GAS EXCHANGE IN THE TISSUES

Gas exchange in the tissues (Peripheral Gas Exchange) refers to the process by which the respiratory gases are exchanged between the blood and the tissues of body. 

The gas exchange depends on several factors, these are: 

• The amount of O2 within the blood – the less O2 in the blood then the less diffusion of O2 will occur
• The amount of CO2 in the tissues – the less CO2 in the tissues then the less diffusion of CO2 will occur
• The amount of blood flow – with less blood in the tissues less gas will be exchanged
• The local conditions at the tissue – when tissues are producing a lot of H+ ions (becoming acidic) and are getting warm from doing lots of work, the rate of diffusion of O2 and CO2 increases. This ‘localized’ response to the state of the tissue allows gas exchange in working tissues to be dramatically higher than tissues that are doing very little.