General Biology 2

Quarter 2 – Module 2.1:

Compare and Contrast Processes in
Plants and Animals: Gas Exchange
 What I Need to Know

This module is designed for you to learn about the comparison of the
different processes that take place in plants and animals. You will study, discover
and explore about how processes such as gas exchange occurs inside the body of
plants and animals. In this module, you will also have to reflect on the plant and
animal organ systems responsible for respiration.

At the end of this module, you are expected to:

1. Compare and contrast the following processes in plants and animals:

reproduction, development, nutrition, gas exchange,
transport/circulation, regulation of body fluids, chemical and nervous
control, immune systems, and sensory and motor mechanisms
(STEM_BIO11/12-IVa-h-1).

2
 What’s New

Respiratory organs in plants and animals vary. These organs are specialized
to perform an important role in gas exchange. Try to identify the plant and animal
organs involved in the process of respiration.

Figure 1 shows a leaf cross-section, determine which part of this leaf is used
for gas exchange. Then on the other hand, figures 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 present different
animal respiratory organs. Distinguish each organ utilized by animals for respiration.

Fig. 1 Fig. 2

Fig. 3 Fig. 4

3
Fig. 5 Fig. 6

4
 What is It

Plants do not breathe, they only respire. Animals usually breathe in

the air for carrying out cellular respiration. Plants lack a respiratory system
which is usually found in animals.
In plants, the leaf obtains oxygen directly from the air through the
stomata. Stems and roots also take in oxygen. In case of animals, oxygen is
taken in through special openings (like nostrils or gill clefts) into the
respiratory organ.
In animals, there is a respiratory organ (like lungs, gills, etc.) present
within the body, where exchange of gases occurs. No such respiratory organ
is present in plants. The tissues of a leaf are adapted for photosynthesis and
gas exchange.
The carbon dioxide produced in animals during respiration is released
to the atmosphere, whereas the carbon dioxide produced during plant
respiration may be used by the plant for carrying out photosynthesis.
There is no respiratory pigment in case of plants, whereas in animals,
respiratory pigments play an important role in transporting oxygen to the
cells. Animals have to take in oxygen and expel carbon dioxide to sustain
cellular respiration and stay alive. Terrestrial animals and aquatic animals
face different challenges in performing gas exchange.
Meanwhile, the gas exchange in plants occurs through the process of
respiration where free energy is released and transiently stored in a
compound, ATP, which can be readily utilized for the maintenance and
development of the plant. This process is usually more complex since plants
can carry both on respiration and photosynthesis.
In animals there are several factors affecting gas exchange.

What are these factors influencing gas exchange?

1. The respiratory surface or organ is the part of an animal’s body where
gases are exchanged with the environment. To allow the gas exchange, it
must be moist, large enough, and protected from desiccation.

2. Respiratory system relies on the diffusion of gases down pressure gradient.

• Partial pressures for gas in the atmosphere can be computed. For
example, the partial pressure of oxygen in alveolar air is about 104
mm Hg, whereas the partial pressure of the oxygenated pulmonary
venous blood is about 100 mm Hg. In contrast, when ventilation is
insufficient, the partial pressure of oxygen in the alveoli drops.
Without the large

5
 difference in partial pressure between the alveoli and the blood, oxygen
does not diffuse efficiently across the respiratory membrane.
•Frick’s Law states that the amount of diffusion of a gas across a
membrane is proportional to the surface area and the difference in
partial pressure between the two sides and inversely proportional to the
thickness of the membrane.

3. Surface-to-volume ratio
•As an animal grows, the surface area increases at a lesser rate than
its volume, making diffusion of gases into the interior more difficult.
•Animals must have a body design that keeps the internal cells close to
the surface (e.g. flatworms) or must have a system to move the gases
inward.

4. Ventilation
•It refers to the movement of the respiratory medium (air or water) over
the respiratory surface.
•Bony fish moves the gill covers (operculum) for water carrying oxygen
to flow across the gill.
•Humans move the muscles of the thorax to expand and contract the
chest cavity and move in and out of the lungs.

