answersLogoWhite

0

Diffusion (of anything) occurs because of a concentration gradient meaning there is more oxygen in one place than another.

Alveolus when you inhale will have a higher concentration of oxygen that that of the alveolar capillary resulting in a concentration gradient, this causing diffusion to occur until equilibrium is met.

This means more oxygen in alveolus so oxygen travels into the alveolar capillary until a balanced amount of oxygen is in both places, but then of course the oxygen is transported and you exhale and inhale so the process repeats.

User Avatar

Wiki User

13y ago

What else can I help you with?

Related Questions

What is the mechanism that allows oxygen to move from the alveolar into the pulmonary capillary blood?

Simple diffusion


Where is oxygen transferred to?

Oxygen is transferred to hemoglobin at the alveolar/capillary function. This transfer occurs through diffusion.


What makes the concentration of oxygen low in the alveolus?

The concentration of oxygen in the alveolus is low because it is continuously being taken up by the blood in the pulmonary capillaries for oxygenation. As a result, the oxygen level in the alveolus decreases, creating a concentration gradient that promotes the diffusion of oxygen into the bloodstream.


Why is the distance between the air in an alveolus and the blood in an alveolar capillary is less than 11000th of a millimetre?

Around the lungs,the blood is separated from the air inside each alveolus by only two cell layers; the cells making up the wall of the alveolus and the capillary wall itself. This is a distance of less than a thousandth of a millimetre. Because the air in the alveolus has a higer concentration of oxygen than the blood entering the capillary network, oxygen diffuses from the air across the wall of the alveolus and into the blood. That is why the distance is important.


What substance diffuses from an alveolus into a capillary?

Oxygen.


Is oxygen more concentrated in the alveolus or capillary?

In the alveoli


Will O2 diffuse from air to blood or from blood to the alveolar air?

It will be absorbed from the air into your lungs. Then when it reachs the alveolus it will diffuse from the alveolus into the blood capillaries down an oxygen concentration through diffusion where it will combine with the heamoglobin in the Red Blood Cells.


What is the process called in which oxygen enters the body and carbon dioxide exits the body?

Oxygen and carbon dioxide travel into and out of the bloodstream via diffusion across alveolar and capillary membranes.


How many cells does an oxygen molecule have to pass through to get from an alveolus into the blood?

An oxygen molecule must pass through four cell layers to move from an alveolus into the bloodstream: the alveolar epithelial cells, the capillary endothelial cells, and their basement membranes. This process is essential for oxygen exchange in the lungs.


Site of alveolar-capillary oxygen exchange?

Within the lungs.


What is the of Alveolus?

The alveolus is a air sac that holds the oxygen. It squashes the oxygen molecules so they diffuse from the alveolus into the capillary. From there, they attach themselves to deoxygenated Red Blood Cells. The oxygen in the blood plasma are also squashed and are diffused. They go from the capillary to the alveoli to get breathed out. The alveoli transfers the oxygen to the lung capillaries and oxygenates the blood, then it is breathed out as Carbon Dioxide.


Name the process by which oxygen moves across the wall of the alveolus?

diffusion