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Transport in Small Animals

Single celled organisms and very small multicellular
organisms do not need specialized transport system
because diffusion is enough to supply their needs. This
works well because:

• The diffusion distance from the outside to the

innermost areas of the cells are very small
• Sa:vol is large
• The metabolic demands are low

Mass Transport System

All large complex organisms have same form of mass transport system which overcomes the
limits of diffusion between internal and external environments. Mass transport systems are
very efficient and they all have:

• Exchange surfaces to get materials into and out of the transport system
• A system of vessels that carry substances- these are usually tubes, sometimes
following a very specific route, sometimes widespread and branching
• A way of making sure that the substances are moved in the right direction
• A way of moving materials fast enough to supply the needs of the organism
• A suitable transport medium
• In many cases, a way of adapting the rate of transport to the needs of the organism

Circulation Systems

• Insects have open circulatory system→ blood is circulating in large open spaces
• Larger animals have closed circulatory system→ blood contained within tubes

• Animals such as fish have single

circulatory system
• Mammals need more oxygen, so
they have double circulatory system

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 Double circulation involves two
separate circulation systems.
• Systematic circulation carries
oxygenated blood from the heart to the
body, then deoxygenated blood back to the
heart
• The pulmonary circulation carries
deoxygenated blood from the heart to the
lungs, and then back to the heart

Advantages
• Oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
doesn’t mix
• Fully oxygenated blood can be delivered
quickly under high pressure
• Blood to the lungs go under lower
pressure to prevent damage of the alveoli

Plasma
• it is the fluid part of the mass transport system
• over 50% of your blood volume is blood
• Transport everything around the body
o Digested food products
o Excretory products
o Chemical messages (hormones)
• Helps to maintain body temperature by transferring heat around the body
• It also acts as buffer to regulate pH of blood

Erythrocytes
• contain red pigment→haemoglobin
• Made in bone marrow
• No nucleus→ more O2 can be transported
• Biconcave shape→ large sa:vol, rapid diffusion
• Carries some CO2→ rest is transported in plasma

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Leucocytes
• Can change shape→squeeze through blood vessels
• Made in bone marrow→mature in thymus gland
• Defend body against infection
• Have nucleus and colorless cytoplasm

Platelets
• Tiny fragment of large megakaryocytes
• Involved in blood clothing

Transport of Oxygen
Each haemoglobin molecule is a large globular protein consisting of four peptide chains,
each with an iron-containing prosthetic group. Each group can collect four molecules of
oxygen in a reversible process to form oxyhaemoglobin:

The first molecule of oxygen that binds to the

haemoglobin changes the arrangement of the
molecule making it easier for the following
oxygen molecules to bind. The final oxygen
molecule binds several hundred times faster
than the first. The same process happens in
reverse when oxygen dissociates from
haemoglobin-it gets harder to remove the
oxygen.
The strong affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen
means that a small change in the proportion of
oxygen I the surrounding environment can
have a big effect on the saturation of blood
with oxygen

Transport of CO2
Carbon dioxide is dissolved in blood and it reacts with water to form carbonic acid, which
dissociates.

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 • 5% of CO2 is transported in solution in the plasma
• 10-20% combines with haemoglobin
• Most of the carbon dioxide is transported in the cytoplasm of red blood cells as
hydrogencarbonate ions
• Carbonic anhydrase controls the rate of reaction between water and carbon dioxide

The Bohr Effect

The way haemoglobin collects and releases
oxygen is also affected by the proportion of
carbon dioxide in the tissue. When the
proportion of carbon dioxide in the tissue is
high, the affinity of haemoglobin for oxygen is
reduced. → haemoglobin needs higher levels
of oxygen to become saturated and releases
oxygen more easily.

Fetal Haemoglobin
• Has higher affinity for oxygen than the adult
haemoglobin of the mother
• The fetal haemoglobin can remove oxygen
can remove oxygen from the maternal blood
when the proportion of oxygen is relatively
low

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The Clothing of the Blood
This mechanism seals damaged blood vessels to minimize blood loss and prevent pathogens
getting in.

• Contact between platelets and tissue cause the platelets to break open and release
important substances
• Serotonin causes the smooth muscle of the blood vessel to contract. This narrows the
blood vessels, cutting off the blood flow to the damaged area
• Thromboplastin starts the sequence that cause the blood cloth.

