Circulatory / respiratory systems group discussion (ch.

42)
1. The job of the circulatory system is to drop off needed materials to body cells and pick up
wastes. Review:
a. how the following materials are carried in the bloodstream, Materials are dissolved
through the bloodstream. Anything that can’t be dissolved, such as O2 or CO2
has specific designated proteins within the red blood cells.
b. how each type of particle listed below would cross through membranes to enter or
leave blood vessels and body cells Oxygen and CO2 can flow through the cell
membrane. The monosaccharides, nucleotides and amino acids all need a carrier
protein to get into the cell as there are too big to cross the transport proteins.
The ions can flow through a transport protein spanning the membrane

needed nutrients: oxygen, monosaccharides, amino acids, nucleotides, ions C

wastes to be removed: carbon dioxide (removed at lungs), urea (removed at kidneys)

2. Red blood cells are structured to carry oxygen very efficiently – discuss two ways that the
structure of red blood cells relates to their oxygen carrying function.
By having that biconcave structure, red blood cells are able to maximize their SA:V
ratio and this maximizes the rate of diffusion across the cellular membrane in the red
blood cells. Red blood cells also have a specific protein within them called hemoglobin.
Hemoglobin is a protein that can bind up to 4 O2 molecules and can transport it
throughout the blood. This optimizes the oxygen carrying function of blood by making
it much easier to flow in blood as due to oxygen being nonpolar, it was not going to
dissolve on its own.
3. The circulatory system overall is setup to maximize the efficiency of transport (all materials
are moved by passive transport, which is free in terms of energy expense but slow). Discuss
multiple ways that material transport is maximized in the circulatory system.
Material transport is maximized in the circulatory system by various methods. One is
the double circulation of the circulatory system. This pattern allows for the there to be
an increased blood pressure so that when the oxygenated blood needs to leave the heart
for the second time, it does so with a much higher pressure so it will much faster.
Another way that the circulatory system maximizes transport is through the separation
of the ventricle into 2 parts, the oxygenated and the deoxygenated. This separation
allows for constant production of blood to be sent throughout the body, unlike in
amphibians with only one ventricle where the heart has a much slower production. This
separation of the ventricle leads to 10x more productivity
4. Review the evolutionary history of circulatory system adaptations in vertebrate animals
(fish amphibians birds / mammals). What happened, and how were new adaptations
beneficial? Fish started with just 2 chambers, 1 ventricle and 1 atrium with only 1
circulation. This was sufficient for them because they had to swim through the water
and they do not really have to spend as much energy doing things to move, they go with
the flow so to speak. Amphibians however need more energy to move as they need to
jump far and have to defy gravity while doing so, and for this the 2-chamber system
would not work. Instead, amphibians added 2 atria and kept the 1 ventricle because
they could still go into the water, but they also needed to live on land. They also added
 another circulation where deoxygenated blood would go to the lungs, get oxygen then go
back through the heart to gain pressure so speed up flow through the rest of the body.
However, even this new and improved system would not have been enough for the
amount of energy needed for mammals and birds, who not only use their own
metabolism for energy, but also conduct much more activity and cellular respiration
than amphibians so they needed a new system and got it. Mammals and birds have a
double circulation like amphibians and they
5. What structure in the mammalian respiratory system maximizes the efficiency of gas
exchange? Describe its structure and how it promotes the diffusion of gases into or out of the
bloodstream.
- Double circulation circle
- Two different paths that passes through heart twice
6. Given the water flow through fish gills shown below, draw me how blood should flow to
maximize diffusion of gases by countercurrent exchange. Justify why this setup is the most
efficient for maximizing passive transport.

100% O2 water flow

blood flow

---------------------------------------- Water flows over gills in one direction and blood flows in
opposite direction through gill capillaries.

(If the blood gets too acidic, what will happen to breathing rate to compensate for the changing
blood pH? Why does changing the breathing rate have an effect on blood pH?)
- Parts of the brain regulate breathing to produce faster and deeper breathing which
increases the amount of carbon dioxide exhaled and the kidneys also try to excrete more
acid through urine.