Mammal Gas Exchange

Gas Exchange in Mammals

A mammal is a warm-blooded animal and because of their ability to maintain the same body temperature in all climates they are able to be more active than other animals. They all have hair present on their body during some time of their life, and they have mammary glands from which the females produce milk from to nurse their babies.

In mammals their gas exchange system, the lungs, is located inside their bodies to reduce water loss and prevent desiccation. Oxygen enters the mammals system through their mouth where an epiglottis covers the trachea during swallowing to prevent food and liquid from entering the lungs, or through their nose which contains small hairs that act as a filter to trap dust particles from entering

For example this helps camels to live in deserts where sand could enter through the nostrils and block the alveoli or cause damage or infections however with these filtering devices their systems do not get damaged. An adaptation that has helped mammals living in arid terrestrial environments is their ability to change the humidity of the air entering their system; as air is inspired it is warmed and humidified which reduces water loss and damage to the lung tissues. Some animals are also able to seal up their nostrils to reduce water loss or dust entry. This adaptation of sealing their nostrils has allowed mammals to adapt to living in dry areas like deserts; sealing their nostrils can prevent the hot weather causing water loss, as well as sand particles that could enter the tracheal system which could potentially damage their alveoli. From the nostrils the oxygen travels down the trachea which is reinforced by flexible cartilage to strengthen the tubes and provide support for flexibility and neck movement. The trachea divide into two bronchi, one into the left lung and one into the

Diffusion rates across the membranes occur at rapid rates because the gas exchange membranes are only 0.5µm thick, and because the lung capillaries are situated very closely to the alveoli which also allows diffusion of gases back and forth to occur across a tiny space. To prevent the lungs from collapsing as a result of the atmospheric pressure, the lungs are protected by a rib cage which provides protection from injury and allows for differences in the internal and external air pressures to be