Gas Exchange

General Biology 2
2nd Semester (A.Y. 2021 – 2022)
GAS EXCHANGE IN ANIMALS
Unicellular Organisms
What is respiration?
 Interchange of O 2 and CO 2 (organisms-
environment)
 Provides O 2 for cellular respiration and
removes waste product (CO 2)
 Mammalian lungs contain alveoli (small air
Take Note!
sacs) where gas exchange takes place
Cellular respiration, oxygen is very vital especially
 Whales and Dolphins (blowholes)
in the last step because it is the last electron acceptor
in the electron transport chain. Without it we won’t  Closed transport system because they have
be able to make as much ATP that we need for blood (blood never leaves the blood vessels; it
oxygen as possible. just travels)
 Diffusion
 Do not have blood Reptiles
MECHANISMS IN GAS EXCHANGE
 Open transport system  Similar to mammals
Gas exhange involves breathing, transport of gases,
and exchange of gases with tissue cells.  Have larger alveoli
Unicellular organisms do not have much space to  Varanids breathe with their cheeks (buccal
work so they do not have blood vessels. They only pumping)
exchange gases through diffusion.  Exception are sea snakes because they do gas
exchange through their skin
 Closed transport system

Amphibians

Mammals
 Balloon-like lungs  Gills are protected by flaps of operculum made surrounding soil due to mineral ions being
 Gas exchange takes place on the moist skin up of lamellae actively pumped into the cell
which has a large surface area  Lamellae contain capillaries
 The diffusion of gases takes place when the  Lung fish (these fishes have lungs that are Leaves
animals are in water derived from the swim ladder. A swim ladder is
an organ used for buoyant sea in most bony
Insects fishes. The inner surfaces of these air breathing
organs are covered with honeycomb-like
cavities supplied with fine blood vessels.)

GAS EXCHANGE IN PLANTS

Roots

 Stomata (holes) – the tiny openings or pores in

a plant tissue that allows gas exchange to
 Trachea is their breathing organ happen
 Air goes to spiracles (tiny holes on their skin)  It is typically found in plant leaves underside
 Open transport system but it can also be found in some stems

Stem

Fish

 Lenticles (holes) - group of loosely organized

bark cells for gaseous exchange

Types of Plants Based on their Living

Enivronments
1) Xerophytes – dry environments (ex. succulents)
 Happens in root hairs
 Root hairs increase surface area
 Requires soil to be aerated and moist
 Root hairs are almost always turgid because
 Gills-environmental adaptation (water) their solute potential is greater than that of the
2) Hydrophytes – on surface of water (ex. water lily)

3) Halophytes – saline water (ex. cord grasses)

The picture shown below shows that these plants

have pneumatophores which are also called aerial
roots. When submerged in water, these roots stay on
top of the water to be able to exchange gas. Their
roots are really impermeable, so salt from these
saline waters can’t get into the roots. They also stop
their stomata from opening too many times to be
able to stop water loss in leaves.