GASEOUS
EXCHANGE
• You are actively breathing in the air around you as
you read this sentence. Your life depends on this
inhaled air.
THE STRUCTURE OF THE HUMAN
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM.
It consists of:
- The air passages
- Nasal passages
- pharynx
- epiglottis
- trachea
- bronci
- bronchiole
- lungs
- alveoli
The trachea or windpipe.
• The trachea is located in front of the oesophagus. It is a long,
tubular structure with C-shaped cartilage rings to keep it open.
• The trachea is lined with ciliated columnar epithelium with goblet
cells secreting mucus. The cilia beat upwards, flicking out any dust
and dirt or foreign particles while the mucus moistens the air and
trap germs and dust that might enter the trachea.
Larynx and Epiglottis
• The larynx is also
known as the voice
box containing the
voice cords. The
epiglottis is a flap-
like structure made
of cartilage that
open and close the
opening of the larynx
when food is
swallowed. Food is
then forced into the
oesophagus and not
into the trachea.
BRONCHI AND BRONCHIOLE.
• The bronchi and bronchioles are ciliated tubes that move
air from trachea to the alveoli in the lungs.
• The trachea divides into a left and right bronchus that
enters the left and the right lung respectively. Both are
lined with mucous membrane and are held open by O-
shaped cartilage rings. Each bronchi end in an
infundibulum which consists of groups of alveoli.
Bronchioles do not have cartilage rings. The walls are
made of smooth muscle that can contract and relax to
alter air flow.
• The lungs are two spongy
THE LUNGS
structures located in the chest.
• The lungs are surrounded and
protected by 12 pairs of ribs.
• The intercostal muscles are
found between the ribs.
• Each lung is surrounded by a
double membrane called the
pleura and rest at the bottom of
a dome-shaped muscle plate
called the diaphragm.
THE ALVEOLUS
• The alveoli are small air sacs
that allow gases to dissolve in
and diffuse through their thin
moist lining of squamous
epithelium into the many tiny
blood capillaries that attach to
them.
• There are many alveoli per
lung, increasing the surface
area for efficient gaseous
exchange. The gases move
into and out of the
bloodstream.
TEST YOUR KNOWLEDGE 8.3
1. Study the following diagram and answer
the questions.
1.1 Identify the labels numbered a - k.
1.2 Give one function for each of the
following:
a. The ciliated epithelium that lines the
inside of part h.
b. The cartilage rings in part b and h.
1.3 Write a paragraph and discuss the
adaptations of the lungs
for its function of gaseous exchange.
VENTILATION OF THE LUNGS
The mechanism of breathing.
To maintain a good healthy supply of oxygen, fresh
“air” must constantly be brought into the lungs from
the environment.
By now you have realised that breathing takes place
in two stages, namely inhalation and exhalation.
Inhalation Exhalation
• The muscles of the diaphragm • The diaphragm relaxes and
contract and it flatten. returns to its original dome
• The intercostal muscles also shape.
contract, raising the rib cage • The intercostal muscles also
upwards and outwards. relax and the rib cage moves
• The thoracic cavity enlarges from inwards
side to side and from front to back • The volume of the thoracic cavity
and the total volume of the chest decreases.
increases. • And since the CO² concentration
• The lungs expand and since the is higher inside the lungs than in
oxygen concentration in the the atmosphere, CO² flows out of
atmosphere is higher than that in the lungs.
the lungs, the air flows into the
lungs.
BREATHING MOVEMENTS…
GASEOUS EXCHANGE
• This is a process that is taking place
in the alveoli as well as in the tissues
HOMEOSTATIC CONTROL OF
BREATHING.
• It is important to control breathing because the cells need a constant
supply of oxygen for cellular respiration and the removal of carbon
dioxide they produce.
• This is known as the homeostatic control of breathing – the
maintenance of a constant internal environment.
• The brain, more specifically, the medulla oblongata, houses the
respiratory centre. It is responsible for the control of the rate of
breathing and with that, the rate of the heartbeat.
• CO²-levels in the blood. A high concentration of CO² in the blood will
stimulate the sensory cells to send impulses to the respiratory and
cardiovascular centres in the medulla oblongata in the brain. Here the
impulses are sent to the diaphragm and intercostal muscles to speed
up contraction and relaxation.
• CO²-levels in the blood. A high concentration of CO² in the blood will
stimulate the sensory cells to send impulses to the respiratory and
cardiovascular centres in the medulla oblongata in the brain. Here the
impulses are sent to the diaphragm and intercostal muscles to speed up
contraction and relaxation.
• The rate of breathing thus increases and more CO²-rich air is exhaled.
The cardiovascular centre sends impulses to heart muscle and
arterioles. Heart rate increases, arterioles constrict and blood is flowing
faster. CO² reaches the lungs faster, where it can be exhaled. Thus the
CO² concentration in the blood returns to normal.
