ELEMENTARY BIOLOGY

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TRUEMAN'S
U5 62
blood capillaries, Du
alveoli is very thin and has rich network of this
The wall ofthe and is called respiratory memk.
sheet of flowing blood
the alveolar wall seems to be a membrane (Fig. 17.10) consists mainl
nbrane
membrane). The respiratory of
alveolar-capillary
basement membrane, (c) a thin interstitial snac.
(a) alveolar epithelium. (b) epithelial dy
lium. All these layers form a ma
capillary basement membrane and (e) capillary endothe has a limit of gaseous m-
membrane excha
brane of 0.2 mm thickness. The respiratory nge
between alveoli and pulmonary blood. It is called diffusing capacity. The diffusing canaiCIty
is detined as the volume of gas. that diffuses through the membrane per minute for a pressure
difference of 1 mm Hg. It is further dependent on the solubility of the diffusing gases. In
other words at the particular pressure difference, the diffusion of carbon dioxide is 20times
faster than oxygen and that of oxygen is two times faster than nitrogen. Ihe partial pressure
ofoxygen (PO,) in the alveoli is higher (104 mm Hg) than that in the deoxygenated blood
in the capillaries of the pulmonary arteries (95 mm Hg.). As the gases diffuse from a higher
to a lower concentration. the movement of oxygen is from the alveoli to the blood. The
reverse is the case in relation to carbon dioxide.

INTERSTITIAL SPACE
BASEMENT MEMBRANE
OF EPITHELIUM BASEMENT MEMBRANE
OF CAPILLARY
EPITHELIUM ENDOTHELIUM
OF ALVEOLI OF CAPILLARY

FLUID AND
SURFACTANT LAYER

BC

ALVEOLUs
CAPILLARY
DIFFUSION OF O,
DIFFUSION OF CO

Fig showing Uitrastru

and Red blood veolar
RBC) embrane

The nartial