Brig (R) Ali Nasre Alam

Diffusion of Gases
• The process of diffusion is the motion of molecules in all
directions through the respiratory membrane and adjacent
fluids.

• After the alveoli are ventilated with fresh air, the next step
in the respiratory process is diffusion
• of oxygen from the alveoli into the pulmonary blood
• of carbon dioxide out of the blood.
•High concentration of a gas at one end and a low
concentration at the other end.

•Diffusion of the gas will occur from the high concentration

area toward the low concentration area.
“Partial Pressures” of Individual Gases
•Pressure is caused by multiple impacts of moving
molecules against a surface.

•The pressure of a gas acting on the surfaces of the

respiratory passages and alveoli is proportional to the
summated force of impact of all the molecules of that gas
striking the surface at any given instant.

•The pressure is directly proportional to the concentration

of the gas molecules.
• Mixtures of oxygen, nitrogen, and carbon dioxide.
• The rate of diffusion of each of these gases is directly
proportional to the pressure caused by that gas alone.
• This is the partial pressure of that gas.
• Air composition is Nitrogen 79% and Oxygen 21%
• Total pressure at sea level averages 760 mm Hg.
• The “partial pressure” of
– Nitrogen is (79% of 760 mm Hg) 600 mm Hg
– Oxygen is (21% of 760 mm Hg)160 mm Hg
• Gases dissolved in water or in body tissues also exert
pressure.
• These relations are expressed by the following formula,
which is Henry’s law:

Partial pressure = Concentration of dissolved gas

Solubility coefficient

• CO2 is 20 times more soluble as oxygen.

• Therefore its partial pressure is less than 1/20 of oxygen.

Net Rate of Diffusion in Fluids
•Net diffusion of the gas is determined by the difference
between the two partial pressures.

•If the partial pressure is greater in the gas phase in the

alveoli, (as for oxygen) then more molecules will diffuse
into the blood.

•If the partial pressure of the gas is greater in the dissolved

state in the blood (as for carbon dioxide) then net diffusion
will occur toward the gas phase in the alveoli.
Other factors that affect the rate of gas diffusion are

•(1) the solubility of the gas in the fluid,

•(2) the cross-sectional area of the fluid,
•(3) the distance through which the gas must diffuse,
•(4) the molecular weight of the gas
•(5) the temperature of the fluid.
• Respiratory Unit (also called “respiratory lobule”) is
Composed of a respiratory bronchiole, alveolar ducts,
atria, and alveoli .

• About 300 million alveoli in two lungs.

• Each has average diameter of about 0.2 mm.
• The alveolar walls are extremely thin.
• There is an almost solid network of interconnecting
capillaries between the alveoli.
• The flow of blood in the alveolar wall has been described
as a “sheet” of flowing blood.
• Gas exchange between the alveolar air and the pulmonary
blood occurs through the membranes of all the terminal
portions of the lungs.

• All these membranes are collectively known as the

respiratory membrane or the pulmonary membrane.
Respiratory Membrane: Different layers of the respiratory
membrane:
•A layer of fluid lining the alveolus and containing
surfactant that reduces surface tension of alveolar fluid
•Alveolar epithelium composed of thin epithelial cells
•An epithelial basement membrane
•A thin interstitial space between the alveolar epithelium
and the capillary membrane
•A capillary basement membrane that in many places fuses
with the alveolar epithelial basement membrane
•The capillary endothelial membrane
• Thickness of respiratory membrane is 0.2-0.6 micrometer.

• Total surface area of the respiratory membrane is about

70 square meters in the normal adult human male.

• This is equivalent to the floor area of a 25x30 foot room.

• The total quantity of blood in the capillaries of the lungs

at any given instant is 60 to 140 milliliters.
• The average diameter of the pulmonary capillaries is only
about 5 micrometers, which means that red blood cells
must squeeze through them.

• The red blood cell membrane usually touches the

capillary wall, so that oxygen and carbon dioxide need not
pass through significant amounts of plasma as they
diffuse between the alveolus and the red cell.
Factors Affecting the Gas Diffusion:
•The factors that determine how rapidly a gas will pass
through the membrane are
•(1) the thickness of the membrane
•(2) the surface area of the membrane
•(3) the diffusion coefficient of the gas in the substance of
the membrane
•(4) the partial pressure difference of the gas between the
two sides of the membrane
• The thickness of the respiratory membrane may increase
as a result of edema fluid in the interstitial space of the
membrane and in the alveoli.

• The respiratory gases then diffuse through the membrane

and through this fluid.

• Fibrosis of the lungs increase the thickness of some

portions of the respiratory membrane.

• Rate of diffusion is inversely proportional to the thickness

• Surface area of the respiratory membrane can be greatly
decreased by many conditions.

• Removal of one lung decreases the total surface area.

• In Emphysema, many of the alveoli coalesce, with

dissolution of many alveolar walls.

• The new alveolar chambers are much larger but the total
surface area of respiratory membrane is decreased.
• Diffusion coefficient for transfer of each gas through the
respiratory membrane depends on the gas’s solubility in
the membrane and, inversely, on the square root of the
gas’s molecular weight.

• The rate of diffusion in the respiratory membrane is

almost exactly the same as that in water.

• Therefore, for a given pressure difference, carbon dioxide

diffuses about 20 times as rapidly as oxygen.

• Oxygen diffuses about twice as rapidly as nitrogen.

• Pressure difference is the difference between the partial
pressure of the gas in the alveoli and the partial pressure
of the gas in the pulmonary capillary blood.

• The total number of molecules of a gas striking a unit area

of the alveolar surface of the membrane in unit time.

• The pressure of the gas in the blood represents the number

of molecules that attempt to escape from the blood.

• The difference between these two pressures is the net

tendency for gas molecules to move through membrane.
• When the partial pressure of gas in alveoli is greater than
the pressure of gas in blood (as is oxygen) the net
diffusion from the alveoli into the blood occurs

• When the pressure of the gas in the blood is greater than

the partial pressure in the alveoli (as is carbon dioxide)
the net diffusion from the blood into the alveoli occurs
Thank You