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Anatomy & Physiology vocabulary · Heart, Circulation and Breathing

Gas exchange

Meaning in anatomy & physiology, with examples

nounCommon term

In anatomy & physiology, gas exchange means: The movement of oxygen into the blood and carbon dioxide out of it by diffusion, across the walls of the alveoli and capillaries in the lungs, and between the blood and the tissues.

In Turkish: gaz değişimi

How it is used

A key term in respiratory physiology. Gas exchange depends on the surface area, the thickness of the membrane and the difference in partial pressures. Lectures keep it separate from ventilation, which is the movement of air in and out.

Example sentences

  1. In the lungs, gas exchange happens across a barrier less than one micrometer thick.

  2. Gas exchange in the tissues moves oxygen from the blood into the cells.

Common collocations

  • pulmonary gas exchange
  • site of gas exchange
  • impaired gas exchange
  • partial pressure
  • alveolusOne of the millions of tiny air sacs at the ends of the airways in the lungs. Their thin walls are surrounded by capillaries, and this is where oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged.
  • diffusionThe movement of particles from an area where they are more concentrated to an area where they are less concentrated, without the cell using energy. Oxygen enters the blood in the lungs this way.
  • respirationThe process of taking in oxygen and getting rid of carbon dioxide. It covers breathing (ventilation), gas exchange in the lungs and tissues, and the use of oxygen inside cells (cellular respiration).
  • capillaryThe smallest type of blood vessel, with a wall only one cell thick. Capillaries connect arteries to veins, and oxygen, nutrients and waste pass through their walls to and from the tissues.
  • lungOne of the two spongy organs in the chest where oxygen passes from the air into the blood and carbon dioxide leaves it. The right lung has three lobes and the left lung has two.

More terms: Heart, Circulation and Breathing

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