated with smoking or chronic
bronchitis or old age.
 III. Smoking tobacco products is one of the
leading global causes of death and is
strongly linked to cancer, cardiovascular
disease, stroke, and emphysema.
•
• IV. Pneumonia is an infectious disease
involving inflammation and fluid buildup
in the lungs.
THAT WOULD BE ALL...
THANK YOU!!!