Gas Exchange - Humans

Gas exchange doesn't only happen in plants — it happens in humans too.

Oxygen goes into your bloodstream and you offload nasty 'orrible carbon dioxide...
Alveoli Carry Out Gas Exchange in the Body
1)
The lungs contain millions and millions of little air sacs called alveoli where gas
exchange happens.
CO:
2) The blood passing next to the alveoli has just returned to the lungs from
alveolus
the rest of the body, so it contains lots of carbon dioxide and very little oxygen.
Oxygen diffuses out of the alveolus (high concentration) into the blood (low
concentration). Carbon dioxide diffuses out of the blood (high concentration) into
the alveolus (low concentration) to be breathed out.
blood capillary
body celle
3) When the blood reaches body cells, oxygen is released from the red blood cells
(where there's a high concentration) and diffuses into the body cells (where the
concentration is low).
4) At the same time, carbon dioxide diffuses out of the body cells (where there's a
high concentration) into the blood (where there's
blood capillary
a low concentration). It's then carried back to the lungs.
Alveoli are Specialised for Gas Exchange
1)
The huge number of microscopic alveoli gives the lungs an enormous surface area.
capillary, network
2)
There's a moist lining for gases to dissolve in.
3)
The alveoli have very thin walls — only one cell thick, so the gases don't have far
to diffuse.
4) They have a great blood supply to maintain a high concentration gradient.
5) The walls are permeable — so gases can diffuse across easily.
bronchiole
air in
small
-alveoli]
small vein
Smoking Tobacco Can Cause Quite a Few Problems
Smoking can severely affect your lungs and circulatory system. Here's how:
cilia
1) Smoking damages the walls inside the alveoli, reducing the surface area
mucus
for gas exchange and leading to diseases like emphysema.
Cell secreting mucus
The tar in cigarettes damages the cilia (little hairs) in your lungs and trachea.
These hairs, along with mucus, catch a load of dust and bacteria before they reach
the lungs. The cilia also help to keep the trachea clear by sweeping mucus back
towards the mouth. When these cilia are damaged, chest infections are more likely.
3) Tar also irritates the bronchi and bronchioles, encouraging mucus to be produced
which can't be cleared very well by damaged cilia — this causes smoker's cough and
chronic bronchitis.
4) The carbon monoxide in cigarette smoke reduces the amount of oxygen the blood
can carry.
To make up for this, heart rate increases - which leads to an increase in blood
pressure.
High blood pressure damages the artery walls, making the formation of blood clots
more likely.
This increases the risk of coronary heart disease (e.g. heart attacks).
5) Tobacco smoke also contains carcinogens - chemicals that can lead to cancer.
Alveoli - those guys are bags of fun...
The alveoli are super important in making sure that oxygen diffuses quickly enough
to supply all of our cells.
Q1
Give one way in which alveoli are specialised for gas exchange.
[1 mark]
Section 4 - Respiration and Gas Exchange