LESSON 3: RESPIRATORY SYSTEM

CONDITIONS FOR EFFICIENT GAS

GAS EXCHANGE EXCHANGE
- change of gas in the environment. MOIST → as the gases dissolve in
the water and diffuse
from one side of the
WHY DO ORGANISMS EXCHANGE GASES
membrane to another
WITH THEIR ENVIRONMENT?
THIN AND → for the gas molecules
PERMEABLE can move across it easily
● Oxygen - reactant of cellular respiration. and quickly
● Carbon dioxide - waste products of cellular LARGE → in relation to the
respiration. SURFACE AREA volume of the organism so
○ If waste products build up inside as to adequately provide
the cell = acidic. the gaseous requirements
○ Therefore, it must be removed.
↑ surface area ↓ volume of
organism = mas mabilis
NOTES: ang gas exchange
GREATER → greater concentration
★ kasama sa excretion of waste products CONCENTRATION of required gas on one
★ “give and take” for plants and humans side of the membrane than
★ overly presence of oxygen or carbon the other so that a
dioxide = pwede malason concentration gradient is
maintained. Therefore
gases must be readily
HOW DO GASES CROSS THE PLASMA
supplied and removed.
MEMBRANE?

● Cellular level, gases move in and out of a cell EXCHANGING WITH AIR OR WATER
across plasma membrane via diffusion.
● Organisms exchange gases w/ environment:
● Carbon Dioxide and oxygen molecules are air or water.
small enough to move straight through the ● Some organisms can do both (ex: frogs)
membrane. ● Water holds less dissolved oxygen than air
and warm water is able to hold even less
NOTES: dissolved than cold water.
★ plasma membrane = permeable membrane ● Aquatic animals have adapted ways of
★ DIFFUSION - in and out of gases in our obtaining as much oxygen as possible from
body nutrients.
●
CONDITIONS FOR EFFICIENT GAS EXCHANGE GAS EXCHANGE IN UNICELLULAR AND VERY
1. Environment must be moist. SMALL MULTICELLULAR ORGANISMS
2. Membrane must be thin and permeable. - prokaryotes and protists
3. Large surface area.
4. Greater concentration of required gas.
● UNICELLULAR ORGANISMS ● SOLUTION
○ Organism is in contact with the ○ Large animals have developed
external environment internal respiratory organs.
○ High surface area to volume ratio, ○ As the surface is internal, there
gas exchange across plasma needs to be a system for efficient
membrane is sufficient. ventilation of these organs.

● VERY SMALL MULTICELLULAR GAS EXCHANGE IN MULTICELLULAR

ORGANISMS ORGANISMS: INVERTEBRATES
○ ( < 1 mm thick), exchange of gases
over the body surface is adequate ● SPIRACLES
as the gases will diffuse to internal - small holes in the abdomen of
cells. invertebrates.
- respiratory opening.

GAS EXCHANGE IN MULTICELLULAR ○ Air enters the spiracles and is

ORGANISMS distributed through the body of
the organism via trachea and
● Face challenges when considering the tracheoles that come into close
need of every cell within the body to exchange contact with the organism's cells.
gases.
● Overcome this challenge by increasing ● Some also have air sacs that can be
the surface area available for gas exchange and pumped to move air through the system.
linking this to a transport system that connects
with every cell. GAS EXCHANGE IN MULTICELLULAR
● Animals have specialized structures that ORGANISMS: VERTEBRATES
allow for efficient gas exchange.
● The complexity of the structures depend ● Many vertebrates have lungs.
on the size, behaviors, and activity levels of the ● LUNGS
organism. In small organisms, structure can be - internal respiratory organs.
very simple.
Ventilation of the lungs can occur in two
GAS EXCHANGE IN MULTICELLULAR ways:
ORGANISMS: AIR BREATHERS Air is forced into the lungs under
pressure
● Have the advantage that oxygen is much Air is drawn into the lungs under
more readily available in air. negative pressure (suction)
● If gas exchange occurs across most
surface air breathers, there is continually loss of ● Frogs are an example of an animal that
water to their environment. ventilates lungs under pressure.
● Respiratory surfaces are a major site for ● In air breathers, oxygen is readily
water loss. available while carbon dioxide diffuses slowly in
air and can accumulate in body fluids during THE HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: THE
exercise. ALVEOLUS
● Air breathers are more sensitive to
changes in carbon dioxide concentration and this ● ALVEOLI
drives ventilation. - large area for gas exchange (size
● Receptors that are sensitive to carbon of the tennis court)
dioxide and blood pH will indicate when - lined with a very thin layer of flat
ventilation needs to be modified. cells that is in direct contact with a
network of capillaries.
HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM - lines with a surfactant, a
lipoprotein, prevents the alveoli
1. Air is drawn through the nose and enters from collapsing.
the pharynx ( throat).
2. Passes into the trachea and the paired THE HUMAN RESPIRATORY SYSTEM: LUNG
bronchi. VENTILATION
a. The dust and bacteria are trapped
by mucus & swept up to the throat ● Lungs are expanded due to pressure
by cilia. differences in the thorax (chest cavity)
b. TRACHEA is supported by ● Negative pressure = lungs inflated
cartilage rings that prevent its
collapse. ● DIAPHRAGM
3. Into bronchioles and into the alveolus. - base of the lungs
a. Alveolus- gas exchange takes - largest muscle in the body
place. ● If diaphragm contracts (active process),
- diaphragm pulls downward,
NOTES: expanding the chest cavity
and the ribs, causing ribs to
★ air passageways are: (1) pharynx, expand.
and (2) nasopharynx - expansion draws air into the
★ BRONCHI - connection of lungs and lungs
trachea and where bacteria is ● If diaphragm relaxes (passive process)
trapped. - Thorax returns to its resting
★ Air from mouth = dry position forcing air out of
★ Air from nose = moist the lungs.

