General Biology 2

MODULE 10
GAS EXCHANGE
The ability to inhale oxygen and exhale carbon dioxide is one necessity for life. If
you were in reasonably good health, you probably could survive for several weeks without
eating. You could survive for a few days without water, but you could not live more than
few minutes without oxygen (Gottfried et al., 1990).

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Overview of the Module
After eating, you gently burn food in your cells. This gives your muscles the power to move
different parts of your body. But something else is needed before your body can burn food. What do
you think? I’ll give you a clue. Aside from water, what is essential to life? It is one of the components
of air. Oxygen!
The importance of oxygen to the cells of the body cannot be overemphasized. Without this
gas, life as we know it could not exist. At the level of the cell, oxygen makes possible the reactions
that release energy from the food we eat (Gottfried et al., 1990).
How do you take in oxygen from the air? This module will help you answer this question. It
will help you understand how the body takes in oxygen from the air and how it gets rid of carbon
dioxide in the process called respiration. We will use the term “respiration” in describing the
process by which oxygen enters the body and brings it to the cells.
The module begins with a brief discussion on how gas exchange in animals. The rest of the
lesson will you an adequate discussion on how the human respiratory system functions.
An adequate understanding of the subject matter concerning “food oxidation” (cellular
respiration) is imperative in the study of this module to be able to know why animals require oxygen
and how carbon dioxide is generated in the process.

Learning Outcomes

After going through this module, you are expected to:

• define respiration;
• determine how animals exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide;
• list the different organs associated in the respiratory system;
• explain the path of air in humans;
• explain how air is filtered, warmed, and moistened in the nasal passages;
• describe the function of the alveoli;
• differentiate external from internal respiration;
• describe the breathing process;
• explain what happens to the pressure in the chest cavity when you inhale and exhale;
• name the sheet of muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen; and
• define breathing.

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Lesson 1. Gas Exchange in Animals
The process of taking in of oxygen and releasing of carbon dioxide between an animal and
its environment is called respiration or gas exchange. The organs that are involved in the process
made up the respiratory system. Different respiratory organs have evolved in animals (Ditan,
1994).
Use of Gills. Fish use gills for gas exchange. There are four gill arches on each side of their
body. Two rows of gill filaments project from each gill arch. Each filament bears many platelike
structures called lamella, which are the actual respiratory surface. Gills contain blood vessels, which
carry the oxygen from the surrounding water to the cells and carbon dioxide from the cells to the
water. A fish inhales water by opening its mouth and exhales water by closing its mouth and
pumping water from its mouth cavity over its gills and out the sides of its body. (Campbell, et.
al.,1997)

Tracheal System. Tracheal system is found in insects. Insect’s tracheal system includes a
number of enlargements called air sacs that pump air into and out of the trachea. Air enters the
body through the opening at the side of the abdomen called spiracles that lead to a system of tubes
called tracheae. Tracheae are sub-divided into smaller tube called tracheoles containing a fluid,
which carry oxygen to and remove carbon dioxide from the cells. (Campbell, et. al.,1997)

Book Lungs. These are found in spiders. Each “lung” has a

number of leaf-like folds. Air enters the book lungs through a pair of
slit-like openings on the under surface of the abdomen. Gas
exchange takes place across the membranes of the folds. The blood
system carries the gases from the lungs to all parts of the body.
(Ditan, 1994)

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Lung System. Terrestrial vertebrates use lungs for gas exchange. We will discuss how the
lung system functions in the exchange of gases in the next lesson.

Lesson 2. The Human Respiratory System

You take in air when you breathe. Oxygen is obtained from the air. Through which organ of
the respiratory system does air enter the body? Study the diagram of the respiratory system. As you
read about each organ, you can consult the figure and locate some of the features listed in the
description.
When you inhale, the air enters the openings of your nose called the external nares or
nostrils. Then it passes into the nasal cavities/passages. Air can also be drawn in through your
mouth. Is it the best way to take air in? No! Mouth breathing is not the best way to take air in
because the mouth does not allow the air to be processed by the nasal cavity.
The nostrils are lined with cilia, or tiny hairs that
filter the air, that is, they remove dirt and dust. The
nasal passages are lined with mucous membrane,
a sticky substance that also traps dust. Therefore,
the nostrils and nasal cavities function in warming
and moistening the air, filtering out dust particles
and smelling.
The clean, warm air passes through the
pharynx. You will recall that the pharynx also
functions as a part of the digestive system, the air and food pass here. The food tube (esophagus)
and the air tube (larynx) are joined at the pharynx. The hole between the two tubes is called glottis,
it is the opening into the larynx. The glottis is always open except when we swallow. Above the
glottis is a flaplike structure called epiglottis. It closes the glottis when we swallow. When the
epiglottis fails to close the glottis, some food particles accidentally enter the air tube. How does the
body protect itself when such an accident happens? We automatically cough violently. Coughing
forces the strayed food particles out of the air tube.
The larynx is also known as voice box because of the vocal cords which are stretched
across it. The larynx also referred to as “Adam’s apple” because it is protruding in man. Its walls are
lined with mucous membrane, which secretes mucus for purifying the air and making it moist and
warm before entering the lungs.
Locate your own voice box by placing your hands on your throat and begin humming.
The site of maximum vibration is the location of the larynx. Were you able to locate your
larynx?

