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<br>As you surely know, humans want oxygen to stay. But Earth's environment is made up of about 78 percent nitrogen, 21 % oxygen and trace amounts of other parts, including water vapor. So have you ever ever questioned if breathing one hundred p.c oxygen would be good for you? The short answer is it's not. Pure oxygen can really may be harmful and generally even toxic. To know why, let's first explain some particulars about how your lungs work. Surrounding each alveolus are small, thin-walled blood vessels referred to as pulmonary capillaries. Between the capillaries and the alveolus is a thin wall (about 0.5 microns thick) by means of which numerous gases (oxygen, carbon dioxide and nitrogen) cross. If you inhale, the alveoli broaden and take in oxygen. Because the oxygen concentration is high within the alveoli and low within the blood getting into the pulmonary capillaries, oxygen diffuses from the air into the blood. Likewise, as a result of the concentration of carbon dioxide is larger in the blood entering the capillaries than it's within the alveolar air, carbon dioxide passes from the blood to the alveoli.<br> |