The nurse is providing care for a patient with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease

Question

When describing the process of respiration the nurse explains how oxygen and carbon dioxide are exchanged between the pulmonary capillaries and the alveoli. The nurse is describing what process?
A) Diffusion
B) Osmosis
C) Active transport
D) Filtration

Answer 1

Ans: A
Feedback:
Diffusion is the natural tendency of a substance to move from an area of higher concentration to one of lower concentration. It occurs through the random movement of ions and molecules. Examples of diffusion are the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the pulmonary capillaries and alveoli and the tendency of sodium to move from the ECF compartment, where the sodium concentration is high, to the ICF, where its concentration is low. Osmosis occurs when two different solutions are separated by a membrane that is impermeable to the dissolved substances; fluid shifts through the membrane from the region of low solute concentration to the region of high solute concentration until the solutions are of equal concentration. Active transport implies that energy must be expended for the movement to occur against a concentration gradient. Movement of water and solutes occurring from an area of high hydrostatic pressure to an area of low hydrostatic pressure is filtration.