MASS TRANSPORT Part 1: Mass Transport in Animals

Part 2: Mass Transport in Plants

MASS TRANSPORT IN ANIMALS
1. Haemoglobin
2. Circulatory system in mammals
3. The heart
4. Structure and function of blood vessels
5. The function of tissue fluid
HAEMOGLOBIN
-water soluble globular protein
Haemoglobin structure
Loading and unloading process
Has a quaternary structure made of 4
different polypeptide chains: 2α 1. Loading/ associating
helixes and 2β chains Is the process whereby haemoglobin binds to oxygen
Each polypeptide chain is associated 2. Unloading/ dissociating
with a haem group – each haem group The process whereby haemoglobin releases oxygen
is associated with a Fe2+ molecule
Each Fe2+ molecule can bind to a Associating and dissociating depend on haemoglobin’ s
single O2 molecules = in total 4 O2
molecules can be carried in one affinity to oxygen
haemoglobin molecule - At high affinity associating happens easily and
dissociating is harder
- At low affinity associating is harder but dissociating is
easier
EFFICIENT OXYGEN TRANSPORT
Two requirements:
Readily associate with oxygen in the lungs
Readily dissociate with oxygen at requiring muscles
This therefore means that haemoglobin needs to change it’s
affinity to oxygen under different conditions
-In the lungs: O2 concentration is high and CO2
concentration is low: affinity of haemoglobin to oxygen is
high
-At respiring tissues: O2 concentration is low and CO2
concentration is high: affinity of haemoglobin to oxygen is
low.
This is because of haemoglobin for oxygen varies
depending on the partial pressure of oxygen which is a
measure of oxygen concentration
The greater the concentration of dissolved oxygen in cells,
the greater the partial pressure
= as partial pressure increases the affinity of haemoglobin
to oxygen increases- oxygen binds more tightly to
haemoglobin.
Saturation also has an affect on affinity
- After binding to the first oxygen molecule the
affinity of haemoglobin to oxygen increases
- This is because once the first oxygen has bound
there is a confirmational change in the
quaternary structure of haemoglobin
- The first oxygen binding to the first Fe2+
molecule makes the structure open up more,
exposing the next Fe2+ making it easier for the
next O2 molecule to bind which further opens up
the structure and so on
- This is known as positive cooperativity because
binding of the first molecule makes the binding
of the second easier etc.
- However as 3 of the binding sites are filled, due
to probability it means that it is harder for the
fourth site to be filled, hence why the gradient of
the curve reduces/ is less steep before it flattens
off
- The gradient of the curve starts Oxygen dissociation curve
off slow, with 10% of
haemoglobin being saturated
at around 2.5kPa - The further to the left the
- However once that first O2 curve, the greater the
molecule has bound there can affinity of haemoglobin for
be seen a steep increase in the oxygen
gradient/curve due to positive - The further to the right the
cooperativity curve, the lower the affinity
- This can be seen as at only of haemoglobin for oxygen
5kPa, 50% of the haemoglobin
was saturated
- Therefore you would expect at
10kPa for 100% stars ration,
however this isn’t the case due
to the low probability of O2
binding with the last Fe2+
molecule quickly
- Hence there is the slow plateau
of the curve (highlighted in
pink)
 EFFECTS OF CO2 ON LOADING AND UNLOADING
- in the lungs there is a low CO2 concentration, this allows for a
slightly higher pH due to the lack of acidity form CO2
- this in turn means that due to the higher pH, haemoglobin
changes it’s shape, enabling it to load oxygen more readily= it
means that the affinity for oxygen has been increased so O2
can be transported to respiring tissues
- at respiring tissues, there is a higher CO2, concentration, in turn
making the pH lower (more acidic)
- this changes the shape of haemoglobin into one that has a
lower affinity to oxygen, allowing easy dissociation of O2 at
respiring sites.

This is known as the Bhor effect

DIFFERENT TYPES OF HAEMOGLOBIN
Foetal haemoglobin
- has a different affinity for oxygen
compared to adult haemoglobin as
by the time oxygen reaches the
placenta, the oxygen saturation of
the blood has decreased, meaning
that foetal haemoglobin needs to
be better at absorbing oxygen
- therefore foetal haemoglobin
needs to have a higher affinity for
oxygen at low partial pressures,
meaning it’s curve is more to the
left.
Mouse haemoglobin
- Mice are small mammals therefore have a
large surface area to volume ratio
- This means that they have a higher
respiration rate
- To supply their muscles with enough oxygen
mice need to be good at dissociating
oxygen
- Which means they have a lower affinity to
oxygen and their dissociation curve shifts to
the right
 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM OF A MAMMAL
•In large organisms the surface area to volume ratio is not large enough for them to
survive on diffusion of oxygen alone – it will not meet the demand of molecules such
as oxygen and glucose

Features of the circulatory system:

