1 | BIOLOGY

LIFE’S TRANSPORT, EXCHANGE AND DEFENSE SYSTEMS

• Big Idea: essential materials transported for survival and protection

• Theme Focus: An organism’s body requires oxygen, nutrients, which are supplied by the respiratory and
circulatory systems while the body is being protected from invading pathogens.
RESPIRATORY SYSTEM (the need to respire and exchange essential gases)

• almost all organisms in the planet need oxygen to survive

Gas Exchange in Animals

• oxygen is needed by the cells to harness energy from food through cellular respiration while carbon
dioxide is produced as a waste product
• four major types of gas exchange systems: body surface, gills, tracheae, and lungs
• body surface
➢ earthworm use their entire skin as a gas-exchange organ
➢ as they move through the soil, their body releases carbon dioxide and absorb oxygen
• gills
➢ adapted for gas exchange in aquatic environments
➢ extensions of the body
➢ absorb oxygen dissolved in water
➢ in a fish, gas exchange is enhanced by ventilation and the countercurrent flow of water and blood
➢ gets oxygen from the water and release carbon dioxide
• lungs
➢ frogs breathe through the lungs on land and gills on water
➢ two cycles in enlarging the floor of frog’s mouth: to get oxygen and to release carbon dioxide
• invertebrate respiration
➢ tracheal system
Ο insects and spiders with a hard integument have branching tracheal tubes that open to the
surface through spiracles (no respiratory protein required); have skin opening
Ο provides direct exchange between air and body cells
Ο different insects have different tracheal system
➢ book lungs
Ο some spiders also have thin sheets of respiratory tissue that exchange oxygen with a
respiratory pigment (hemocyanin) in blood
Ο found below, near their stomach
• vertebrate respiration
➢ reptiles, bird, and mammals exchange gases through paired lungs, ventilated by chest
➢ birds have the most efficient vertebrate lungs
Ο air sacs allow oxygen-rich air to pass respiratory surfaces on both inhalation and
exhalation
Human Respiratory System

• functions in gas exchange, sense of smell, voice production, body defenses, acid-base balance, and
temperature regulation
Airways

• upper: nose, mouth, pharynx, and larynx; lower:

• air enters through nose or mouth, flows through the pharynx (throat) and the larynx (voice box)
➢ vocal cords change the size of the glottis
➢ glottis is the opening
• epiglottis protects the trachea (wind pipe), which branches into two bronchi, one to each lung
➢ cilia and mucus-secreting cells clean airways
➢ cilia trap unnecessary materials; warms and moistens the air
From Airways to Alveoli

• inside each lung, bronchi branch into bronchioles that deliver air to alveoli
➢ end in clusters of tiny sacs called alveoli
• alveoli are small sacs, one cell thick, where gases are exchanged with pulmonary capillaries
➢ actual gas exchange occurs
• in mammals, air inhaled through the nostrils
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➢ passes through the pharynx and larynx into the trachea, bronchi, bronchioles, and alveoli
Thoracic Cavity and Respiratory Cycle
A. Inhalation
✓ diaphragm contracts, moves down
✓ external intercostal muscles contract, lift rib cage upward and outward
✓ lung volume expands
B. Exhalation
✓ diaphragm, external intercostal muscles return to resting positions
✓ rib cage moves downward and inward
✓ lungs recoil passively
First Aid for Choking

• Heimlich maneuver
➢ upward-directed force on the diaphragm forces air out of lungs to dislodge an obstruction
➢ force diaphragm to contract or move upward
➢ space below the rib cage (sternum), on top of belly button
Factors Affecting Gas Exchange

• pressure
• temperature
• kind of solute (inside the cell and in the environment)
• oxygen binding protein (hemoglobin)
Gas Exchange in Plants

• photosynthesis: carbon dioxide goes in, oxygen goes out

• respiration: oxygen goes in, carbon dioxide goes out
• misconception: absorption of water and minerals only occur in roots
➢ absorption of water and minerals occur through any part of a plant which is not covered by cuticle
• lenticels are openings in the barks of trees and shrubs that allow gas exchange

