Vertebrate Gas Exchange From Environment to Cell [Paperback]

The structural and chemical limitations to respiratory gas exchange existing between the ambient medium and the cell are comprehensively treated. Beginning with an examination of the natural oscillations of respiratory gases in both terrestrial and aquatic environments, Vertebrate Gas Exchange details the structures involved in convecting the medium (air or water), the morphometrics of capillary gas transfers, and gas transfer kinetics. Important features include details on measurement techniques associated with tissue capillary supply and gas exchange kinetics.1 Respiratory Gas Tensions in the Environment.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Natural Variations in Environmental Gas Tensions.- 3 Animals in Secluded Environments: Impact on Ambient Gas Tensions.- 4 Concluding Remarks.- References.- 2 Modeling of Gas Exchange in Lungs, Gills and Skin.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Gas Exchange in Steady State.- 3 Gas Exchange in Unsteady State.- References.- 3 Recent Advances and Trends in the Comparative Morphometry of Vertebrate Gas Exchange Organs.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Models.- 3 Methods.- 4 Skin.- 5 Fish Gills.- 6 Lungs.- 7 Symmorphosis Revisited.- 8 Summary and Perspectives.- References.- 4 Morphometric Analysis of Tissue Capillary Supply.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Practical Considerations.- 3 0- and 1-D Indices.- 4 Linear Analyses.- 5 Planar Analyses.- 6 The Role of Capillaries in Oxygen Transport to Tissue.- References.- 5 Hemoglobin Physiology in Vertebrate Animals: a Cautionary Approach to Adaptationist Thinking.- 1 Introduction.- 2 Universal Patterns of Organization in Hemoglobin Structure.- 3 Pitfalls for Molecular Adaptationists.- 4 Hemoglobin Multiplicity and Polymorphism.- 5 Purpose and Design for Optimizing Strategies.- 6 Non-Standard Oxygen-Binding Curves.- 7 The Environment-Organism Problem.- 8 Fine Tuning to Meet Specific Environmental Challenge or Non-Adaptive OEC?.- 9 Hemoglobin Ontogeny and the Functionalist/Structuralist Dichotomy.- 10 Conclul3l