IMPORTANCE OF OXYGEN IN HUMANS AND ANIMALS! GAS EXCHANGE IN EMPEROR NEWT!
During gas exchange in humans and animals, oxygen and carbon dioxide are very important components. It is important for humans and animals to breathe oxygen so that food can be converted to energy and to get rid of carbon dioxide. The important process that takes place is called Cellular Respiration. This process allows organisms to use energy stored in the chemical bonds of glucose. Energy in glucose is used to create ATP and this whole process takes place in the mitochondria cell in the human body. The reactants of cellular respiration are carbon dioxide and oxygen which produce carbon dioxide, water, and ATP(energy). During respiration of animals, oxygen is taken into the blood stream and carbon dioxide is taken from the blood stream. Carbon Dioxide then exits the body through exhalation, whereas oxygen is taken to cells around the body to produce energy, just like in humans. The diaphragm in the respiratory system is the dome-shaped muscle that separates the chest from the abdomen. The diaphragm plays an important role in the respiratory system as well. When we breathe in oxygen, the diaphragm is drawn downward until it is flat. At the same time, the muscles around the ribs pull them up like a hoop. The chest gets deeper and larger, making more air space. When we exhale carbon dioxide, the diaphragm goes back to its dome-shaped form.
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Amphibians, mammals, and humans do have some similarities in they way they take in oxygen. The Emperor newt, being an amphibian, has lungs and gas exchanges in the capillaries. Amphibians are able to do buccal pumping to push air into the lungs. The start of this process is when muscles take in air through the mouth or nose into a buccal cavity. Throat muscles then pump and move the floor of their mouths up in a way that can be seen from the outside. This forces oxygen into the lungs and carbon dioxide out of it. However, amphibians can also perform gas exchange through their highly vascularized skin. Since the blood vessels are close to their permeable skin surface, diffusion can take place through the skin. Diffusion is the movement of molecules from a region of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. As a "baby", the Emperor Newt breathes through their gills. Their gills are located on either side of the neck. The Emperor Newt takes in oxygenated water and force it through their gills and then out through the gill openings while also continually pumping deoxygenated blood from the body into the gill filaments. As the oxygenated water passes by the deoxygenated blood, oxygen diffuses into the gills. When the Emperor Newt becomes an "adult", it grows in lungs and begins to breathe oxygen through their nose or mouth which is taken into their lungs.
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