THE NEED TO TRANSPORT ESSENTIAL MATERIALS

• the transport systems ensure that essential materials needed by the body are properly circulated and
waste products are disposed.
Animal Transport System

• circulatory system: open circulatory system; close circulatory system

• 2 types of circulation: single-loop; double-loop
Mammalian Circulatory System

• functions in transportation, regulation, and protection

• parts: heart, blood, and blood vessels
Heart

• pumps blood throughout the body

• located in the middle of the chest cavity with its tip or apex slightly tilted toward the left
• it’s big as one’s own clenched fist
• protected with layers of tissue
• layers of tissue:
➢ epicardium (protection)
Ο outer layer of the heart wall
Ο inner part of pericardium (thin sac) that is closely adhered to the heart
Ο composed of cardiac muscle and connective tissues
➢ myocardium (pumping)
Ο middle layer of the heart wall
Ο keeps the heart pumping blood around the body (responsible for pumping mechanism)
Ο composed of cardiac muscle
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➢ endocardium (path)
Ο innermost layer
Ο thin layer of tissue that lines the muscles of the heart
Ο keeps the blood flowing through the heart
Ο regulates blood flow
Ο cardiac muscle and smooth muscle
• Except for the heart, arteries and veins can be found inside the lungs (pulmonary)
• largest veins connected to the heart are called vena cava
➢ superior vena cava (upper body)
➢ inferior vena cava (lower body)

DEOXYGENATED BLOOD OXYGENATED BLOOD

Blood with low or no oxygen (oxygen-poor) Blood with high level of oxygen (oxygen-rich)
Pulmonary arteries Pulmonary veins
ATRIUM VENTRICLE
Comes first Comes next
Receives blood Pumps the blood
ARTERY VEINS
Carry oxygenated blood Carry deoxygenated blood
Carry blood away from the heart Carry blood towards the heart
Arterioles – small version Venules – small version
Blood pumped by the left ventricle to all parts of the
Blood comes from all parts of the body to the heart
body
Aorta – largest artery Vena Cava – largest veins
Pulmonary arteries carry deoxygenated blood from Pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood back to the
the right ventricle to the lungs for oxygenation left atrium of the heart

Chambers of the Heart

• 4-chambered heart: right and left atrium; right and left ventricle
Atria/Atrium

• receiving chambers
• right atrium: receives blood from vena cava
• left atrium: receives blood from pulmonary veins
Valves

• flap of muscle that prevents backflow of blood

• 2 sets of valves: atrioventricular valve and pulmonary valve
• atrioventricular valves or cuspid valves
➢ located between atria and ventricles
➢ tricuspid valve: prevent backflow of blood to the right atrium
➢ bicuspid valve: prevent backflow of blood to the left atrium
• pulmonary valves
➢ pulmonary semilunar valve: allows deoxygenated blood to travel from right ventricle to pulmonary
trunk
➢ aortic semilunar valve: allows oxygenated blood to travel from left ventricle to aorta
Blood Vessels

• carry blood away from and towards the heart

• 3 types: artery, vein, and capillaries
• artery needs to be thick to withstand the pressure of blood pumped from the heart
• capillaries are where the actual exchange happens; thinnest; one red blood cell at a time
Blood

• the liquid in the circulatory system of an animal organism

• amount varies with the species and size of an animal
• an average adult human weighing 160 pounds has about 5 quarts of blood
• animals in high altitudes have more blood than those at lower altitudes because air at higher altitudes
has less oxygen
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Plasma

• liquid substance in which various materials are suspended and moved about
➢ 90% water
➢ 10% dissolved substances including hormones, wastes, minerals, vitamins, and proteins
Red Blood Cells

• responsible for carrying oxygen from lungs throughout the circulatory system
• oxygen carried by hemoglobin (makes the blood red)
• do not repair themselves
• new cells are made in bone marrow
• dead cells are removed by the spleen and liver; macrophages help destroy RBC
• most abundant; one animal may have trillion blood cells
White Blood Cells

