How does material move from the respiratory system to the circulatory system?
1 Answer
By diffusion.
Explanation:
Oxygen is the primary material that moves from the respiratory system to the circulatory system.
When air is inhaled, it enters the lungs through the bronchii which are the two divisions of the trachea. The bronchii further divide into bronchioles which finally end in tiny sacs called alveoli.
These alveoli are surrounded by a network of capillaries which have subdivided from the pulmonary artery that carries de-oxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs.
Both the alveoli and the capillaries are extremely thin-walled to allow the diffusion of inhaled oxygen from the alveoli to the blood in the capillaries in which it enters the red blood cells (erythrocytes) and binds with haemoglobin.
The oxygenated blood then moves through the pulmonary veins back to the heart which then pumps it to the rest of the body.
