TRANSPORT IN ANIMALS

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
 The circulatory system is a system of blood vessels with a pump and valves to ensure one-
way flow of blood
Circulatory Systems of Fish & Mammals
Circulatory systems in Fish
 Fish have a two-chambered heart and a single circulation
This means that for every one circuit of the body, the blood passes through the heart once

The single circulatory system

in fish

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Circulatory systems in Mammals
 Mammals have a four-chambered heart and a double circulation
 This means that for every one circuit of the body, the blood passes through the heart twice
 The right side of the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the
lungs (the pulmonary circulation)
 The left side of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the
body (the systemic circulation)

The double circulatory system in mammals

Advantages of Double Circulation

 Blood travelling through the small capillaries in the lungs loses a lot of pressure that was
given to it by the pumping of the heart, meaning it cannot travel as fast

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  By returning the blood to the heart after going through the lungs its pressure can be raised
again before sending it to the body, meaning cells can be supplied with the oxygen and
glucose they need for respiration faster and more frequently

The Mammalian Heart

 The heart is labelled as if it was in the chest so what is your left on a diagram is actually the
right hand side and vice versa
 The right side of the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the
lungs
 The left side of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the
body
 Blood is pumped towards the heart in veins and away from the heart in arteries
 The two sides of the heart are separated by a muscle wall called the septum
 The heart is made of muscle tissue which are supplied with blood by the coronary arteries

Structure of the heart

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Exam Tip
 Remember A-A: Arteries carry blood Away from the heart

Structure of the heart showing the different valves

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Identifying Structures in the Heart
 The ventricles have thicker muscle walls than the atria as they are pumping blood out of the
heart and so need to generate a higher pressure
 The left ventricle has a thicker muscle wall than the right ventricle as it has to pump blood
at high pressure around the entire body, whereas the right ventricle is pumping blood at
lower pressure to the lungs
 The septum separates the two sides of the heart and so prevents mixing of oxygenated and
deoxygenated blood

Functioning of the Heart

 Deoxygenated blood coming from the body flows into the right atrium via the vena cava
 Once the right atrium has filled with blood the heart gives a little beat and the blood is
pushed through the tricuspid (atrioventricular) valve into the right ventricle
 The walls of the ventricle contract and the blood is pushed into the pulmonary
artery through the semilunar valve which prevents blood flowing backwards into the heart
 The blood travels to the lungs and moves through the capillaries past the alveoli where gas
exchange takes place (this is why there has to be low pressure on this side of the heart –
blood is going directly to capillaries which would burst under higher pressure)

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  Oxygen-rich blood returns to the left atrium via the pulmonary vein
 It passes through the bicuspid (atrioventricular) valve into the left ventricle
 The thicker muscle walls of the ventricle contract strongly to push the blood forcefully into
the aorta and all the way around the body
 The semilunar valve in the aorta prevents the blood flowing back down into the heart

The function of valves

 The basic function of all valves is to prevent blood from flowing backwards
 There are two sets of valves in the heart:
 The atrioventricular valves separate the atria from the ventricles
 The valve in the right side of the heart is called the TRICUSPID and the valve in the left
side is called the BICUSPID
 These valves are pushed open when the atria contract but when the ventricles
contract they are pushed shut to prevent blood flowing back into the atria
 The semilunar valves are found in the two blood arteries that come out of the top of
the heart
 They are unusual in that they are the only two arteries in the body that contain
valves
 These valves open when the ventricles contract so blood squeezes past them out of
the heart, but then shut to avoid blood flowing back into the heart

Monitoring Activity of the Heart

 Heart activity can be monitored by using an ECG, measuring pulse rate or listening to the
sounds of valves closing using a stethoscope
 Heart rate (and pulse rate) is measured in beats per minute (bpm)
 To investigate the effects of exercise on heart rate, record the pulse rate at rest for a minute
 Immediately after they do some exercise, record the pulse rate every minute until it returns
to the resting rate
 This experiment will show that during exercise the heart rate increases and may take several
minutes to return to normal

Investigating Effect of Physical Activity on Heart Rate

 It is relatively simple to investigate the effects of exercise on the body in the classroom
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  Breathing rate can be measured by counting the number of breaths per minute, while heart
rate can be measured by taking a pulse
 Either can be measured before and after an activity is performed and the results plotted on
a bar chart
 It is important that the time over which breathing rate and pulse rate are measured is
consistent, and that individuals fully recover (rest) before starting a new activity
 Increased physical activity results in an increased heart rate and breathing rate
 Heart rate remains high for a period of time after physical has stopped, there is a
gradual return to resting heart rate

Explaining the Effect of Physical Activity on Heart Rate

 So that sufficient blood is taken to the working muscles to provide them with
enough nutrients and oxygen for increased respiration
 An increase in heart rate also allows for waste products to be removed at a faster rate
 Following exercise, the heart continues to beat faster for a while to ensure that all excess
waste products are removed from muscle cells
 It is also likely that muscle cells have been respiring anaerobically during exercise and so
have built up an oxygen debt
 This needs to be ‘repaid’ following exercise and so the heart continues to beat faster to
ensure that extra oxygen is still being delivered to muscle cells
 The extra oxygen is used to break down the lactic acid that has been built up in cells as a
result of anaerobic respiration

Coronary Heart Disease

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The coronary arteries
 The heart is made of muscle cells that need their own supply of blood to deliver oxygen,
glucose and other nutrients and remove carbon dioxide and other waste products
 The blood is supplied by the coronary arteries
 If a coronary artery becomes partially or completely blocked by fatty deposits called
‘plaques’ (mainly formed from cholesterol), the arteries are not as elastic as they should be
and therefore cannot stretch to accommodate the blood which is being forced through
them - leading to coronary heart disease
 Partial blockage of the coronary arteries creates a restricted blood flow to the cardiac
muscle cells and results in severe chest pains called angina
 Complete blockage means cells in that area of the heart will not be able to respire and can
no longer contract, leading to a heart attack

