Arterial End
Alveolar carbon dioxide partial pressure
Diffusion of carbon dioxide from the pulmonary blood into the alveolus. (This curve was constructed from data in Milhorn HT Jr, Pulley PE Jr: A theoretical study of pulmonary capillary gas exchange and venous admixture. Biophys J 8:337, 1968.)
into the alveoli. Furthermore, as shown in Figure 40-6, the Pco2 of the pulmonary capillary blood falls to almost exactly equal the alveolar Pco2 of 40 mm Hg before it has passed more than about one third the distance through the capillaries. This is the same effect that was observed earlier for oxygen diffusion, except that it is in the opposite direction.
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This ebook provides an introductory explanation of the workings of the human body, with an effort to draw connections between the body systems and explain their interdependencies. A framework for the book is homeostasis and how the body maintains balance within each system. This is intended as a first introduction to physiology for a college-level course.
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