Gas exchange

Gas exchange: Biological process by which organisms exchange gasses with their environment, involving the intake
of O2 and the release of CO2. Essential for cellular respiration, which generates energy for the organism.

Diffusion: Passive movement of gas molecules. High conc to an area of low conc. In gas exchange, O2 diffuses into
cells where its conc is lower, and CO2 produced as a waste product, diffuses out of cells where its conc is higher.

Importance of Large Surface Area for Gas Exchange in Larger Organisms

● Decreased SA:VR: Larger organisms have less SA relative to their V, reducing gas exchange efficiency across the
body surface
● Increased diffusion distance: In larger organisms, distance from the exterior to inner cells grows, making it harder
for O2 to reach inner cells and for CO2 to be removed.

To overcome these challenges, larger organisms have specialized structures, such as lungs, gills, or tracheae, that:
● Increase surface area: Folded or branched to maximize gas exchange surface area.
● Thin membranes: To minimize diffusion distance, improving gas exchange efficiency in and out of cells

Properties of Gas-Exchange Surfaces and Their Functions:

1. Permeability: Allow O2 and CO2 to diffuse across membranes, enabling essential gas exchange between the
environment and internal tissues. Without permeability, gasses couldn't move in or out of cells.
2. Thin Tissue Layer: One cell thick, minimizing diffusion distance, and speeding up exchange of O2 and CO2.
3. Moisture: O2 and CO2 to dissolve in water before they can diffuse across the membrane. Easier diffusion across the
membrane. Dry surfaces would hinder the diffusion process.
4. Large Surface Area: More O2 absorption and CO2 expulsion, essential for larger organisms with high metabolic
needs. Alveoli and gill filaments are folded or branched to increase SA.
Locations of Gas Exchange in Humans: The primary location of gas exchange in humans occurs in the alveoli, tiny
air sacs located at the ends of the bronchioles in the lungs. Here, O2 from the air is exchanged for carbon dioxide
from the blood.

Concentration gradient: When the concentration of particles is higher in one area than another.

Importance of Maintaining Concentration Gradients at Gas-Exchange Surfaces: Essential for continuous gas
diffusion. There must be a difference in conc between O2 (higher in the environment and lower in the blood), and
CO2 ( higher in the blood and lower in the environment). Without these gradients, diffusion would slow down or stop,
and cells wouldn’t receive enough O2 or be able to remove CO2 efficiently.

Mechanisms for Maintaining Concentration Gradients at Exchange Surfaces:

1. Dense Networks of Blood Vessels: Capillaries surround gas-exchange surfaces ( alveoli in the lungs or gills in
fish), ensuring continuous flow of O2-poor, CO2-rich blood is brought to the surface for gas exchange. This
maintains conc gradients by refreshing the blood that has undergone gas exchange.
2. Continuous Blood Flow: Ensures oxygenated blood is replaced with deoxygenated blood from the exchange
surface. This maintains a steep conc gradient for efficient O2 and CO2 diffusion, in and out of the blood. Without
this flow, gas exchange would slow as equilibrium is reached.
3. Ventilation with Air for Lungs: In animals with lungs, ventilation (breathing) involves the continuous movement of
air into and out of the lungs. Fresh air into the lungs increases O2 and decreases CO2 in the alveoli, ensuring that
the air in the lungs is always O2-rich. This maintains the conc gradients needed for efficient gas exchange between
the alveoli and the blood.
4. Ventilation with Water for Gills: Water contains dissolved O2, and when fresh water flows over the gills, it refills
the O2 and removes the CO2 from the water surrounding the gills. This ensures that O2 levels in the water remain
high, maintaining concentration gradients for efficient gas exchange.

Alveolar walls: Composed of a single layer of cells, are very thin allowing for a short diffusion pathway of gasses.
Membrane surface of the inner alveolar wall is moist - gasses can dissolve to make diffusion easier.

Diagram of an Alveolus and Adjacent Capillary:

Structures of Mammalian Lungs Adapted for Maximizing Gas Exchange:
1. Alveoli:
○ High Surface Area: Lungs contain millions of alveoli, providing a massive surface area for gas exchange.
○ Thin Walls: Only one cell thick, minimizing the distance gasses need to diffuse.

