LA MARTINIERE GIRLS’ COLLEGE

CLASS VIII

ASSIGNMENT

BIOLOGY

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 BIOLOGY

Topic – Transport of food and minerals in animals

CIRCULATORY SYSTEM IN HUMAN BEINGS

All living organisms have a specific transport system known as the circulatory system which is
responsible for transporting materials such as food and oxygen from one part of the body to another.
The circulatory system in human beings consists of the following parts:
• Blood
• Blood vessels and
• Heart.
BLOOD

Blood is a fluid connective tissue. The human body has 4 to 6 litres of blood. Blood is made up of
two components – plasma and blood cells (corpuscles). The liquid part of the blood is called
plasma. It is yellow in colour and contains digested nutrients, waste products and other chemicals.
In human beings, three types of cells or corpuscles are suspended in the plasma.
• Erythrocytes or red blood cells (RBCs)
• Leucocytes or white blood cells (WBCs)
• Thrombocytes or blood platelets

ERYTHROCYTES-

Blood gets its colour from trillions of erythrocytes in the plasma. A cubic millimetre of blood
contains about 5 million of them. These cells are different from the rest of the cells of the body
because mature red blood cells do not have a nucleus. They have a protein carrying iron, called
haemoglobin. It carries oxygen to different parts of the body. Oxygen combines with haemoglobin
to form a compound called oxyhaemoglobin. When blood reaches those cells and tissues which
need oxygen, oxyhaemoglobin again changes to oxygen and haemoglobin. This oxygen is used by
the cells for respiration. Haemoglobin then becomes free to carry more oxygen. RBCs are formed in
the bone marrow. Worn out RBC’s are destroyed in the liver and the spleen. The normal life span of
an RBC is about 120 days.

LEUCOCYTES-

These cells are larger than RBC’s but do not contain haemoglobin. They have a nucleus. The
average count varies from 6000 to 9000 per cubic millimeter. They are also called white blood cells
and play a vital role in protecting the body from infection by ingesting foreign bodies like bacteria
and viruses. WBCs are produced chiefly in the bone marrow, lymph glands and the spleen.

THROMBOCYTES-

These are non-nucleated, spherical or irregular bodies and are smaller than RBCs and WBCs. These
bodies play a vital role in clotting of blood in case of bleeding from a wound. Clotting prevents loss
of blood from wounds. They are formed in the bone marrow.

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 Red blood cells White blood cells Platelets

COMPARISON OF BLOOD CELLS-

PROPERTY RED BLOOD WHITE BLOOD PLATELETS

CELLS CELLS
Colour Red due to the Colourless Colourless
presence of
haemoglobin
Nucleus Do not have a nucleus Have a nucleus ----------------------------

Shape Disc shaped but can Round or irregular Small irregular shaped
fold and bend shape
Function Carry Oxygen Protect the body Help in clotting of blood
against infection
Number in 1 cubic 5,000,000 5000-7000 250,000
mm of blood
Life span About 100-120 days Few hours to few About 8-14 days
years depending on
the type

FUNCTIONS OF BLOOD-

Blood carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the
lungs to be expelled.
• It carries dissolved food substances from the small intestine to different parts of the body.
• It carries metabolic wastes to the kidneys which are excreted through the urine.
• It carries chemical messengers called hormones that control various body activities.
• It carries various antibodies from place to place in the body.
• It carries vitamins and enzymes.
• Platelets prevent the loss of blood through clotting.
• WBCs fight against the germs.
• It maintains the body temperature.
• It regulates the acid-base balance of the body.

BLOOD GROUPS-

Human blood can be classified into four groups, as discovered by Karl Landsteiner in 1900. Blood
groups are differentiated on the basis of two substances called antigens and antibodies.

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Antigens are groups of specific molecules produced by and found on the surface of RBCs. There
are two types of antigens – A and B. A person’s blood group is A if the antigen present on his RBC
is A and B if the antigen present is B. Those people whose RBCs have both types of antigen belong
to the blood group AB and those people whose RBCs have neither antigen, have the blood group O.

Antibodies are present in the plasma. Members of the A and B blood groups have specific
antibodies in their blood plasma. The antibodies in A group plasma are called anti-B because they
cause B group RBCs to clump or stick to each other. The details are given in the table below.

Based on the reaction they cause when mixed, two blood groups are said to be compatible (no
clumping of RBCs when mixed) or incompatible (clumping of RBCs when mixed).

Blood transfusion is the transfer of blood that is taken from one person, into the blood stream of
another person. For a successful blood transfusion there has to be compatibility between the blood
groups of the donor and the recipient otherwise the donor’s RBCs may clump and block the narrow
blood vessels of the recipient, which could be fatal to the recipient.
Blood transfusion – donors and recipients

Group Antigen on Antibody in Reaction May donate May receive

RBC blood blood to blood from
surface plasma
A A anti-B Clumping of B- A and AB A and O
group RBCs
B B anti-A Clumping of A- B and AB B and O
group RBCs
AB A+B none None AB All groups
(Universal
recipient)
O NIL anti-A and Clumping of A- All groups O
(Universal anti-B group, B-group
donor) and AB-group
RBCs

People with blood group AB can receive blood from all the groups and are, therefore called
universal recipients. Those belonging to blood group O can donate to everyone and are called
universal donors.