NOTES:
★ Diaphragm - humans
- largest muscle in the body that
acts as vacuum (helps in breathing
in and out)
★ Inhale = ↑ ribs, ↓ diaphragm contracts
★ Exhale = ↓ ribs, ↑ diaphragm relaxes
 LUNG VENTILATION NOTES:

● TIDAL VOLUME ★ in simple terms, it is red because it is

- amount of air that is moved in and oxygenated
out during each breath. ★ 94% low, 95% normal blood oxygen level
- Varies according to oxygen demand. ★ skeletal muscle also needs oxygen
★ Blue (haemoglobin) Red (oxyhaemoglobin)
● TIDAL CAPACITY ★ myosin (protein) and haemoglobin =
- maximum amount of the air that myoglobin
we can move into and out of the ★ Two very important proteins to function:
lungs in one breath. 1. Actin
2. myosin
● RESIDUAL VOLUME
- volume of air left in the lungs after ● MYOGLOBIN
exhalation. - has a higher affinity for oxygen
- air that prevents the lungs from than haemoglobin and myoglobin
collapsing (very important) can take oxygen from
haemoglobin.
● One way ventilation ( in & out same - muscles have a ready supply of
pathway) is not the most efficient way to oxygen to fuel cells during activity.
exchange gas. - have the ability to store oxygen
● We can never exhale all the air from our bound to the form of haemoglobin.
lungs and so “stale air” is drawn back into the - depleted stores of oxygen will be
lungs in the next breath. replaced asap.

TRANSPORTING GASES: HAEMOGLOBIN TRANSPORTING GASES: CARBON DIOXIDE

- proteins binds with oxygen; carries oxygen
● CO2 forms an acid when combined with
● HAEMOGLOBIN water. Limited amount that can be carried by
- oxygen is transported around the blood is 7 %.
body in the blood by respiratory
pigments that combine reversibly ● Some CO2 combines with haeomoglobin
with oxygen and increase the to form carbaminohaemoglobin is 23 %.
oxygen carry capacity of blood.
- found in red blood cells. ● The rest of 70 % is converted by red
- 4 oxygen molecules can bind with blood cells into hydrogen carbonate ions.
one haemoglobin molecule.
● When hydrogen carbonate reaches the
● OXYHAEMOGLOBIN lungs, it returns to the red blood cells and is
- when oxygen is bound to turned back into CO2 for release.
haemoglobin
- haemoglobin turns red.
 CONTROLLING VENTILATION ● Some use cilia to move water over their
gills.
● Air breathers rate of ventilation is in ● Larger fish will take water in through
response to levels of carbon dioxide and not their mouth and then close their mouth forcing
oxygen as in aquatic animals. the water over their gills and out via the
operculum that protects their gills.
● When the labels of carbon dioxide in the
blood are high, receptors in the arteries send a ● Larger fish are very efficient at obtaining
message to the brain. A message is then sent to oxygen from water using countercurrent flow.
the diaphragm and rate of ventilation increases
to remove excess carbon dioxide from the blood. ● Blood flows through the gills in the
opposite direction to the water allowing up to
● Level of oxygen to a lesser extent controls 90% of the oxygen in the water to be extracted.
ventilation.

GAS EXCHANGE IN AQUATIC ANIMALS

● GILLS are outward projections of the

body surface (increasing the surface area to
volume ratio)

● These projections will have a ready

supply of blood vessels to allow for transport of
gases to and from body cells.

● Gills rely on buoyancy of water to keep ● Ventilation (breathing) is regulated by

them from collapsing. Fish will die when out of receptors that sense the levels of oxygen in the
water due to collapse of gills. blood.

● It requires water to be moved over their ● When these receptors detect low
surface. oxygen levels, ventilation is increased.

TWO WAYS FOR AQUATIC ANIMALS TO ● Carbon dioxide is readily lost to water
MOVE THEIR SURFACE: as it dissolves easily and so ventilation is
Gills is moved through the water controlled by oxygen levels alone.
The animal is able to move water over
the gill (Ex. beneficial to larger GAS EXCHANGE IN PLANTS
organisms)

● The ability to move water over the gills is DAY NIGHT

beneficial to larger organisms. ● plants will ● plants are not
produce more oxygen photosynthesising.
than they consume
 during respiration. ● net production of
carbon dioxide ● The cells of plant structures are loosely
● net production packed meaning that gas can diffuse through
oxygen ● net consumption the spaces between cells and there is no need
of oxygen. for a plant to have a gas transport system.
● net
consumption of
● Water plants will have special
carbon dioxide.
adaptations that allow them to exchange gases
within their moist environment.

● Plants do not have specialized structures

● Some plants such as lily pads have
for gas exchange.
leaves that float giving them ready access to air.

● In small plants (mosses), leaves and

● Mangroves have pneumatophores also
other structures are very thin and gases are able
known as aerial roots that grow above the
to move in and out via diffusion.
water’s surface.

● In more complex plants, oxygen and

● Submerged aquatic plants are able to
carbon dioxide is exchanged through the stomata
exchange gases with water across their
on leaves, stems, and roots.
epidermis.

● STOMATA (bakuran)
- are able to regulate gas exchange
by controlling when they are open
and when they are closed.
- refer to actual pore (hole) in the
cell.
- most abundant on the leaves of the
plant.

● GUARD CELLS (gate)

- two cells bordering the stomata
which control when the stomata is
opened and closed.
● OPENING AND CLOSING OF STOMATA
-response to water moving in or
out of the cell.
- response to light and low
internal carbon dioxide levels.

● When water moves into the cell,

the turgor of the cell increases causing them to
lengthen and open the stomata.