Dual Respiratory Pathways in Frogs — NEET Biology
✅ Asked in NEET 2025Frogs respire on land and in the water by two different methods. In water, skin acts as aquatic respiratory organ (cutaneous respiration). Dissolved oxygen in the water is exchanged through the skin by diffusion. On land, the buccal cavity, skin and lungs act as the respiratory organs. The respiration by lungs is called pulmonary respiration. The lungs are a pair of thin-walled elastic sacs present in the upper part of the trunk region (thorax). Air enters through the nostrils into the buccal cavity and then to lungs. During aestivation and hibernation periods, gaseous exchange takes place through skin.
NTA tests whether students understand that frogs use different respiratory organs in different environments: cutaneous respiration (skin) in water, and pulmonary + buccal + skin respiration on land. The common trap is assuming frogs only use lungs for respiration or that skin functions equally in both environments. Students often forget that during dormancy (aestivation/hibernation), skin becomes the primary respiratory organ even on land. Remember: the respiratory mode switches based on habitat, and skin is uniquely versatile—it works in water, on land, and during inactive periods. This tests ecological adaptation and organ system plasticity.
Frogs respire in water by skin and buccal cavity and on land by skin, buccal cavity and lungs. Choose the correct answer from the following:
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