The countercurrent flow arrangement in fish gills is important for efficient oxygen uptake because it maintains a diffusion gradient along the entire length of the lamellae, ensuring continuous oxygen diffusion from water to blood.
The countercurrent flow arrangement in fish gills is important for efficient oxygen uptake because it maintains a diffusion gradient along the entire length of the lamellae, ensuring continuous oxygen diffusion from water to blood.
| Front | Water containing dissolved oxygen flows over the gill in the opposite direction to the blood flow inside. Explain why this arrangement is important for efficient oxygen uptake (2 marks) |
|---|---|
| Back | maintains diffusion / concentration gradient / equilibrium not reached; diffusion occurs across whole length (of lamellae / gill); |
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