BLOOD VESSELS-

There are three types of blood vessels:

• Arteries
• Veins
• Capillaries

Arteries- They carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to all the other parts of the body except
pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood. Their walls are thick and elastic as the blood is
pumped out of the heart under high pressure.
Veins- These are blood vessels that take deoxygenated blood from other parts of the body back to
the heart except pulmonary vein which carries oxygenated blood. Their walls are thin compared to
the arteries as the blood travels smoothly at low pressure.

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Capillaries- These connect the arteries and the veins. They serve as link between arteries and veins
and bring about the exchange of materials such as nutrients, metabolic wastes and respiratory gases
between the blood and the cells. The large surface area of the thin walled capillaries makes
exchange of materials more efficient.

Relationship between arteries, veins and capillaries

THE HEART

The heart is a fist-sized muscular organ that is situated between the two lungs and above the
diaphragm in the chest. It is centrally placed but tilted towards the left side. A thin, tough double
membrane called the pericardium surrounds and holds the heart in position. A fluid is present in
between the pericardial membranes called as pericardial fluid.

STRUCTURE-

The heart is divided into two halves by a thick muscular wall called the septum. Each half has two
chambers – the auricles or atrium and the ventricles.

Auricles are the chambers at the top with comparatively thinner walls and receive the blood from
different parts of the body. Ventricles are chambers that lie below the auricles and have thick,
muscular walls. They pump the blood out of the heart. Between the right auricle and right ventricle,
there is a tricuspid valve which works like a door that opens only in one direction that is from right
auricle to right ventricle. Similarly, between the left auricle and the left ventricle, a bicuspid valve is
present which allows the flow of blood from left auricle to left ventricle.

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BLOOD CIRCULATION-

The heart pumps blood throughout the body. The right auricle receives deoxygenated blood through
two major veins. Deoxygenated blood is brought from the anterior part of the body through superior
venacava and from the posterior part of the body through inferior venacava. From the right auricle
the blood moves to the right ventricle and then to the lungs through pulmonary artery. In the
lungs, the blood gets oxygenated, that is, it gives off carbon dioxide and receives oxygen from the
lungs. This oxygenated blood is brought to the left auricle through pulmonary vein. From the left
auricle, the blood moves to the left ventricle and from there the blood is supplied to an artery called
aorta. The aorta further divides into arteries to supply blood to all parts of the body. As the blood
passes through capillaries, oxygen and nutrients are delivered to the cells and carbon dioxide and
other wastes are collected and the blood comes back to the right auricle.

HEARTBEAT AND PULSE-

All the heart muscles do not contract at the same time. The two auricles contract first, forcing the
blood into ventricles. The two ventricles contract a fraction of a second later. For this reason, each
heartbeat can be heard as two sounds. The weak contraction of auricles makes one sound. This
sound is followed by a stronger sound caused by the contraction of ventricles. The doctor listens to
this two-part heartbeat (lub-dub) using a device called stethoscope. When the left ventricle

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contracts, blood moves into the arteries under high pressure. The walls of the arteries are stretched
by this pressure. When the ventricles relax, the pressure goes down. The stretching and relaxing of
the arteries with each heartbeat is felt as a throbbing called pulse. It is easy to feel the pulse at the
side of the neck or wrist.

BLOOD PRESSURE-

The heart has to develop a high pressure of the blood in order for it to pass through the capillaries.
The pressure varies from one part of the body to another. The average pressure produced in the
ventricles when they contract and pump blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery is called systolic
pressure. It is equal to the pressure exerted by a column of 120mm of mercury. The average
pressure produced when the ventricles are filling with blood from the auricles is called diastolic
pressure. It is about 80 mm of mercury. The value of the blood pressure in an adult is 120/80. It is
measured by sphygmomanometer.

QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS

1. Draw a neat, labelled diagram of the structure of heart.

Ans: Draw the diagram given on page no.6

2. Define the following terms:

a) Pulse
Ans. The stretching and relaxing of the arteries with each heartbeat is felt as a throbbing
called pulse.
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 b) Systolic pressure
Ans. The average pressure produced in the ventricles when they contract and pump
blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery is called systolic pressure. It is equal to the
pressure exerted by a column of 120mm of mercury.
c) Diastolic pressure
Ans. The average pressure produced when the ventricles are filling with blood from the
Auricles is called diastolic pressure. It is about 80 mm of mercury.

3. Give a reason why the walls of the arteries are thick and elastic.
Ans. The walls of the arteries are thick and elastic as the blood is pumped out of the heart
under high pressure.

4. Draw a neat, labelled diagram showing the relationship between arteries, veins and capillaries.
Ans: Draw the diagram given on page no.5

5. What do you mean by blood transfusion?

Blood transfusion is the transfer of blood that is taken from one person, into the blood stream
of another person. For a successful blood transfusion there has to be compatibility between the
blood groups of the donor and the recipient otherwise the donor’s RBCs may clump and block
the narrow blood vessels of the recipient, which could be fatal to the recipient.

Instructions –

1. Please start the lesson on a new page.

2. Write the lesson name and date clearly.
3. All the work should be done very neatly in your class work exercise notebook. (120 pages
interleaved)
4. Use appropriate colours to colour the diagram. (only pencil colours should be used)

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