• responsible for fighting disease and removing harmful substances from the body
• different kinds found in blood
• some cells surround and digest infectious bacteria
• produce antibodies: a kind of protein that destroys bacteria, viruses, and other invasive substances
• counts go up if there is an infection
• neutrophils: most abundant
Platelets

• responsible for clotting

• disk-like shape
• creates scabs
• without them, an animal might bleed to death from a wound
• hemophilia: very common in royal blood due to inbreeding
Blood Circulation

• Double circulatory system divided into two parts: pulmonary and systematic circulations
• right atrium – right ventricle – pulmonary artery – capillaries – receives oxygen – pulmonary vein
• left atrium – left ventricle – aorta – rest of the body

THE NEED FOR A DEFENSE SYSTEM

• the immune system is able to distinguish the harmless against the harmful organisms
• deals with it without posing risk to the organism
• divided into innate and adaptive immune system
• guards against disease
• when they encounter the same bacteria before, the immune response becomes quicker
COMMON COLD

• cold is an infection of the mucus membranes of the respiratory tract by rhinovirus

• over 100 rhinoviruses
• cold and flu isn’t the same: caused by different virus

VIRUS BACTERIA
Non-living particle that contains genetic material; Living organisms that have a metabolism, DNA, and
hijacks a living host can reproduce on their own
Cannot be killed with antibiotics Can be killed with antibiotics

Defense Against Disease

1. Nonspecific External Barriers: skin, mucous membranes
➢ if these barriers are penetrated, the body responds with
2. Innate Immune Response: phagocytic and natural killer cells, inflammation, fever
➢ if the innate immune response is insufficient, the body responds with
3. Adaptive Immune Response: cell-meditated immunity, humoral immunity
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LYMPHATIC SYSTEM IMMUNE SYSTEM

Component of immune system that provides white
Overall
blood cells
Connected to circulatory system Connected to endocrine and nervous system
Lymph nodes swell because they’re producing lots of
WBC due to pathogens

Non-specific Defenses

• First line of defense

• designed to prevent infections by viruses and bacteria
• these include intact skin, mucus and cilia, and phagocytes

Skin

• dead skin cells are constantly sloughed off, making it hard for invading bacteria to colonize
• sweat and oils contain anti-microbial chemicals, including some antibiotics

Mucus and Cilia

• mucus contains lysozymes (enzymes that destroy bacterial cell walls)

• mucus entraps bacteria
• the normal flow of mucus washes bacteria and viruses off of mucus membranes
• cilia in the respiratory tract move mucus out of the lungs to keep bacteria and viruses out
Phagocytes

• WBC that seek and destroy invaders

• some also destroy damaged body cells
• attracted by an inflammatory response of damaged cells
Inflammation

• signaled by mast cells which release histamine

• histamine causes fluids to collect around an injury to dilute toxins; this causes swelling
• the temperature of the tissues may rise, which can kill temperature-sensitive microbes
Fever

• defense mechanism that can destroy many types of microbes

• helps fight viral infections by increasing interferon production (interferon increases body temperature)
• caused by body’s pyrogens signaling the hypothalamus
Specific Defenses

• give us immunity to certain diseases

• the immune system forms a chemical memory of the invading microbe
• major players: macrophage, t cells (helper, cytotoxic, memory), b cells (plasma, memory), antibodies
Cell Frequency of Different Leukocytes in Healthy Individuals

• 60% neutrophils (50% - 70%): first to respond to bacteria or virus

• 3% eosinophils (>0% - 5%): weak against microbes but strong against parasitic invasion; has role in
allergy symptoms
• 0.5% basophils (>0% - 2%): warn others; has role in asthma
• lymphocytes: fight infections by producing antibodies; active when specifically needed
• monocytes: clean up dead cells
➢ monocytes and macrophages are the same
➢ monocyte if inside the blood vessels
➢ macrophages once they go out of the blood vessels
Some vocabulary

