How does oxygen move across the respiratory membrane?

How does oxygen move across the respiratory membrane?

In external respiration, oxygen diffuses across the respiratory membrane from the alveolus to the capillary, whereas carbon dioxide diffuses out of the capillary into the alveolus. However, the solubility of carbon dioxide is much greater than that of oxygen—by a factor of about 20—in both blood and alveolar fluids.

How does oxygen and carbon dioxide move with breathing?

Gas exchange takes place in the millions of alveoli in the lungs and the capillaries that envelop them. As shown below, inhaled oxygen moves from the alveoli to the blood in the capillaries, and carbon dioxide moves from the blood in the capillaries to the air in the alveoli.

What is the driving force for gas exchange across the respiratory membrane?

diffusion
Specifically, the driving force for diffusion is the partial pressure difference of the gas across the membrane, and NOT the concentration difference. So, the diffusion of oxygen and carbon dioxide are driven across the respiratory membrane by their partial pressure gradients.

What is the driving force behind oxygen and carbon dioxide movement?

This alveolar partial pressure of oxygen is the driving force for diffusion of oxygen across the alveolar membranes, through pulmonary capillary walls, and into the arteriolar blood flow and erythrocytes for transport throughout the body into peripheral tissues.

What is Henry’s Law in respiration?

Henry’s Law in Respiration The main application of Henry’s law in respiratory physiology is to predict how gasses will dissolve in the alveoli and bloodstream during gas exchange. The amount of oxygen that dissolves into the bloodstream is directly proportional to the partial pressure of oxygen in alveolar air.

What is Dalton and Henry’s law?

Both Dalton’s and Henry’s laws describe the behavior of gases. Dalton’s law states that any gas in a mixture of gases exerts force as if it were not in a mixture. Henry’s law states that gas molecules dissolve in a liquid proportional to their partial pressure.

How does oxygen turn into carbon dioxide?

Glucose plus oxygen produces carbon dioxide, water and energy. When that reacts with oxygen (O2) in the cells, it produces carbon dioxide (CO2) and water (H2O). C6H12O6 plus 6O2 gives 6CO2 plus 6H2O plus energy. We use the energy and the carbon dioxide is breathed out as gas.