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Gas Exchange in Humans

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Armaan Syed
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14 views24 pages

Gas Exchange in Humans

Uploaded by

Armaan Syed
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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GAS EXCHANGE IN HUMANS

By Tarakwa.M.E
Gas exchange in humans
In organisms, there are special areas where the oxygen
enters and carbon dioxide leaves. One gas is entering, and
the other leaving, so these are surfaces for gas exchange.
The gas exchange surfaces have to be permeable, so that
oxygen and carbon dioxide can move easily through them.
They have other characteristics which help the process to be
quick and efficient:
- thin epithelium– shorter distance to diffuse
- moist surface– allow gases to dissolve
- large surface area-for maximum gas exchange
-good supply of blood- to maintain steep diffusion
gradient for rapid diffusion of oxygen.
-good ventilation with air
Structure of the breathing system
It comprise of the following parts;
• Lungs
• Diaphragm
• Ribs
• Intercostal muscles
• Larynx
• Trachea
• Bronchi
• Bronchioles
• Alveoli
• Associated capillaries
The nose and mouth
Air can enter the body through either the nose or mouth.
Hairs in the nose trap dust particles in the air. Inside the
nose are some thin bones which are covered with a thin
layer of cells.
Some of these cells, called goblet cells.
Goblet cells are found in the epithelial lining of the
trachea, bronchi and some bronchioles of the respiratory
tract.
Their role is to secrete mucus to trap the pathogens.
• Other cells have very tiny hair-like projections
called cilia.
• The cilia are always moving, and bacteria or
particles of dust get trapped in them and in the
mucus.
• Cilia are found all along the trachea and bronchi,
too.
• They sweep the mucus, containing bacteria and
dust particles, up to the back of the throat, so
that it does not block the lungs.
Part of the lining of the respiratory
passages
• The trachea
• The trachea has rings of cartilage around it.
• As you breathe in and out, the pressure of the
air in the trachea increases and decreases.
• The cartilage helps to prevent the trachea
collapsing at times when the air pressure
inside is lower than the pressure of the air
outside it.
• It also makes it open for gases pass.
• The bronchi
• The trachea goes down through the neck and
into the thorax.
• In the thorax, the trachea divides into two.
• The two branches are called the right and left
bronchi (singular: bronchus).
• One bronchus goes to each lung and then
branches out into smaller tubes called
bronchioles.
• Alveoli There are many tiny air sacs or alveoli
at the end of each bronchiole
• This is where gas exchange takes place.
Gas exchange across the wall of an alveolus.
Comparing inspired air and expired air
Breathing movements
• To make air move in and out of the lungs, you must
change the volume of your thorax.
• First, you make it large so that air is sucked in.
• Then you make it smaller again so that air is squeezed
out.
• This is called breathing.
• Muscles in two parts of the body help you to breathe.
• Some of them, called the intercostal muscles, are
between the ribs.
• The others are in the diaphragm.
• The diaphragm is a large sheet of muscle and elastic
tissue which stretches across your body, underneath the
lungs and heart.
The rib cage and intercostal muscles.
Inhalation
• The diaphragm muscles contract and pull it
down
• The internal intercostal muscle relax while the
external intercostal muscles contracts and pull
the ribcage upwards and outwards.
• The volume in the thorax gets bigger forcing
the lungs to expand.
• The air pressure in the lungs is reduced
resulting in air being drawn in through the
nose and trachea.
Exhalation
• The diaphragm muscles relax, allowing the
diaphragm to return to its domed shape.
• The external intercostal muscles relax while
the internal intercostal muscles contract,
pulling ribs downwards to bring about a forced
expiration
• The lungs are elastic and shrink back to their
relaxed volume, increasing the air pressure
inside them. This results in air being forced
out again.
How breathing movements change the volume of the thorax .
Breathing rate and exercise

When you run, muscles in your legs use up a lot of


energy.
Cells in the muscles need a lot of Oxygen very quickly.
They combine Oxygen + glucose as fast as they can,
to release energy for muscle contraction.
A lot of Oxygen is needed and therefore you
breath deeper and faster to get more Oxygen into
your blood.
Breathing rate can be measured by: using
respirometer or watch abdomen rise and fall per
minute
• Your heart beat faster to get Oxygen to the leg muscles as
quickly as possible.
• A limit is reached - the heart and the lung can not supply
Oxygen to the muscles any faster.
• Some extra energy (not much) is produced by anaerobic
respiration: some glucose is broken down without combining
with Oxygen:
• Glucose ---> lactic acid + energy.
Carbon dioxide and lactic acid concentration in tissue and in the
blood rises and the blood pH falls.
How the body coordinates this?
• Brain sense the change and nerve impulses sent to the
diaphragm and the intercostal muscles, stimulating them
to contract and relax more rapidly, increasing the breathing
rate.
• Carbon dioxide will be removed by the faster deeper breathing.
Investigating the difference in composition
between inspired and expired air
Apparatus for comparing the carbon dioxide concentration in inspired and expired air.
• Method
• 1 Look carefully at the apparatus – especially at the
lengths of the glass tubes. When someone breathes
gently into the rubber tubing, in which test-tube do
you predict bubbles will appear?
• 2 Breathe gently into and out of the rubber tubing.
Take care not to suck too hard – you want to make
bubbles appear in the limewater, not suck limewater
into your mouth. Keep doing this until the limewater
in one of the test-tubes becomes cloudy.
• 3 Continue breathing in and out for a while. You may
find that the limewater in the other test-tube also
becomes cloudy.
Result
• The limewater in tube B goes milky. The limewater in
tube A stays clear.
Interpretation
• Carbon dioxide turns limewater milky. Exhaled air passes
through tube B. Inhaled air passes through tube A.
• Exhaled air must, therefore, contain more carbon dioxide
than inhaled air
• Alternatively, hydrogen carbonate indicator can be used.
• Hydrogencarbonate indicator can detect increases and decreases in carbon dioxide
concentration. It is normally red.
• However, an increase in carbon dioxide changes the indicator to yellow and a
decrease in carbon dioxide changes it to purple.
REVISION QUESTIONS
• 1.Explain how the brain is involved in the
change in the girl’s breathing when she
exercised. [4]
• 2. Explain how these changes in her breathing
helped the girl to do the exercise. [5]
Copy and complete the table, to summarise
what happens during breathing.

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