O2 And Co2

The two body organ systems involved in gas exchange are the respiratory and cardiovascular systems. O2 and CO2 cross the cell membrane via simple diffusion. Because cells all throughout the body require oxygen and the removal of carbon dioxide, this simple method of diffusion is the best way to transport such small molecules over a large area as efficiently as possible.

Gas exchange in mammals is carried out through the lungs. But gas exchange actually occurs in the alveoli within the lungs.

This essay will explain the physiologies of the respiratory system and the cardiovascular system and how they work in the metabolism of energy in the body.

Gas exchange is when oxygen is delivered from the lungs to the blood stream and carbon dioxide is taken out of the bloodstream and into the lungs. Gas exchange occurs within the lungs between the alveoli and capillaries which are in the walls of the alveoli. The walls of the alveoli share a membrane with the capillaries in which oxygen and carbon dioxide move freely between the respiratory system and the bloodstream. Oxygen molecules attach to red blood cells, which travel back to the heart. At the same time, the carbon dioxide in the alveoli are exhaled out of the body.

The circulatory system and the respiratory system work closely together to ensure that organ tissues and systems receive enough oxygen. Oxygen is required for cellular functions such as cell respiration. This is so the body’s organs and cells can work at fully; it is done by releasing chemical energy with in stored foods. The air breathed in and held in the lungs is transferred to the blood. The blood is circulated by the heart, which pumps the oxygenated blood from the lungs to the body organs and returns with deoxygenated blood.

The complexity of the respiratory system and the physiology behind pulmonary respiration can be considered extraordinary high. Within the single system, individual organs, actions and co-ordinations are culminated to equate in the survival of humans. The respiratory system carries out many roles within the body; control of bodily pH, aid in speech production and olfaction, regulation of blood pressure and promotion of venous and lymphatic flow. Although these function are necessary to optimally function, the exchange of gases from the internal bodily environment to the external bodily environment is the most important function and role of the respiratory system (Martini, Ober, Nath 2011).

Passages that filter incoming air and transport it through the body, into the lungs and to many microscopic air sacs where gases are exchanges is called the respiratory system. Respiration is the process of exchanging gases between the atmospheres and the body’s cells. There are several events that happen in the respiratory system they

Forward reaction is likely to occur in the lungs, the partial pressure of O2 in the air is 0.2 atmospheres allowing oxygen to bind with hemoglobin. The reverse reaction occurs in the end if the capillaries which deliver the blood to the cells. The cells absorb oxygen reducing the concentration of oxygen in the haemoglobin, shifting the equilibrium to the left, releasing more

Small air sacks called alveoli are at the tips of the bronchioles. When air reaches them, the oxygen concentration is high, which causes diffusion into red blood cells travelling through pulmonary capillaries (7). The red blood cells then distribute the new oxygen to the rest of the body. When they reach the alveoli again, they exchange carbon dioxide (a form of cell waste) for new oxygen, and repeat the process. The carbon dioxide is moved through the bronchioles, bronchi, and trachea in the form of exhalation.

1) The primary causation of this system results from a property of hemoglobin known as the Bohr effect. This property of hemoglobin causes the protein to lose its affinity, or rather more readily give up, oxygen in the presence of a lower pH level (more acidic) in the surrounding fluid. Due to the fact that active tissues increase their basal metabolic rate, they produce more CO2 than do resting tissue during cellular respiration. This CO2 escapes the higher concentration gradient of the interior of the cell into the lower concentration outside of the cell. Upon escaping the interior of the cell, the CO2 combines with the water present in the blood plasma creating carbonic acid (H2CO3).

In general, mammals have a closed circulatory system allowing them to ventilate easily. Air is inhaled by mammals through their mouths when their diaphragm contracts before travelling down the trachea. Air enters the lungs through the trachea, which splits into two bronchi and then smaller bronchioles. All of these tubes are held open by rings of cartilage. It is on the bronchioles where alveoli are. Alveoli are the gas exchange surface in mammals. Alveoli provide a moist gas exchange surface in which oxygen diffuses from the water into the alveoli. The oxygen diffuses from the alveoli to the blood capillaries surrounding them before the blood gets transported to the many cells needed because of respiration. The blood supply is extensive, which means that oxygen is carried away to the cells as soon as it has diffused into the blood.

Separation of the proteins involved in both species blood and serum revealed that each was composed of a major protein. A prominent protein in the rabbit blood was found accumulating at approximately 13kDa, as shown in Figure 1 and Figure 2. It was concluded that this protein was most likely hemoglobin, given the weight and large amount present in all blood due to its necessary function of transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide throughout the body. Hemoglobin is a “tetrameric protein of about 64.5 kDa, consisting of two -chains and two -chains” which breaks down into each subunit having an approximate weight of 15kDa (Yu et al, 1997). This was in correlation with the data present in Figure 1, given that the major protein present in rabbit blood was approximately 13kDa, which would be the subunits that make up hemoglobin.

I have decided to do points 1 and 4. At point 1 which is the alveoli of the lungs the PPO2 is 104 mm Hg and the PPCO2 is at 40 mm Hg. At point 4 which is the inspired air the PPO2 is 160 mm Hg and the PPCO2 is at 0.3 mm Hg. The gaseous makeup which originates from the atmosphere is different from within the alveoli. Majority of the alveoli is CO2 and water vapor and minimal O2. The differences of this is a reflection of effects that the gas exchanges that occurs in the lungs. One being the O2 diffuses from the alveoli then travels to the pulmonary blood and then the CO2 diffuses in the complete opposite direction. two being the humidification in the air from the conducting passages. Thirdly, mixing that occurs of the alveolar gas which happens

Haemoglobin is formed into cells in the bone marrow that become red blood cells. The red pigment in red blood cells carries oxygen. That is called haemoglobin. Haemoglobin is the protein molecules in the red blood cells that transports oxygen from the lungs and to the body and tissues and returns carbon dioxide from the tissues of the lung. Each structure of the haemoglobin protein is composed of four polypeptide subunits cases is considered as one of the ionic bonds. Each subunit is called the cofactor heme group that has iron. Iron is the most important factor that actually binds to the oxygen. Iron is also responsible for the red colour of blood. Although each haemoglobin molecule is capable of transporting four oxygens, it takes the cooperation of four subunits of molecular to efficiently transport of oxygen throughout the human body.

Gas exchange occurs between the air and blood in the lungs. Since the oxygen saturation of air is higher in the lungs than in the blood, oxygen diffuses from air to blood. Carbon dioxide moves from the blood to the air within the lungs by diffusing down its concentration gradient. As a result of this exchange, the inspired air contains more oxygen and less carbon dioxide than the expired air. The lungs provide necessary oxygen to the body, in addition to removing carbon dioxide. More importantly, blood leaving the lungs has a higher oxygen and lower carbon dioxide concentration than the blood delivered to the lungs in the pulmonary arteries. This is because the lungs function to bring the blood into gaseous equilibrium in the air. Gas exchange between the air and blood occurs entirely by diffusion through the lung tissue