Transport in animals

The main transport system of mammals, is the blood system

also called the circulatory system. The function of the
circulatory system is to transport oxygen and nutrients around
the body to the cells that need it. At the same time it also
removes carbon dioxide and other waste products from the body.
The circulatory system is a network of tubes (blood vessel)
with a pump (the heart) and valves to ensure one-way flow of
blood in the right direction.

The right side of the heart collects deoxygenated blood from

the body a nd pumps it to the lungs. The left side
collects oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to
the body.
Double and single circulatory systems

The type of circulation described in the diagram above, is the

double circulation. This means that the blood passes the heart
twice on one complete circuit of the body.
There are two distinct parts to a double circulation:
• the pulmonary circulation, in which blood is circulated through
the lungs where it is oxygenated.
• the systemic circulation, in which blood is circulated through
all other parts of the body where it unloads its oxygen.
Mammals, birds and reptiles all have double circulatory
system.
Fishes have a single circulatory system. This means that the
blood passes through the heart once in one complete circuit of
their body.
The deoxygenated blood from the heart is sent to the gills
where oxygen diffuses into the blood making it an oxygenated
blood. This oxygenated blood then moves to other part of the
body supplying oxygen to the cells. By so doing the blood
becomes deoxygenated. This deoxgenated blood goes to the
heart again and the circle continues.

A double circulation is more efficient than a single

circulation. The heart pu mps the blood twice, so higher
pressures can be maintained making the blood travels
more quickly to organs and tissues.
Component of the circulatory system
The human circulatory system comprises:
 The heart - this is a pump
 Blood Vessels - these carry the blood around the body.
 Blood - the transport medium.

The heart
The heart is a pump that circulates blood all around the body. It
is approximately the size of a human fist and is located just to
the left of the centre of a human’s chest. On average, the heart
beats between 60-70 times a minute at rest. The heart is made of
a special type of muscle called the cardiac muscle which
always contrast an d relax.
Discribe the functioning of the heart in terms of the contraction
and relaxation of the atria and ventricles and the action of
valves.
Heart beat

Heart beat has to do with the contraction (systole) and relaxation

of the heart muscles or the rate at which they occur. Each
contraction squeezes blood to the lungs and body. The heart
bbeats about 70 times a minute, more if you are younger, and
the rate becomes lower the fitter you are.
During exercise the heart rate increases to supply the muscles
with more oxygen and glucose to allow the muscles to respire
aerobically as they have sufficient energy to contract.
Regular exercise is important to keep the heart muscle in good
tone à heart is more efficient in maintaining blood pressure
and↓risk of coronary heart disease and stroke.
The activity of the heart can be monitored or measured in
different ways like;22
Checking pulse rate; a pulse is caused by the contraction and
relaxation of the arteries caused by the heart pushing blood
through it. It is actually the measure of heart rate. The heart rate
is measured by either placing the hand on your wrist or neck
Listening to the sound of the valve closing; this is done by
putting the head against a persons chest or with the use of
stethoscope to hear a lup-dup sound that represent an heart beat.
Use of electrocardiograph (ECG); hear little electrode are stuck
on a persons body and the activities of the heart is recorded in
the form of graph.=
vCoronary heart disease (CHD)
The blood vessels on the outside of the heart that supplies the
heart muscles with blood are called the coronary arteries. The
heart needs it supply of blood as the heart muscles are thick and
diffusion alone can not sufficiently supply blood to them
quickly. The coronary arteries therefore supply the needed
blood.
Blockage of the coronary artery means that the cardiac muscles
will run short of oxygen. They cannot respire, so they
cannodhgret obtain energy to make them contract. The heart
therefore stops beating. This is called heart attack or cardiac
arrest.
This blockage is called Coronary heart disease (CHD) and it is a
very common cause illness and death especially in developed
countries.
Treating Coronary heart disease (CHD)
Once a person develops coronary heart disease (CHD), they are
usually treated with drugs such as aspirin that lowers blood
pressure or decrease the risk of blood clot forming inside blood
vessels. This may need to be taken for a long period of time.
If this fails, then surgery may be used to correct the problem.
One of such corrective surgery is to replace the blocked or
damage artery with a lengthy blood vessel taken from anther
part of the body. This is called coronary bypass
 Another method is insert a little mesh tube called a stent, inside
the artery to keep it open.

Angioplasty can also be used. This involves

inserting tiny balloon into the collapsed artery
then inflating it using water. This pushes the
artery open then the ballon is removed,
Blood and lymphatic vessels
The next major components of the circulatory
system are the blood vessels. These are a
network of tubes that transport the blood around
the body. There are three types of blood vessels
which all carry out different functions:
1. Arteries
2. Veins
3. Capillaries
Arteries carry blood away from the heart and
veins carry blood back to the heart. When an
artery reaches an organ it branches out into
capillaries. It is in the capillaries where
substances such as oxygen, food and carbon
dioxide are exchanged between the blood and
organ cells. The capillaries then join up to form
veins. Capillaries are the links between arteries
and veins
Arteries, Veins and Capillaries

Arteries carry blood away from the heart.

