Can you answer all the parts to this question regarding fish (please type the answer) Mammals have dead end sacs called “alveoli” and don’t have the super efficient countercurrent exchange system seen in fish. Why do you think countercurrent exchange is necessary for fish? (hint: think about the difference between where most mammals and fish live).
Can you answer all the parts to this question regarding fish (please type the answer)
Mammals have dead end sacs called “alveoli” and don’t have the super efficient countercurrent exchange system seen in fish. Why do you think countercurrent exchange is necessary for fish? (hint: think about the difference between where most mammals and fish live).
Fish gills use a design called ‘countercurrent oxygen exchange’ to maximize the amount of oxygen that their blood can pick up.
They achieve this by maximizing the amount of time their blood is exposed to water that has a higher oxygen level, even as the blood takes on more oxygen. Countercurrent oxygen exchange means the blood flows through the gills in the opposite direction as the water flowing over the gills. This flow pattern ensures that as the blood progresses through the gills and gains oxygen from the water, it encounters increasingly fresh water with a higher oxygen concentration that is able to continuously offload oxygen into the blood. The low-oxygen blood, which is just entering the gill, meets low-oxygen water. Since there is more oxygen in the water, the oxygen can flow from water to blood. Likewise, the high-oxygen blood, which has nearly passed the entire length of the gill, meets fresh, high-oxygen water, and oxygen continues to flow from water to blood.
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