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 General Biology 2
The trachea or windpipe is a membrane
and cartilaginous cylindrical tube. It is kept open by
incomplete rings of cartilage. The incomplete rings
allow us to widen the trachea when we want to
inhale more air. The walls of the trachea are also
lined with mucous membrane and cilia. These
structures relieve the air of all impurities before
reaching the lungs.
The trachea forks into two bronchi, one
leading to each lung. Within the lungs, the bronchus
branches separately into finer and finer tubes called
bronchioles and terminating to the air sacs or
alveoli.
The lungs are the lightest organs of the body. They are large, pink, and like sponges. A
delicate membrane called pleura covers the lungs which extends from around the lungs to the walls
of the chest cavity, thus forming two layers around the lungs.

A small amount of lymph between the two layers

keeps them moist and prevents rubbing. Together, they
have about and made up of one billion tiny air sacs called
alveoli. A network of tiny blood vessels called capillaries
surrounds each alveolus. The many alveoli and the thin-
walled capillaries allow the blood to pick-up oxygen and
leave the waste materials, carbon dioxide and water. The
alveoli are the site of actual gas exchange and may
therefore be regarded as the primary functional units of the
lungs.

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The inner walls of the air sacs of the lungs is the moist membrane into which oxygen
diffuses. From the cells of the air sacs, it diffuses to the fine capillaries and enters the bloodstream
and is carried to the left side of the heart, from where it is pumped to all body cells. This movement
of oxygen from the alveoli of the lungs to the blood is known as external respiration. The transport of
oxygen from the blood to the cells is known as internal respiration. (Rabago, et. al., 1990)
The flow of carbon dioxide is opposite that of oxygen. It diffuses the opposite way. Carbon
dioxide is carried back to the lungs via the veins and the right side of the heart. The waste products
then leave the bloodstream in the alveoli of the lungs and are pushed through the respiratory organs
to the outside of the body during exhalation. (Keen, 1987)

Activity 1.
Answer the crossword puzzle.
1 2 3.

4.
5 6

7.

8
9.

10

Across
1. Smaller branches of the bronchi
5. Separates the chest from the abdomen
7. Filter air
8. Voice box or Adam’s apple
9. Organ through which air enters the body
10. An opening at the floor of the pharynx
Down
1. Two branches at the lower end of the trachea
2. Network of tiny blood vessels surrounding the alveoli
3. A flaplike structure, which stops food from entering the trachea
4. Windpipe
6. Air sacs
8. Chief organ for breathing

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 General Biology 2
Lesson 3. Breathing Mechanisms

Across the body cavity, and below the lungs, is a flat, powerful muscle called the
diaphragm. It is a curved, dome shaped muscle that can move up and down. It separates the chest
from the abdominal cavity. The diaphragm is important in the breathing process. Before we proceed
to our lecture proper, answer first the activity below.

Activity 2.

Perform and observe.

1. Put your hands in your lowest ribs. Take a deep breath/inhale. What do you feel?
a. The ribs move upward.
b. The ribs move downward.

What happens to your chest cavity?

a. It becomes larger.
b. It becomes smaller.

What happens to the diaphragm?

a. It moves downward.
b. It moves upward.
2. Now, let the air out or exhale. What do you feel?
a. The ribs move upward.
b. The ribs move downward.

What happens to your chest cavity?

a. It becomes larger.
b. It becomes smaller.

What happens to the diaphragm?

a. It moves downward.
b. It moves upward.

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 General Biology 2
When you breath in or inhale, the diaphragm moves downward. Chest muscles are attached
to the ribs and the contraction brings the ribs upward and forward (outward) thereby enlarging the
chest cavity. As a result, air pressure inside the chest cavity is less than that outside the body, so
the air outside rushes in the lungs and air is pushed into the nose, down the throat, through a tube
called trachea, and finally into the lungs. (Ditan, 1994)

After the lungs are filled with air, the rib muscles relax and the ribs move back in
place therefore it moves downward. The diaphragm moves upward. As a result of these
actions, the chest cavity become smaller and the pressure in the chest is greater than the air
outside the body. Air inside therefore, rushes out of the lungs. (Ditan, 1994)

The process of inhaling and exhaling air refers to breathing. Breathing is the
alternate inhaling and exhaling movements.

References:
https://bio.libretexts.org/Bookshelves/Introductory_and_General_Biology/Book%3AGeneralBiology_
(Boundless)/39%3A_The_Respiratory_System
https://www.britannica.com/animal/arachnid/Respiration
https://www.open.edu/openlearn/science-maths-technology/blood-and-the-respiratory-
system/content-section-1.1.1
https://www.findfunfacts.com/human_body/lung.html
https://socratic.org/questions/alveoli-in-the-lungs
https://www.toppr.com/ask/question/describe-the-mechanism-of-respiration-in-man/