Veins carry blood back to the heart.
Capillaries carry blood to and from the body’s cells and
connects the arteries and veins.
Naming blood vessels
Aorta is the the artery taking blood from the heart to other parts
of the body excluding the lungs
Vena cava is the vein through which blood from other parts of
the body enter the heart
 The artery that carries de-oxygenated blood from the heart (right
ventricle) to the lungs is called pulmonary artery

The vein that carries oxygenated blood from the lung to the
heart (left atrium) is called pulmonary vein.
The renal artery and renal veins takes blood to and from the
kidney.

Lymphatic system

Functions of lymphatic system

The lymphatic system is a collection of
lymph vessels and glands. It has 3 main roles:
 Fluid balance: return tissue fluid to the blood
 Protection from infection: produce white blood
cells lymphocytes
 Absorption of fats: transport digested fats from villi to
blood stream
1. Lymph and Tissue Fluid,kkl

Tissue fluid is a fluid surrounding the cells of a tissue. It

is leaked plasma - Plasma from the blood capillaries move to
the tissue through gaps in the walls and become tissue fluid.

Tissue fluid play an important role in substance

exchange between blood and cells. It supplies cells
with O2 and nutrients and takes away waste products
including CO2.

At the end of the capillary bed, the tissue fluid leaks back into
the blood, and becomes plasma again, but not all of it. A little of
it is absorbed by the lymphatic vessel and becomes lymph.

The lymphatic vessel takes the lymph to the blood stream by

secreting them in a vein near the heart, called subclavian vein.
The lymph in the lymphatic vessels are moved along by the
squeeze of muscles against the vessel, just like some veins.

The return of tissue fluid to the blood in the form of lymph fluid
prevents fluid built up in the tissue.

2. Production of lymphocytes

The lymphatic system is an important component of

the immune system, which fights infection. One group of white
blood cells, the lymphocytes, are made in lymph glands such as
the tonsils, adenoids and spleen. The glands become more
active during an infection because they are producing
and releasing large numbers of lymphocytes.

The lymphocytes can live and multiply in the lymphatic system,

where they attack and destroy foreign organisms. Lymphoid
tissue scattered throughout the body filters out pathogens, other
foreign matter and cellular debris in body fluids.

3. The absorption of fatty acids and glycerol from the small

intestine

Following the chemical and mechanical breakdown of food in

the digestive tract, most nutrients are absorbed into the blood
through intestinal capillaries. Many digested fats, however,
are too large to enter the blood capillaries and are instead
absorbed into lymphatic capillaries by intestinal lacteals. Fats
are added to the blood when lymph joins the bloodstream.
 Components of Blood

The body contains approximately 5 litres of blood and this is a

mixture made up of red blood cells, white blood
cells and platelets all suspended in a liquid called plasma.
The table below provides more details on each of the separate
components of blood.

Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes)

 Make up 40-50% of the total blood volume
 Made in the bone marrow

Func  Carry oxygen from lungs to all cells of the body

tion  Carry carbon dioxide away from cells
 Contain oxygen carrying molecule
called haemoglobin which combines with oxygen to
give oxyhaemoglobin.
Haemoglobin + Oxygen => Oxyhaemoglobin

 Haemoglobin also responsible for the red colour of

Prop blood
erties  Biconcave shape providing a large surface area to
volume ratio to absorb the maximum amount of oxygen.
 Have no nucleus, therefore more surface area to
carry haemoglobin and hence oxygen
 Small and flexible so can pass easily through blood
vessels

White Blood Cells (Leukocytes)

 Make up 1% of the blood volume
 Made in the bone marrow
 Form part of the immune system
 Two main types: Lymphocytes and Phagocytes
  Defend the body against infection and disease
 Lypmhocytes: Recognise virus or bacteria as being
foreign and make antibodies to attack and destroy them
Func
tion  Phagocytes: Destroy virus and bacteria by
engulfing them in a process known as phagocytosis.
They take the germ into the cell then digest and destroy
it.

 Have a large nucleus

 Larger than red blood cells
Prop
 Shape varies depending on which type of cell
erties
 Have a flexible shape so that they can engulf
microorganisms

Platelets (Thrombocytes)
 Fragments of larger cells
 Made in the bone marrow
  Help blood to clot by clumping together and
Func forming a plug. (Therefore you do not bleed to death if
tion you cut yourself).
Protect the body by stopping bleeding

Prop
 No nucleus
erties

Plasma
 Makes up 55% of the blood volume

 Transports dissolved substances e.g. Carbon

dioxide, glucose, salts, urea, hormones, antibodies,
Func plasma proteins around the body
tion  Brings nourishment to cells and removes waste
products
 Prevents blood vessels from collapsing

Prop  Yellow liquid part of the blood in which red and

erties white blood cells as well as platelets are suspended
 95% of it consists of water with many substances
 dissolved in i

Blood clothing
When an injury causes a blood vessel wall to break, platelets are
activated. They change shape from round to spiny, stick to the
broken vessel wall and each other, and begin to plug the break.
The platelets also interact with fibrinogen, a soluble plasma
protein, to form insoluble fibrin. Calcium is required for that.
Fibrin strands form a net that entraps more platelets and other
blood cells (red cells and white cells), producing a clot that
plugs the break.

Necessity for blood clotting

 Prevent excessive blood loss from the body when there is a
damage of the blood vessel.
 Maintain the blood pressure.
 Prevent the entry of microorganism and foreign particles into
the body.
 Promote wound healing.