The air sacs which make up most of the lungs of mammals are known as what?
Gas exchange systems are not known to be used in nature. The gas exchanger in mammals is internalized to form lungs, as it is in most of the larger land animals. Gas exchange occurs in microscopic dead-end air-filled sacs called alveoli, where a very thin membrane (called the blood-air barrier) separates the blood in the alveolar capillaries (in the walls of the alveoli) from the alveolar air in the sacs. The membrane across which gas exchange takes place in the alveoli (i.e. the blood-air barrier) is extremely thin (in humans, on average, 2.2 μm thick). It consists of the alveolar epithelial cells,
Genomic evolution of birds bird bones. Something similar occurs with the respiratory system. In mammals, the total inner volume of lungs changes during ventilation. However, this does not happen in birds. They make the air circulate through their lungs by contracting and expanding their air sacs. Five genes are involved in this process in mammals and birds. Feathers are one of the most characteristic features of birds, alongside with the beak. Feathers are formed of α- and β-keratins. Compared to reptiles and mammals, α-keratin protein family has been reduced in birds, whereas β-keratins has expanded enormously. Since every major bird lineage possess at least