oxygen- the Crucial element
Nearly all of Earth's atmosphere can be summed up in four compounds: nitrogen, oxygen, argon, and carbon dioxide. Yet it is oxygen that holds the most significance and pertains the most to the existence of almost everything inhabiting Earth. Oxygen has quite the inflated reputation, and for a good reason. Oxygen is one of the most important elements, and required to sustain life. It was life itself that created an oxygenated atmosphere and continues to maintain it.
Not only is Oxygen essential to life, but it plays a key role in respiration and gas exchange. The primary function of the respiratory system is to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. Humans inhale oxygen, and it enters the lungs and travels until it gets to the alveoli. The lining of the alveoli allows the Oxygen to diffuse into the bloodstream. Likewise, Carbon Dioxide diffuses into the Alveoli and is then exhaled. This step is key, for it is diffusion, the spontaneous movement of gases, without the use of any energy of effort by the body, that makes this possible.[1]
Not only is Oxygen essential to life, but it plays a key role in respiration and gas exchange. The primary function of the respiratory system is to exchange oxygen and carbon dioxide. Humans inhale oxygen, and it enters the lungs and travels until it gets to the alveoli. The lining of the alveoli allows the Oxygen to diffuse into the bloodstream. Likewise, Carbon Dioxide diffuses into the Alveoli and is then exhaled. This step is key, for it is diffusion, the spontaneous movement of gases, without the use of any energy of effort by the body, that makes this possible.[1]
Another major interaction that Oxygen has during its journey through the body are with organelles known as mitochondria. Together, they will play an integral part in cellular respiration, a process that converts food into energy for the body. The mitochondria is the only place in the cell where oxygen can be combined with other food molecules. After the oxygen is added, the material can be digested.
Gas Exchange in the Thorny Oyster
The Thorny Oyster's Respiratory system is quite different from that of a humans, and a lot less complicated. The bivalve sucks in water through its incurrent siphon, while at the same time expelling waste water through its excurrent siphon. Oxygen will diffuse from the water into the gills, and carbon dioxide will diffuse out. Constant water circulation, caused by the beating of the cilia in the lungs, allows for constant gas exchange through the gills.[2] Bivalves have an open system, which means that their blood is delivered to open areas where it flows freely over organs. This blood is what delivers oxygen from the gills to the organs. [3]