5. Perfusion
•It refers to the flow of blood to alveolar capillaries.
•For gas exchange to be efficient, the volumes involved in ventilation
and perfusion should be compatible. However, factors such as regional
gravity effects on blood, blocked alveolar ducts, or disease can cause
ventilation and perfusion to be imbalanced.

6. Respiratory Pigments or Proteins

•Adaptations of animals for gas exchange include respiratory
pigments that bind and transport gases.
•The respiratory pigment of vertebrates is hemoglobin while that of
invertebrates (e.g. arthropods and mollusks) is hemocyanin.
•Blood cannot carry sufficient oxygen and carbon dioxide in dissolved
form to meet the body’s requirements; hemoglobin helps enhance its
capacity.

6
Structures for gas exchange in plants include stomata
in leaves, lenticels in stems, root hairs in aerial roots
and pneumatophores or lateral roots of mangroves.

Meanwhile, respiratory surfaces or organs in

animals differ in invertebrates and vertebrates.

How do respiratory organs differ in invertebrates

and vertebrates?

In invertebrates, the respiratory surfaces or organs are:

1. Integumentary exchange - refers to the

general body surface or skin used by
animals with high surface-to-volume ratio;
e.g. flatworm and earthworm. Amphibians
also use their moist skin in addition to
lungs as gas exchange surface.

2. External gills - used by invertebrates that

live in aquatic habitats; gills are highly
folded, thin-walled, vascularized epidermis
that project outward from the body; e.g.
annelids, aquatic insects, mollusks,
crayfish, lobster, sea star, and nudibranch.
While most crustaceans and mollusks such
as clams and oysters utilize internal gills.

3. Tracheal system in arthropods - utilizes

fine air-conducting tubules to provide
gaseous exchange at the cellular level. It is
not dependent on a circulatory system; e.g.
insects and spiders.

7
While in vertebrates, respiratory organs include:

1. External gills - thin, vascular

projections from the body surface of a
few amphibians, e.g. larval salamander.

2. Internal gills - rows of slits or pockets

in adult fishes positioned at the back
of the mouth such that water that
enters the mouth can flow over them
as it exits just behind the head.

Water flows over the gills and blood

circulates through them in opposite
direction. This mechanism, called
countercurrent flow, is highly efficient in
extracting oxygen from water, whose
oxygen content is lower than air.
Countercurrent is much more efficient
than co-current exchange.

3. Lungs - internal respiratory surfaces

shaped as a cavity or sac. Lungs
provided a membrane for gaseous
exchange. Since they are not in direct
contact with all other parts of the
body, lungs require a circulatory
system to transport gases to the rest
of the body. These respiratory organs
are found in birds, reptiles, and
mammals.

8
How does air move in and out of the lungs?

1. Air moves by bulk flow into and out of the lung.

2. Gases diffuse across the inner respiratory surfaces of the lungs.
3. Pulmonary circulation allows the diffusion of dissolved gases across
lung capillaries.
4. In body tissues, oxygen diffuses from blood  internal fluid  cells.
The pathway of carbon dioxide is in reverse.
5. All lungs receive deoxygenated blood from the heart and return
oxygenated blood to the heart.

How do breathing mechanisms vary in vertebrates?

1. Amphibians ventilate their lungs by positive pressure breathing which

forces air down the trachea.
2. Birds use a system of air sacs as blower to keep air flowing through
the lungs in one direction only, preventing the mixing of incoming and
outgoing air.
3. Mammals ventilate their lungs by negative pressure breathing
which pulls air into the lungs when the volume of the lungs expands as
the rib muscles and diaphragm contract. However, the incoming and
outgoing air mix, decreasing the efficiency of ventilation.

Air enters and leaves the respiratory system through nasal cavities where air
is filtered by hair or cilia, warmed by blood vessels and moistened with mucus.

