8.1.

1 Circulatory Systems
Closed Double Circulatory System

The need for a circulatory system

 The cells of all living organisms need a constant supply of reactants for metabolism,
e.g. oxygen and glucose
 Single celled organisms can gain oxygen and glucose directly from their
surroundings, and the molecules can diffuse to all parts of the cell quickly due to
short diffusion distances
 Larger organisms, however, are made up of many layers of cells, meaning that the
time taken for substances such as glucose and oxygen to diffuse to every cell in the
body would be far too long
o The diffusion distances involved are too great
 To solve this problem their exchange surfaces are connected to a mass transport
system, for example
o The digestive system is connected to the circulatory system
o The lungs are connected to the circulatory system
 Mass transport is the bulk movement of gases or liquids in one direction, usually
via a system of vessels and tubes
 The circulatory system in mammals is a well-studied example of a mass transport
system; the one-way flow of blood within the blood vessels carries essential nutrients
and gases to all the cells of the body

Open & closed systems

 Circulatory systems are either described as being open or closed

 In a closed circulatory system, blood is pumped around the body and is always
contained within a network of blood vessels
o All vertebrates and many invertebrates have closed circulatory systems
 In an open circulatory system, blood is not contained within blood vessels but is
pumped directly into body cavities
o Organisms such as arthropods and molluscs have open circulatory systems.
 Humans have a closed double circulatory system: in one complete circuit of the
body blood passes through the heart (the pump) twice
 The right side of the heart pumps blood deoxygenated blood to the lungs for gas
exchange; this is the pulmonary circulatory system
 Blood then returns to the left side of the heart, so that oxygenated blood can be
pumped efficiently (at high pressure) around the body; this is the systemic
circulatory system
The double circulatory system in mammals

Main circulatory system structures table

8.1.2 Observing & Drawing Blood
Vessels
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Arteries, Veins & Capillaries: Observing & Drawing

 Arteries, veins and capillaries have distinctive structures which reflect their
differing roles throughout the body
 The walls of arteries and veins contain the same components; but in differing
proportions and with different wall thicknesses
 The walls of the capillaries are formed from a single layer of cells
 Plan diagrams show the structures of arteries and veins; these can be drawn
in transverse section (TS) and longitudinal section (LS)

Arteries

 Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood at high pressures away from the
heart
 Arteries have relatively thick walls which allow them to withstand the high
pressure of blood as it surges through with each ventricular contraction of the
heart
 The walls of arteries are composed of elastic and muscular tissue, as well as
collagen fibres
 Arteries closer to the heart contain a higher proportion of elastic fibres – the
walls of these arteries must be able to stretch and recoil to accommodate
blood surging through, preventing them from bursting or from the blood
pressure dropping
o These arteries are described as being elastic
 Arteries further from the heart contain less elastic and more smooth muscle
tissue - the diameter of these arteries can be adjusted to alter the blood
flowing to different tissues
o These arteries are described as being muscular and they branch into
smaller arteries (arterioles)
o The blood pressure in the arterioles is lower than that of the arteries
 The lumen of the arteries is relatively narrow; this ensures that blood remains
at relatively high pressure for efficient delivery to the tissues whilst also
providing resistance to blood flow to allow gas exchange as blood passes
through the tissues

Capillaries
  Arterioles branch into the smallest blood vessel – the capillaries – which form
networks throughout most tissues of the body (where they are described as
capillary beds)
 Capillaries have a diameter of between 5-10 μm and most cells of the body
are no more than a few μm from one
o The diameter of a typical red blood cell is 7 μm
 Blood flowing through the capillaries is brought close to the cells of the body
to allow efficient exchange of materials (particularly the diffusion of oxygen)
 The endothelial wall of the capillaries is only one-cell thick, which ensures that
substances can diffuse easily between the capillary and neighbouring cells
 The walls are also “leaky” – there are small gaps between individual squamous
epithelial cells that form the wall to allow small substances to leak out of the
blood into the fluid surrounding the cells of the body

Veins

 Capillaries join together to form larger blood vessels called venules which join
to form veins
 The outer layer of the veins is relatively tough, composed largely of collagen
fibres
 Conversely, the middle layer of the veins is relatively thin in comparison and
contains only a small amount of smooth muscle and elastic fibre
o This is because the blood flowing through veins is under very low
pressures so the walls of the veins do not have to stretch and recoil to
accommodate blood flow
 The lumen of veins is characteristically large
 Skeletal muscle contraction helps raise blood pressure temporarily within the
veins, and the presence of one-way valves keeps blood moving back towards
the hearth

8.1.3 Blood Vessels: Structures &

Functions
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Arteries, Veins & Capillaries: Structures & Functions

 Arteries, veins and capillaries all have varying structural features

Blood vessels structure & function table