2. Extensive Capillary Beds:

○ Dense Capillary Network: Each alveolus is surrounded by a dense network of capillaries. This ensures efficient gas
exchange by maintaining conc gradients and increasing the surface area for diffusion
○ Thin Capillary Walls: Also one cell thick, allowing for easy diffusion of gasses between the blood and alveoli.

3. Branched Network of Bronchioles:

○ Branching Bronchioles: Delivering air deep into the lungs and ensuring that fresh O2 reaches the alveoli efficiently.

4. Surfactants: (secreted by cells of the alveoli) Alveoli are lined with a surfactant, covering the interior of the alveolus
reducing the surface tension.

Surfactant: The alveoli are made up by special types of cells (Type and Type II pneumocytes). The surfactant is
composed of a phospholipid-rich secretion with hydrophilic and hydrophobic areas that lines the inner moist surface
of the alveoli. The surfactant prevents the alveoli from collapsing when air is exhaled from the lungs by producing a
monolayer of phospholipids on the moist inner lining of the alveolus, reducing the surface tension, preventing watery
surfaces from adhering.

Type 1 pneumocytes: Alveolar cells that line the alveolar surface.

Type 2 pneumocytes: Alveolar cells that secrete surfactant proteins to reduce surface tension

Structure of the Airway: The trachea branches into two bronchi, which lead into the lungs, and serves as the main
passage for air to and from the lungs.
Ventilation: Moving air in and out of the lungs to maintain gas exchange.
All are carried out by the movement of the diaphragm, ribcage, abdominal, and intercostal muscles. Muscles can
work in two states: Contracting and relaxing. Usually in an antagonistic pair, when one contracts (shortens), the other
one relaxes (lengthens). When the internal intercostal muscles contract the external ones relax, allowing the
downward movement of the ribcage and exhalation.

Role of Muscles in Ventilation:

1. Diaphragm: Main muscle involved in increasing and decreasing thoracic volume. Contracts during inspiration,
relaxes during expiration.
2. Intercostal Muscles: External intercostal muscles contract during inspiration, lifting the rib cage. Internal intercostal
muscles (and abdominal muscles) can contract during forced expiration, pulling the ribs downward and inward to
actively reduce thoracic volume.
3. Abdominal Muscles: Involved in forced expiration. They contract to push the diaphragm further upwards, reducing
the thoracic cavity volume more rapidly, as in heavy breathing.

Measurement of lung volume:

● Tidal Volume (TV): Measured by recording the amount of air inhaled or exhaled during a normal, relaxed breath
using a spirometer.
● Vital Capacity (VC): Measured by taking a deep breath (maximum inhalation) and then exhaling fully (maximum
exhalation) into a spirometer. The amount of air exhaled is the vital capacity.
○ Inspiratory Reserve Volume (IRV): Measured by first taking a normal breath, followed by a deep inhalation to
measure the extra volume of air that can be inhaled after a normal inspiration. (Spirometer)
○ Expiratory Reserve Volume (ERV): Measured by exhaling normally, then forcing out as much air as possible. The
additional air exhaled is the expiratory reserve. (Spirometer)
● BPM: Breathing (ventilation) rate can be measured by number of breaths per minute

Methods for Measuring Lung Volumes:

1. Spirometer: Most common device used to measure lung volumes. A person breathes into a mouthpiece connected
to the spirometer, which measures the amount of air inhaled and exhaled.
2. Peak Flow Meter: Measure how fast air can be exhaled, but it can also give some indication of lung volume
capacities in a clinical setting, though not as precisely as a spirometer.
3. Vitalograph: Measure lung volumes, specifically focusing on forced expiratory volumes and capacities. It is similar
to a spirometer but records the results graphically.
 Inspiration (inhaling):
1. Contraction of the external intercostal muscles moves the rib cage upwards and outwards. This causes the
diameter and the volume of the thorax to increase.
2. Diaphragm moves downwards when it contracts, lengthening the cavity within the thorax
3. Volume of the thorax increases, resulting in pressure in the lungs, decreasing below the atmospheric pressure.
4. Air enters lungs as the atmospheric pressure is greater, inflating the lungs

Expiration (exhaling):
1. Diaphragm and the external intercostal muscles relax whilst the internal intercostal muscles contract. The
rib cage moves downwards and inwards. The diaphragm relaxes and the abdominal muscles (contract) to
move the diaphragm upwards. The diameter of the thorax decreases.
2. Resulting in an increase in pressure in the lungs compared to the atmospheric pressure.
3. Air leaves the lungs – which deflate
 Direction of Gas Movement in Leaves:
● O2: Moves out of the leaf as it is produced during photosynthesis.
● CO2: Moves into the leaf to be used in photosynthesis.
● Water Vapor: Moves out of the leaf during transpiration.

