Respiration: Meaning of Respiration, Types of Respiration, Transport of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide

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Meaning of Respiration

  • Living organisms take in oxygen and give out carbon dioxide through the process.

  • The blood cells are responsible for carrying out the transport of gases during respiration both oxygen and carbon dioxide.

  • It is the biochemical process wherein the living cells of an organism produce energy.

  • The breakdown of glucose produces the energy (ATP-Adenosine triphosphate).

Human Respiratory System

Human Respiratory System

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Types of Respiration

Cellular Respiration

  • It is a set of metabolic reactions occurring in all living cells to release energy.

  • This release of energy is due to the converting biochemical energy from nutrients into adenosine triphosphate- ATP.

  • The cellular respiration can be divided into Aerobic respiration and Anaerobic respiration based on the oxygen demand.

Aerobic Respiration

  • This respiration occurs in the presence of oxygen to produce energy.

  • This is a continuous process occurring within the cells of plants and animals.

Anaerobic Respiration

  • This respiration occurs in the absence of oxygen to produce energy.

  • The chemical equation can be represented as under:

Transport of Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide

Transport of Oxygen

  • The Red Blood Cells are responsible for transporting oxygen in the blood during respiration.

  • The pigment hemoglobin present in RBCs gives blood its red colour.

  • 97% of oxygen is transported by Red Blood Cells in the blood.

  • The remaining 3% of oxygen gets dissolved in the plasma.

  • When oxygen meets hemoglobin, it is known as Oxyhaemoglobin.

    • Depends on partial pressures of oxygen

    • Carbon dioxide

    • H+ concentration

    • Temperature

Transport of Carbon Dioxide

  • The carbon dioxide is carried out by hemoglobin as carbamino-hemoglobin.

  • Around 7% of the carbon dioxide is in a dissolved state in the plasma.

  • The remaining carbon dioxide is carried out as bicarbonate.

  • The partial pressure of carbon dioxide is high in the tissues.

  • Carbon dioxide gets dissociated from carbamino-hemoglobin in the alveoli where the partial pressure of oxygen is high.

  • The bicarbonates are responsible for releasing carbon dioxide at the alveoli formed at the tissues.

  • The deoxygenated blood (every 100 ml) can deliver carbon dioxide (4 ml) to the alveoli.

Oxidative Phosphorylation

  • ATP molecules are formed in the process.

  • Involving a series of electron carriers there is a transfer of electrons from NADH (nicotinamide adenine dinucleotide) or FADH2 (Flavin adenine dinucleotide) to O2.

  • This process takes place within the mitochondria of a cell.

FAQs

Q 1. What are the two types of respiration involved in Cellular Respiration based on the oxygen demand?

Answer:

The two types of respiration involved in Cellular Respiration based on the oxygen demand are:

i) Aerobic respiration

ii) Anaerobic respiration

Q 2. What is Respiration?

Answer: Respiration can be defined as the process of taking in oxygen and giving out carbon dioxide in all living organisms.

Q 3. Why living organisms need energy?

Answer:

  • Energy is obtained from the food we eat.

  • The energy is required for different metabolic activities such as growth, development, repair, etc.