Buildup of plaque in the coronary arteries

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Effect of narrowing of arteries

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Risk Factors for CHD Table

Reducing the risks of developing coronary heart disease

 Quit smoking
 Diet - reduce animal fats and eat more fruits and vegetables - this will reduce cholesterol
levels in the blood and help with weight loss if overweight
 Exercise regularly - again, this will help with weight loss, decrease blood pressure and
cholesterol levels and help reduce stress

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 Blood Vessels
Arteries, Veins & Capillaries
Arteries
 Carry blood at high pressure away from the heart
 Carry oxygenated blood (other than the pulmonary artery)
 Have thick muscular walls containing elastic fibres
 Have a narrow lumen
 Speed of flow is fast

Veins
 Carry blood at low pressure towards the heart
 Carry deoxygenated blood (other than the pulmonary vein)
 Have thin walls
 Have a large lumen
 Contain valves
 Speed of flow is slow

Comparing arteries and veins

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Capillaries
 Carry blood at low pressure within tissues
 Carry both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
 Have walls that are one cell thick
 Have ‘leaky’ walls
 Speed of flow is slow

Structure of a capillary

Main Blood Vessels in the Body

 Blood is carried away from the heart and towards organs in arteries
 These narrow to arterioles and then capillaries as they pass through the organ
 The capillaries widen to venules and finally veins as they move away from the organs
 Veins carry blood back toward the heart

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The circulatory system

Important
Blood Vessels
Table

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Structure & Function of Blood Vessels
How Structure of Blood Vessels is Adapted to their Function

Arteries
 Have thick muscular walls containing elastic fibres to withstand the high pressure of blood
and maintain the blood pressure as it recoils after the blood has passed through
 Have a narrow lumen to maintain high pressure

Veins
 Have a large lumen as blood pressure is low
 Contain valves to prevent the backflow of blood as it is under low pressure

Capillaries
 Have walls that are one cell thick so that substances can easily diffuse in and out of them
 Have ‘leaky’ walls so that blood plasma can leak out and form tissue fluid surrounding cells

Adaptations of blood vessels

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Arterioles and venules
 As arteries divide more as they get further away from the heart, they get narrower
 The narrow vessels that connect arteries to capillaries are called arterioles
 Veins also get narrower the further away they are from the heart
 The narrow vessels that connect capillaries to veins are called venules

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Blood Vessels & the Liver
 You must be able to identify the main blood vessels to and from the liver
 The hepatic artery brings oxygenated blood from the heart to the liver
 The hepatic vein brings deoxygenated blood from the liver back to the heart
 The hepatic portal vein transports deoxygenated blood from the gut to the liver

Components of Blood
 Blood consists of red blood cells, white
blood cells, platelets and plasma

Components of the Blood Table

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  Identifying Red & White Blood CellsYou need to be able to identify red and white blood
cells in photomicrographs and diagrams
 Red blood cells have a concave disc shape with no nucleus
 White blood cells are usually round in shape with a nucleus

Functions of
blood components
 Plasma is important for the transport of carbon dioxide, digested food (nutrients), urea,
mineral ions, hormones and heat energy
 Red blood cells transport oxygen around the body from the lungs to cells which require it
for aerobic respiration
 They carry the oxygen in the form of oxyhaemoglobin
 White blood cells defend the body against infection by pathogens by carrying
out phagocytosis and antibody production
 Platelets are involved in helping the blood to clot

Blood Clotting
 Platelets are fragments of cells which are involved in blood clotting and forming scabs
where skin has been cut or punctured
 Blood clotting prevents continued / significant blood loss from wounds
 Scab formation seals the wound with an insoluble patch that prevents entry of
microorganisms that could cause infection
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  It remains in place until new skin has grown underneath it, sealing the skin again

White Blood Cells

 White blood cells are part of the body’s immune system, defending against infection by
pathogenic microorganisms
 There are two main types, phagocytes and lymphocytes

Phagocytes
 Carry out phagocytosis by engulfing and digesting pathogens

Phagocytosis
**Phagocytes have a sensitive cell surface membrane that can detect chemicals produced by
pathogenic cells
 Once they
encounter
the

pathogenic cell, they will engulf it and release digestive enzymes to digest it

 They can be easily recognised under the microscope by their multi-lobed nucleus and
their granular cytoplasm

Lymphocytes
 Produce antibodies to destroy pathogenic cells and antitoxins to neutralise toxins released
by pathogens
 They can easily be recognised under the microscope by their large round nucleus which
takes up nearly the whole cell and their clear, non-granular cytoplasm

Conversion of Fibrinogen
 Platelets are fragments of cells which are involved in blood clotting and forming scabs
where skin has been cut or punctured
 Blood clotting prevents continued / significant blood loss from wounds
 Scab formation seals the wound with an insoluble patch that prevents entry of
microorganisms that could cause infection
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  It remains in place until new skin has grown underneath it, sealing the skin again

Conversion of Fibrinogen

How the blood clots

 When the skin is broken (i.e. there is a wound) platelets arrive to stop the bleeding
 A series of reactions occur within the blood plasma
 Platelets release chemicals that cause soluble fibrinogen proteins to convert into insoluble
fibrin and form an insoluble mesh across the wound, trapping red blood cells and
therefore forming a clot
 The clot eventually dries and develops into a scab to protect the wound from bacteria
entering

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