Diffusion due to differences in air pressures.
easy efficient exchange between air and blood
The membrane of the alveolus, the air sacs in the lungs where this process takes place, is only one cell thick. The wall of the capillary running adjacent to the alveolus is also one cell thick, so the gases are exchanged between the alveolus and the capillary cell membranes.
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.
Gas exchange occurs in the alveoli of the lungs. These tiny air sacs are surrounded by capillaries where oxygen from the air can enter the bloodstream and carbon dioxide can be removed from the blood.
alveolus
The process involved in the passage of gas between the alveolus and the blood is called gas exchange. This occurs through diffusion, where oxygen moves from the alveolus into the capillaries and carbon dioxide moves from the capillaries into the alveolus.
The exchange of gases between the alveolar air and pulmonary capillary blood is called pulmonary gas exchange. Oxygen diffuses from the alveoli into the capillaries, while carbon dioxide diffuses from the capillaries into the alveoli. This process is essential for the body to obtain oxygen and release carbon dioxide.
Oxygen passes from the air sacs in the lungs to the blood in the capillaries, carbon dioxide passes the other way.
An alveolus (plural: alveoli, from Latin alveolus, "little cavity") is an anatomical structure that has the form of a hollow cavity. Found in the lung parenchyma, the pulmonary alveoli are the dead ends of the respiratory tree, which outcrop from either alveolar sacs or alveolar ducts, which are both sites of gas exchange with the blood as well.
Capillary Exchange is a biological term. This is where fluids, gasses, nutrients, and wastes are exchanged between the blood and body tissues by diffusion.
The layers of the respiratory membrane include the alveolar epithelium, the basement membrane, and the capillary endothelium. These layers are involved in facilitating the exchange of gases, such as oxygen and carbon dioxide, between the air in the lungs and the blood in the capillaries.
The alveolus is filled with air, which allows for the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the bloodstream. The alveolar walls are lined with a thin layer of fluid that helps facilitate this gas exchange.