Why humans need a circulatory system

- Small surface area compared to volume → large diffusion path → diffusion alone=too slow
- More active than smaller organisms → greater oxygen, etc., requirements
- Pump blood → oxygen and glucose to cells → cells respire

The double circulatory system

- When blood pumped around body, goes through heart twice
- Pulmonary circuit- carries deoxygenated blood to heart, oxygenated back
- Systemic- carries oxygenated blood around body, deoxygenated back to heart
- Necessary because:
- Keeps blood pressure high → blood moves fast to supply cells quickly + remove waste
- NOTE: pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood- it is the ONLY artery which does

Heart dissection
- Left side firmer to touch, thicker (musclier) walls (must be able to pump blood around body at high
pressure), aorta (thicker than vena cava) leads there
- Heart made of cardiac tissue
- Hard white substance around heart = fat- insulates, protects, provides respiration fuel
- Ventricles firmer + larger than atria (left ventricle = thickest)
- Blood vessels on surface of ventricles: coronary arteries + veins, from aorta or vena cava
- Coronary vessels provide heart with fuel- if blocked, that part of heart → unable to respire →
would die → heart attack
- Valves control direction of blood flow

Structure and function of blood

- Plasma: liquid part of blood (mainly water)- carries blood cells + distributes heat around body;
carries dissolved nutrients, hormones, CO2, urea; straw coloured
- RBCs contain red pigment: haemoglobin
- RBCs lose nucleus whilst developing in bone marrow
 Feature RBC WBC- lymphocytes WBC- phagocytes Platelets
Diagram

Fragments of other
Biconcave, disc- Large nucleus Lobed nucleus
cells
like (more SA)
Where is/are they Bone marrow Bone marrow
made?
Nucleus? No Yes No
Function Transport oxygen Produce Engulf bacteria + Release chemicals
in form of antibodies to other microbes that to make blood clot
oxyhaemoglobin destroy microbes + have infected our when we cut
antitoxins to bodies ourselves (to
neutralise toxins prevent blood loss +
pathogen entry)

Blood vessel Structure Diagram Function

Artery - Thick wall with - Carry blood from heart →

muscle fibres + organs
elastic tissue - Maintain high pressure
- Lining - Blood under pressure- no
(endothelium) need for valves
- Narrow lumen - Can stretch + recoil to push
(central cavity) blood along, and ʻgiveʼ under
pressure
Vein - Thin wall with - Carry blood from organs →
little muscle + heart
elastic tissue - Venous blood = lower
- Endothelium pressure than arterial
- Large lumen - Low pressure on vein walls
- Linked to arteries - Can allow large volume of
by capilleries blood through easily
- Prevent blood backflow

Capillary - Wall = 1 cell - Carries to cells: oxygen,

thick + gaps glucose, amino acids, water
between cells - Carries waste from cells
(shorter diffusion - Substances transferred
path) between blood and cells
- Contains RBCs - Small enough to ʻfitʼ between
cells + allow materials through
walls to all cells easily
Blood clotting
1. Blood vessel damaged (smooth walls → rough edges)
2. Damaged tissue releases chemicals + platelets bump into rough edges
3. Prothrombin (soluble) → thrombin (enzyme)
4. Thrombin acts on fibrinogen (soluble) → fibrin (insoluble)
5. Fibrin → fibre mesh across wound
6. RBCs and platelets trapped in mesh, forming clot

Heartbeat
1. Diastole (filling phase) (approx. 0.4s)
• Cardiac muscle relaxed, so atria fills with blood from vena cava (RHS) + aorta (LHS)
2. Atrial systole (atrial contraction) (0.1s)
• Atria contract- volume of atria decreases → pressure within increases
• When pressure in atria greater than in ventricles, AV valves open
• Blood flows → ventricles
3. Ventricular systole (ventricular contraction) (0.3s)
• Volume of ventricles decreases → pressure within increases
• Pressure in ventricles greater than in atria
• AV valves close- prevents backflow of blood
• Heart strings prevent AV valves turning inside out
• Semi-lunar valves open
• Blood flows into arteries

More
- In intestines blood gains vitamins, glucose, etc.
- Waste from kidneys= urea, CO2

Heart rate
- Average resting heart rate: 70 beats/min
- Varies according to age, gender, etc.
- Changes in heart rate from nerve impulses from medulla (in brain)
- Pacemaker initiates heartbeat
- 2 sets of nerves at top right of atrium: accelerator (of heart rate) and decelerator
- During exercise:
- Muscles do more work
- Rate of respiration must increase → more energy
- Increased aerobic respiration → increases need for glucose and oxygen
 - Blood needs to be pumped faster
- Heart rate and stroke volume must increase
- Carbon dioxide and lactic acid also removed from muscles as a result

Effects of smoking on heart

- Blockage or narrowing of arteries (incl. Coronary) as stimulates deposition of cholesterol in vessels
→ increased blood pressure as less blood can be carried
- Carbon monoxide → reduced oxygen carrying capabilities in RBCs → less oxygen to cells →
increased anaerobic respiration + lactic acid build up → angina and heart attack
- Nicotine = stimulant → increases heart rate + blood pressure → heart works harder
- Higher blood pressure → weakens/ damages artery walls
- If one of coronary arteries blocked → area it supplies → deprived of glucose and oxygen →
wouldnʼt respire → would die → heart attack

Adrenaline
- Secreted when frightened, angry or nervous by adrenal gland
- Hormones are chemical messengers which travel in the bloodstream
- Effects of adrenaline (aka. Fight or flight hormone):
- Breathing rate increases: deeper breaths → more oxygen
- Heart rate increases → more blood to muscles → more oxygen + glucose for respiration
- Blood diverted from intestines → muscles
- In liver, stored carbohydrates → glucose for respiration
- Mental alertness increased → fast reactions
- Pupils dilate → increased sensitivity to movements