• antibody: a protein produced to tag and destroy invasive microbes

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• antibiotic: various chemicals produced by certain soil microbes that are toxic to many bacteria; some
used as medicines
• antigen: any protein that our immune system uses to recognize self vs. not self
Antibodies

• assembled out of protein chains

• many different chains assemble in different ways to make different antibodies
• breastfeeding gives babies antibodies
• as receptors: can attach to b cells and serve to recognize foreign antigens
• as effectors: free antibodies can bind to antigens, which tags the antigen for the immune system to attack
and destroy
Antigen Recognition

• cells of the immune system are trained to recognize self proteins vs. not self proteins
• if an antigen (not self) protein is encountered by a macrophage, it will bring the protein to a helper t-cell
for identification
Helper T Cell

• is the one that mobilize the other immune system cells

• leads the other immune system cells that are part of specific defenses
• they have receptors for recognizing antigens
• if they are present with an antigen, they release cytokines to stimulate B-cell division
• without them, the body won’t be able to respond properly
Memory T-cells

• takes note what happened during that attack

• acts like a diary
• remember what pathogens have entered the body and what to do if it enters again
B cells

• produce antibodies in general

• differentiate into either plasma cells or memory B-cells
• try its best to kill as many pathogens ASAP
• they try to see which antibodies works best on that antigen
• the b-cell that holds the correct antibody will quickly multiply to thousands
• plasma b-cells – b-cell that holds the antibodies and fights off pathogen using the antibody; the one that
produce a lot of antibodies
• memory b-cells – keep a copy of that antibody; a storage of that antibody
• different type of antigen = different type of antibody
• clonal selection – producing a lot of copies; some of antibodies stay on the b cell/cell membrane but some
are released freely into the body
• targets are pathogens
Role of Antibodies

• from the b-cell

• antibodies released into the blood stream will bind to the antigens that they are specific for
Killer T cells

• some become cytotoxic, or killer t-cells

• these t-cells seek out and destroy any antigens in the system, and destroy microbes tagged by antibodies
• some can recognize and destroy cancer cells
• can destroy the cells that invaded the body (pathogens) and cells that has been invaded already
(problematic cells)
• uses the process of phagocytosis
• targets are infected cells (those that are hijacked)
• memory cytotoxic t-cell
• AIDS
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Calling a Halt

• when the invader is destroyed, the helper T-cell calls a halt to the immune response
• without a halt, it may destroy other cells that are not infected
• memory t-cells are formed, which can quickly divide and produce cytotoxic t-cells to quickly fight off the
invader if it is encountered again in the future
Helping the Immune System (Human Assist)

• medical science has created to systems for augmenting the human immune system:
➢ antibiotics (not the same as antibodies)
➢ vaccines
How antibiotics work

• help destroy bacteria (but not viruses)

• work in one of several ways:
➢ slowing bacteria reproduction
➢ interfering with bacterial cell wall formation
Vaccine History

• from vacca, latin for cow

• invented by Edward Jenner in 1796
• Jenner knew that dairy maids who had contracted cowpox never got small pox. He inoculated a boy with
secretions from cowpox sores, and showed the boy was immune to small pox.
How Vaccines Work

• modern vaccines are created from killed bacteria or viruses, or fragments of proteins from these microbes
• the proteins are recognized as antigens by our immune systems
• this causes a mild immune response
• memory t-cells and b-cells remain ready to fight off the illness if it is encountered again
Vitamin C

• necessary for making collagen, and for many body functions

• absorption of vitamin C increases during illness
• it also has a very slight antihistamine effect
• vitamin c won’t cure cold, but may support some aspects of immune response
• drink water also
Zinc

• some studies have shown that moderate us of zinc lozenges slightly decreases duration and severity of
colds
• however, too much zinc can suppress the immune system and can reach toxic levels
• zinc nasal sprays can destroy olfactory receptors
Vitamin D

• new research suggests that vitamin D plays a role in immune response, and may be critical for fighting
off viruses
• it is fat-soluble and can accumulate to toxic levels
• a blood test can determine if a person needs to take vitamin D