Hematosis makes oxygenation of the blood possible.
Before entering fully into the meaning of the term hematosis , we are going to proceed to know its etymological origin. In this case, we can emphasize that it derives from Greek, specifically it is the result of the sum of the following lexical components of said language:
-The noun “hema, hematos”, which can be translated as “blood”.
-The suffix “-osis”, which is used to indicate diseases and also as a synonym for “formation”.
The term refers to the process that allows the blood to be oxygenated .
What is hematosis?
Through hematosis, a gas exchange develops between the blood of the living being and the external environment that enables the expulsion of carbon dioxide and the fixation of oxygen through respiration. The characteristics of this procedure depend on each species.
In mammals such as humans , hematosis is pulmonary . The exchange takes place between the alveoli and the blood capillaries : due to the difference in concentration, the oxygen from the alveolar air passes into the blood, where it joins the hemoglobin present in the red blood cells and reaches the body's cells. Carbon dioxide from the blood, in turn, enters the alveoli and is then eliminated.
Pulmonary hematosis is what occurs when the living being in question inhales air, which is rich in oxygen, and enters the lungs through the respiratory tract.
It is important to keep in mind that hematosis is essential for breathing . Oxygen that is inhaled moves from the lung alveoli to the blood through the capillaries, while carbon dioxide from the blood in the capillaries passes into the air in the alveoli and is exhaled. This is how a balance is achieved: a high amount of carbon dioxide or oxygen is toxic.
There are different types of hematosis.
The process in fish and worms
In the case of fish , mollusks and other aquatic species, hematosis occurs in the gills . Insects , meanwhile, carry out hematosis via the tracheal tubes .
Other organisms, such as some worms , resort to cutaneous hematosis . There are even animals that develop a main hematosis and another complementary hematosis, using two mechanisms.
Characteristics of hematosis
In addition to everything indicated, we cannot ignore the existence of another series of important data about hematosis. We are referring to some such as the following:
-Whether hematosis occurs truly effectively depends, to a large extent, on what is known as the ventilation-perfusion ratio. This is the name used to refer to the relationship that exists between the amount of blood that is responsible for circulating through the pulmonary capillaries and the volume of air that circulates through the alveoli.
-In the same way, we must not overlook that there is what is known as tissue hematosis, which refers to the gas exchange that takes place between the different tissues of the body and the blood.