1. Thromboplastin catalysis the conversion

of a large soluble protein called
prothrombin found in the plasma into
another soluble protein called thrombin.
Prothrombin is a precursor of thrombin.
Calcium ions needs to be present.
2. Thrombin acts on another soluble plasma
protein called fibrinogen, converting it to
an insoluble substance called fibrin. Again,
fibrinogen is biologically inactive precursor of
biologically active fibrin. The fibrin forms a
mesh to cover the wound
3. More platelets and red blood cells pouring
from the wound get trapped in the fibrin
mesh. This forms a cloth
4. Special proteins in the structure of the
platelets contract, making the cloth tighter
and tougher to form a scab that protects the
skin and vessels underneath as they heal

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Three different types of blood vessels are: Arteries, Veins and Capillaries

Arteries
• Carry blood away from the heart
• Carry almost all the time oxygenated blood
o The pulmonary artery- carrying
deoxygenated blood from the
heart to the lungs
o The umbilical artery- during
pregnancy, this carries
deoxygenated blood from the fetus
to the placenta
• Stretch→ accommodate larger volume of blood without being damaged
• Relatively high pressure→ falls further away from heart→ peripheral arteries

Veins
• Carry blood back towards the heart
• Carry almost all the time deoxygenated blood
o The pulmonary vein- carrying oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart
o The umbilical vein- during pregnancy, this carries oxygenated blood from the
placenta into the fetus
• Superior and inferior vena cava
• Hold large volume of blood (more than ½ of
blood at once)
• Low pressure
• Blood returns to heart by pressure of one-way
valves (situated between large muscle) →
muscle contract during physical activity and
squeeze the vein

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Capillaries
• Walls consist of one cell→ rapid
diffusion
• Links arterioles and venules
• Small diameter→ blood travels slowly→
opportunity for diffusion

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 The Action of the Heart
1. The inferior vena cava collects deoxygenated blood from the lower parts of the body,
while the superior vena cava receives deoxygenated blood from the head, neck, arms
and chest. Deoxygenated blood is delivered to right atrium.

2. The right atrium receives the blood from the great veins. As it fills with blood, the
pressure builds up and opens the tricuspid valve, so the right ventricle starts to fill
with blood too. When the atrium is full it contracts, forcing more blood into the
ventricle. The atrium has thin muscular walls because it receives blood at low
pressure from the vena cava and it needs to exert relatively little pressure to move
the blood into the ventricle. One-way semilunar valves at the entrance to the atrium
stop the backflow of blood into the veins.

3. The tricuspid valve consists of three flaps and is also known as an atrioventricular
valve because it separates an atrium from the ventricle. The valve allows blood to
pass from the atrium to the ventricle, but no in the opposite direction. The tough
tendinous cords, also known as the valve tendons or heartstrings, make sure the
valves are not turned inside out by the pressure exerted when the ventricles
contract.

4. The right ventricle is filled with blood under some pressure when the right atrium
contracts, then the ventricle contracts. Its muscular walls produce the pressure
needed to force blood out of the heart into the pulmonary arteries. These carry the
deoxygenated blood to the capillaries in the lungs. As the ventricle starts to contract,
the tricuspid valve closes to prevent blood flowing the arteries into ventricle.

5. The blood returns from the lungs to the left side of the heart in the pulmonary veins.
The blood is at relatively low pressure after passing through the extensive capillaries
of the lungs. The blood returns to the left atrium, another thin -walled chamber that
performs the same function as the right atrium. It contracts to force blood into the
left ventricle. Backflow is prevented by another atrioventricular valve known as the
bicuspid valve, which has only two flaps.

6. As the left atrium contracts, the bicuspid valve opens and the left ventricle is filled
with blood under pressure. As the left ventricle starts to contract the bicuspid valve
closes to prevent backflow of the blood to the left atrium. The left ventricle pumps
the blood out of the heart and into the aorta, the major artery of the body. This
carries blood away from the heart at even higher pressure than the major arteries
that branch off from it.

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 The Cardiac Cycle
• Systole- contraction of heart (atrial
systole and ventricular systole (0.13s
after)
• Diastole- heart relaxes and fills with
blood
• Systole + Diastole=Cardiac Cycle

• Aneurysm- artery is put under high

pressure→ weaker→ may split open
• Raised blood pressure→ damaged kidneys
and retina
• Thrombosis- a cloth formed in blood vessel
• Angina- not enough O2, breathlessness,
chest pain→ during exercise→ can be treated using stent or doing heart bypass
surgery
• Heart attack and stroke

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