Gas exchange and circulation

are coordinated to each other. For
instance, during oxygen transport,
the oxygen diffuses down a pressure
gradient from the lungs into the blood
plasms  red blood cells  binds to
hemoglobin (4 molecules per
hemoglobin to form oxyhemoglobin).
The hemoglobin gives up its oxygen
in tissues where partial pressure of
oxygen is low, blood is warmer,
partial pressure of carbon dioxide is
higher, and pH level is lower. These
four conditions occur in tissues with
high metabolic rate. However,
carbon dioxide transport happens
when carbon dioxide diffuses down
its partial pressure gradient from the
tissues into the blood plasma and red

9
blood cells to air in alveoli. Seven percent is dissolved in plasma, 23% binds with
hemoglobin to form carbaminohemoglobin, and 70% is in bicarbonate form.
Bicarbonate and carbonic acid formation, on the other hand, is enhanced by the
enzyme carbonic anhydrase, which is located in the red blood cells.

How coordination of air flow with blood flow occurs?

1. Gas exchange in the alveoli is most efficient when air flow equals the
rate of blood flow.
2. Local controls within the lungs correct imbalances in air and blood flow
by constricting or dilating both bronchioles and arterioles.
The nervous system controls oxygen and carbon dioxide levels for the entire
body by regulating the rate and depth of breathing. The brain monitors the
cerebrospinal fluid through sensors (reflecting carbon dioxide concentration in the
blood). Secondary control is exerted by sensors in the aorta and carotid arteries that
monitor blood levels of oxygen as well as carbon dioxide (via blood).

There are animals that perform respiratory adaptations to extreme

conditions such as low-oxygen environments. Animals that inhabit high altitudes
have larger hearts and lungs, and hemoglobin with high affinity for binding oxygen.
Moreover, many diving animals have unusually high hematocrits (ratio of volume of
packed red blood cells to the volume of whole blood) and also muscles with high
amounts of myoglobin (an oxygen-binding protein found in muscle cells).

Humans living at higher altitude since birth develop more alveoli and
capillary network in the lungs. Humans during diving, the heartbeat slows, and
circulation is reduced to all parts of the body except the brain.

The kind of environmental condition of an animal or organisms’ lives may have

an effect on its respiratory system. Thus, this principle has resulted to notable
remark as adaptations.

Some respiratory illnesses have great impact on health and cause serious
problems. Here are some of them:

1. In a respiratory disorder like asthma, the muscles around bronchioles

contract more than usual, increasing resistance to airflow.
2. Emphysema is an abnormal condition of the lungs marked by
decreased respiratory function. It is associated with smoking or chronic
bronchitis or old age.
3. Pneumonia is an infectious disease involving inflammation and fluid
buildup in the lungs.
Smoking tobacco products is one of the leading global causes of death and is
strongly linked to cancer, cardiovascular disease, stroke and emphysema. In order
to prevent these complications, we must better do all the necessary actions in
taking good care of our respiratory system. Proper diet, enough sleep and
preventing cigarette smoking are some of the things to consider in order to keep
the respiratory system healthy.

10
 What I Can Do

COVID-19 is a respiratory disease, one that

especially reaches into your respiratory tract, which
includes your lungs.

COVID-19 can cause a range of breathing

problems, from mild to critical. Older adults and
people who have other health conditions like heart
disease, cancer, and diabetes may have more serious
symptoms.

Here’s what the new coronavirus does to your lungs. SARS-CoV-2, the virus
that causes COVID-19, is part of the coronavirus family.

When the virus gets in your body, it comes into contact with the mucous
membranes that line your nose, mouth, and eyes. The virus enters a healthy cell and
uses the cell to make new virus parts. It multiplies, and the new viruses infect nearby
cells. Think of your respiratory tract as an upside-down tree. The trunk is your
trachea, or windpipe. It splits into smaller and smaller branches in your lungs. At
the end of each branch are tiny air sacs called alveoli. This is where oxygen goes into
your blood and carbon dioxide comes out.

The new coronavirus can infect the upper or lower part of your respiratory
tract. It travels down your airways. The lining can become irritated and inflamed. In
some cases, the infection can reach all the way down into your alveoli.

COVID-19 is a new condition, and scientists are learning more every day about
what it can do to your lungs. They believe that the effects on your body are similar
to those of two other coronavirus diseases, severe acute respiratory syndrome (SARS)
and Middle East respiratory syndrome (MERS).

The spread of the corona virus is now becoming enormous. In your point of
view as a senior high school STEM student, what can you contribute or suggest to
the government that will help in lessening the COVID-19 active cases in your
community and flattening the curve?

11