Free Gaseous Exchange Process Essay Sample
This article talks or describes the process of gaseous exchange in general whereby it examines both the features of the respiratory system as well as the organs involved in the process. The article states that respiration or gaseous exchange takes place at a respiratory surface; that is a boundary between the interior of the body and the external environment. According to the article, ventilation or the respiratory gas exchange is performed by the lung mechanisms. The article divides several parts or organs of the respiratory system in order to give an in depth look or analysis of the process.
The first one is the breath- whereby we are told that breathing transports oxygen into the body whereas carbon dioxide is taken out. According to the article, in the air-breathing vertebrates, the lung is the most fundamental organ or the process of respiration. The primary function of the lung is transportation of atmospheric oxygen into the bloodstream, and the excretion of carbon dioxide from the bloodstream into the atmosphere. Regarding the pulmonary alveolus, the article says that they the respiratory bronchioles' spherical outcroppings that are found in the lungs and the major sites of the gas exchange with the blood.
The article describes apnea as the technical term that is used for the suspension of the external breathing. The article further states that the muscles of respiration do not move and the lung volumes as at first remains the same or retains their size. This is also another essential part of the respiration process since just a slight disorder can lead to death. Nasal congestion is described by the article as the blockage of the nasal passages. However, this normally occurs as a result of the excretion of excess mucus which is caused by a virus; it can also be refereed to as stuffy nose, nasal blockage or nasal obstruction.
In general, I believe the gaseous exchange is the process that involves the transportation of atmospheric oxygen to the tissues of the body in order to be used in the process of metabolism; and carbon dioxide, which is the gas that is produced by the process of metabolism is transferred from the tissues to the atmosphere, hence the term gaseous exchange since there are two kinds of gases exchanged between the body and the atmosphere. Carbon dioxide and oxygen move between the blood and the air across the respiratory exchange surfaces in the lungs. Nevertheless, the structure of the lungs of human beings offers an immense internal surface that helps in facilitating the process of gas exchange between the blood in the pulmonary capillaries and the alveoli. The flow of blood and gas within the lung of a bird is carefully arranged in a way that helps in the minimization of the exchange of gases, which is more efficient than the lungs of mammals.
All vertebrates require oxygen for aerobic energy supply. Gills and lungs are the organs that are specifically designed or specialized for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between water or air and the blood; however, in some animals, we find that the skin partly or exclusively serves this purpose. Jellyfish and sponges do not have specialized organs for the process of gaseous exchange; hence takes in gases directly from the water around them. Annelids and flatworms use their outer surfaces as their surfaces for the exchange of gases. Fish, arthropods and annelids use gills in the exchange of gases while the terrestrial vertebrates use internal lungs for the process. Large animals are not able to maintain the process of the exchange of gases by diffusion across their outer surface.