Adaptations for Gas Exchange in Leaves:

1. Waxy Cuticle: Thin, waterproof layer covering the surface of the leaf. Reduce water loss through evaporation while
allowing light to penetrate. Does not hinder gas exchange, as the exchange occurs through stomata.
2. Epidermis: Upper & lower- layers of cells. Transparent to allow light through to the photosynthetic cells. Contains
stomata, allowing gasses to move in and out of the leaf. Protective barrier without being involved in the gas
exchange itself.
3. Stomata: Tiny pores found on the underside of leaves, which open and close to regulate gas exchange. Opens to
allow CO2 to enter for photosynthesis and O2 to exit. They close to reduce water loss when necessary.
4. Guard Cells: Specialized cells surrounding each stoma that control its opening and closing. When the guard cells
take in water and swell, the stomata open, allowing gasses to diffuse in and out of the leaf. When guard cells lose
water, the stomata close, limiting gas exchange to prevent water loss.
5. Air Spaces: Within the spongy mesophyll, providing a large surface area for gas diffusion. Facilitate the movement
of gasses like CO2 and O2 between the stomata and the photosynthesizing cells. Ensure that gasses can easily
move through the leaf.
6. Spongy Mesophyll: Loosely packed cells with large air spaces between them. The loose structure of the spongy
mesophyll increases the surface area for gas exchange, allowing CO2 to reach photosynthesizing cells efficiently
and O2 to diffuse out.
7. Veins (Vascular Bundles): Consist of xylem ( transports water) and phloem (transports sugars). While veins are
responsible for transporting water and nutrients, they ensure that water is available for the cells involved in gas
exchange and photosynthesis.
8. Palisade Mesophyll: A layer of tightly packed cells just below the upper epidermis, rich in chloroplasts and
responsible for most of the photosynthesis.
Transpiration: Movement of water through the plant and evaporation from the leaves. It is a passive process that
does not require energy expense by the plant.
Transpiration is a necessary consequence of gas exchange in plants. Plants optimize water loss by regulating
stomatal opening and closing depending on environmental conditions and the time of day, balancing the need for
photosynthesis with water conservation.

Relationship Between Water Evaporation and Transpiration: Water evaporation from mesophyll cells into leaf air
spaces drives transpiration by creating a water potential gradient. This gradient pulls water from the roots through the
xylem to replace lost water during evaporation. The process is driven by a concentration gradient, where the moist air
inside the leaf moves water to the drier surrounding air, directly influencing the rate of transpiration.

Measurement for rate of transpiration: A Potometer measures the volume of water taken up by a plant, which will
be approximately equal to the volume of water lost from the plant in the process of transpiration during that time.
Effects of Abiotic Factors on the Rate of Transpiration:

Advantages of Opening and Closing Stomata at Different Times of Day:

● Opening Stomata during the Day:
○ Advantage: Allow for the intake of CO2 needed for photosynthesis, maximizing plant energy production.
○ Disadvantage: Water loss through transpiration increases when stomata are open, leading to dehydration if the
water supply is limited.

● Closing Stomata during the Night:

○ Advantage: Photosynthesis is not occurring, which reduces water loss, conserving water in environments where
water availability is limited or conditions are dry.
○ Disadvantage: There is little disadvantage to closing stomata at night, as plants do not require as much CO2 when
photosynthesis is not occurring.
Stomatal density: The number of stomata per unit area of leaf surface. To find the density, the number of stomata in
a known area must be counted under the microscope.

𝑚𝑒𝑎𝑛 𝑛𝑢𝑚𝑏𝑒𝑟 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑎

Stomata density=
𝑎𝑟𝑒𝑎 𝑓𝑖𝑒𝑙𝑑 𝑣𝑖𝑒𝑤 𝑜𝑓 𝑠𝑡𝑜𝑚𝑎