Abstract
In all organisms gaseous exchange, the supply of oxygen to and removal of carbon dioxide from cells, depends ultimately on the rate at which these gases diffuse in the dissolved state. The diffusion rate is proportional to (1) the surface area over which diffusion is occurring, and (2) the diffusion gradient (concentration difference of the diffusing material between the two points under consideration divided by the distance between the two points). Diffusion alone, therefore, as a means of obtaining oxygen or excreting carbon dioxide can be employed only by small organisms whose surface area/volume ratio is high (i.e., all cells are relatively close to the surface of the body) and organisms whose metabolic rate is low. Organisms which are larger and/or have a high metabolic rate must increase the rate at which gases move between the environment and the body tissues by improving (1) and/or (2) above. In other words, specialized respiratory structures with large surface areas and/or transport systems which bring large quantities of the gas closer to the site of use or disposal (thereby improving the diffusion gradient) have been developed. For most terrestrial animals prevention of desiccation is another important problem, and this has had a major influence on the development of their respiratory surfaces through which considerable loss of water might occur. Typically, respiratory surfaces of terrestrial animals are formed as invaginated structures within the body so that evaporative water loss is greatly reduced.
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© 1980 Springer Science+Business Media New York
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Gillott, C. (1980). Gaseous Exchange. In: Entomology. Springer, Boston, MA. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6918-3_15
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4615-6918-3_15
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