1. Suitable medium: transport medium for mammals is
blood as water soluble substances can dissolve into it
2. Means of moving the medium: the heart is used to
pump blood and maintain pressure differences
around the body
3. Mechanism of flow control around the body: valves - Mammals use a closed double circulatory
are used in veins to prevent backflow of blood (due
system
to low pressure)
4. Close system fo vessels: the circulatory system in - The heart is able to pump blood to the
mammals os closed and branched to deliver blood to lungs to be oxygenated
all body parts - Whilst it a different side of it pumps the
oxygenated blood around the body
 THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

- The circulatory system is used to

move substances longer distances
- When it reaches the cells in our
tissues, the substances are moved
in and out of the cells by
diffusion
- this is a rapid process due to the
large surface area across a short
distance – from the blood vessel
to the cell
- This also happens down a
diffusion gradient
 STRUCTURE OF THE HEART
The heart is made of two pumps, each with two chambers:
- an atrium : thin wall and elastic; allows it to stretch while
it fills up with blood
- a ventricle: thick muscular wall to pump blood around the
body or to the lungs.
Two separate pumps are needed to maintain blood
pressure around the body
Between each atrium and ventricle there are valves to
prevent backflow of blood
- the right atrioventricular (bicuspid) valve
- the left atrioventricular (tricuspid) valve
- semilunar valves: between the right ventricle and the
pulmonary artery and between the left ventricle and the
aorta
There are 4 main vessels connecting the heart:
- Aorta: connected to the left ventricle +
carries oxygenated blood to all parts of
the body
- Pulmonary artery: connected to the right
ventricle + carries deoxygenated blood to
the lungs
- Pulmonary vein: connected to the left
atrium + brings oxygenated blood back
form the lungs
- Vena cava: connected to the right atrium +
brings deoxygenated blood back from the
tissues
HEART MUSCLE
Cardiac muscle has its own supply of blood vessels which provide oxygen
These are called coronary arteries which branch off the aorta shortly after it loaves
the heart
Any obstruction to these are terms can cause a heart attack ( myocardial infraction)
 THE CARDIAC CYCLE
The heart is myogenic – can initiate its own contraction
In the wall of the right atrium there is a region of specialised fibres
called the sinoatrial node which is the pacemaker of the heart – it
initiates a wave of electrical stimulation which causes the atria to
contract.
The ventricles do not start contracting until the atria have finished to the
the presence of tissue at the base of the atria – the septum – which is
unable to conduct waves of excitation
When the electrical wave reaches the atrioventricular node (located
between the two atria) it passes the excitation to the ventricles down
the bundle of His to the apex of the heart
The bundle of His branch into Purkyne fibres which carry the wave
upwards – causes ventricles to contract and emptying them
 STAGES OF THE CARDIAC CYCLE
Definitions:
- diastole: relaxation of heart muscle
-systole: contraction of the heart muscle
1. Cardiac diastole: atria and ventricles relax, elastic recoil of the heart lowers
the pressure inside the heart chambers allowing blood to return to the heart form
the vena cava and the pulmonary vein and fill the atria. Pressure increases in the
atria until the atrioventricular valves open and flood flows into the ventricles. The
relaxed atria and ventricles means that the semi-lunar valves are closed.
2. Atrial systole: the atria contract forcing any remaining blood into the ventricles
3. Ventricular systole: contraction of ventricles causes atrioventricular valves to
close and semi-lunar valves to open- this allows blood to leave the left ventricle
through the aorta and the right ventricle through the pulmonary artery
 STRUCTURE AND FUNCTION OF BLOOD VESSELS
•Arteries – adapted to carrying blood away from the heart to the rest of the
body, thick walled to withstand high blood pressure, contain elastic tissue which
allows them to stretch and recoil thus smoothing blood flow. They also contain
smooth muscle which enables them to vary blood flow, lined with smooth
endothelium to reduce friction and ease the flow of blood.
•Arterioles – branch off arteries, have thinner and less muscular walls, their role is
to feed blood into capillaries.
•Capillaries – smallest blood vessels, site of metabolic exchange, only one cell thick
for fast exchange of substances.
•Venules – larger than capillaries but smaller than veins.
•Veins – carry blood from the body to the heart, contain a wide lumen to maximise
the volume of blood carried to the heart. They are thin walled as blood is under
low pressure and contain valves to prevent the back-flow of blood. A weak pulse
of blood means there is little elastic tissue or smooth muscle as there is no need for
stretching and recoiling. Also have valves to prevent backflow of blood due to
low blood pressure
TISSUE FLUID FORMATION
- contains dissolved oxygen and nutrients which are used to supply tissues
- also used for the exchange of waste products and CO2
Formed by hydrostatic pressure created when blood is pumped also get the arteries into
arteriolar and then capillaries. This pressure forces blood fluid out of the capillaries – only
small substances which can leave capillaries e.g. dissolved nutrients and amino acids, fatty
acids, glucose and O2 are in tissue fluid
The fluid is also acted on by hydrostatic pressure which pushes some of the fluid back into the
capillaries- both blood and tissue fluid contain solutes meaning they have a negative water
potential ( water potential of tissue fluid is less negative than that of blood) - this causes water
to move down a water potential from the tissue fluid into the blood
Tissue fluid which is not pushed back into capillaries is carries back into capillaries via the
lymphatic system.