CHAPTER 2

BLOOD
CIRCULATION AND
TRANSPORT
SYSTEM

2.1 TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN HUMAN

Blood circulatory system

yHuman blood circulatory system consist of

heart, blood and blood vessels

yThe function of the blood circulatory system are
to:
yTransport oxygen and nutrients to all body
cells
yTransport waste products (carbon dioxide and
urea) for elimination
yTransport chemicals such as hormones and
antibodies

yHuman have a closed blood circulatory system.

yBlood flows in closed blood vessels and the
exchange of substances like gas and food takes
place through the walls of the capillaries.

yBlood is carries to the heart by specific blood

vessels and pumped out from the heart through

different blood vessels

yThe blood vessels that carries blood out of the

heart is called artery

yAorta is the largest artery in the body

yThe blood vessels that carries blood into the

heart is called vein
yVena cava is the largest vein in the body
yIn the vein, blood is prevented from back
flowing by valve

Structure of the heart and its function

yThe heart is a muscular organ which contracts

and relaxes continuously to pump and circulate
blood to the whole body

yThe heart situated in the thoracic cavity

between the left lung and the right lung

yThe heart has 4 chambers:

yLeft atrium (also known as left auricle)
yRight atrium (also known as right auricle)
yLeft ventricle
yRight ventricle

yThe atriums are situated at the upper part of the

heart, while the ventricles are situated at the
lower part of the heart

yAtrium is smaller than ventricle

yThe wall of ventricles are thicker and stronger
than atrium

yThe wall of left ventricle is thicker and more

muscular compared to that of the right ventricle

yThis is because stronger pressure is needed by

the left ventricle to pump blood to whole body

yPARTS OF THE HEART

TYPES OF
BLOOD
VESSELS
Vena cava
Pulmonary
artery
Pulmonary
vein

FUNCTION
Channels deoxygenated
blood from all parts of the
body to right atrium
Carries deoxygenated
blood from the heart to the
lungs
Carries oxygenated blood
from the lung to the heart

Blood CIRCULATION THROUGH THE HEART

yVena cava carries deoxygenated blood from all

parts of the body to the right atrium

yWhen the right atrium is filled with blood, the

wall of right atrium will contract and push the
blood through tricuspid valve

yWhen the right ventricle is filled with blood, it

will contract and push the blood through
semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery

yGaseous exchange takes place in the human

yCarbon dioxide diffuses out and oxygen
diffuses into the blood

yOxygenated blood then flows from the lungs

into the left atrium through the pulmonary vein

yThe left atrium will contract and pushes blood

through the bicuspid valve into the left ventricle

yThe contraction of the left ventricle wall pushes

blood to the semilunar valve into the aorta

yThe aorta then carries the blood to the whole

body

yFlow chart of the blood circulation:

Blood VESSELS IN HUMAN

yBlood vessels are tubes in the body that channel

blood

y3 types of blood vessel in the human body

yArtery
yVein
yBlood capillary

yComparison between artery, vein and blood

capillary

ARTERY

VEIN

BLOOD
CAPILLARY

Carries blood
to the heart

Carries blood
from the
artery to the
vein

STRUCTUR
E

FUNCTION

Carries blood
out of the
heart

TYPE OF
BLOOD
CARRIED

RATE OF
BLOOD
FLOW

BLOOD
ARTERY
VEIN
CAPILLARY
1. Carries
oxygenated
blood from
Oxygenated Deoxygenat
artery to body
blood
ed blood
cell
(except
(except
2. Carries
pulmonary pulmonary
deoxygenated
artery)
vein)
blood from
body cells to
the vein
High
Low
Blood flows very
pressured
pressured
slowly
blood
blood

ARTERY
THICKNES
Thick,
S OF
muscular,
BLOOD
strong and
VESSEL
elastic wall
WALL
LUMEN
small
SIZE
EXISTENCE
No
OF VALVE

VEIN

BLOOD
CAPILLARY

Thin, less
muscular Porous and thin
and less
wall
elastic wall
big

Very small

Yes

No

yComparison between oxygenated and

deoxygenated blood
OXYGENATED
BLOOD

DIFFERENCE

DEOXYGENATED
BLOOD

High

OXYGEN
CONCENTRATION

Low

Low

CARBON DIOXIDE
CONCENTRATION

High

High

THE
CONCENTRATION
OF DIGESTED
FOOD

Very low

Not present

WASTE PRODUCTS

Present

Artery and
pulmonary vein

BLOOD VESSEL
THAT CARRIES IT

Vein and
pulmonary artery

Bright red

BLOOD COLOUR

Dark red

Blood circulation

yHuman have a double blood circulatory system

yPulmonary circulation
ySystemic circulation
yPulmonary circulation consist of blood vessels
that transport blood from the heart to the lungs
and back to the heart

ySystemic circulation consists of blood vessels

involved in the blood circulation from the heart to

all parts of the body (except lung) and back to the
heart

Lung
s

Pulmonary
Circulation

Systemic
Circulation

Body

IMPORTANCE IN MAINTAINING A HEALTHY

HEART

yHeart disease is caused by:

yDamage to the valve in the heart
yFailure of the ventricle and atrium muscular
walls to contract

yBlockage of blood supply to the heart as a

result of cholesterol deposits

yBalanced food intake, exercise and low work

pressure are beneficial for a healthy heart

yThe importance of maintaining a healthy heart:

yAvoid contracting heart disease
yEnsure that our body cells get enough supply
of oxygen and food

2.2 HUMAN BLOOD

CONTENTS OF BLOOD AND THEIR
FUNCTION

yBlood consists of:

yPlasma
yRed blood cells
yWhite blood cells
yPlatelets

yBlood consists of:

yPlasma
yThe liquid part of the blood
yYellowish in colour and alkaline

characteristics
yPlasma contains dissolved substances like
mineral salts, digested food, waste products,
vitamins, hormones, antibodies and gases
yRed blood cells, white blood cells and
platelets float in plasma
yProduced in the liver

yRed Blood Cells

yBiconcave shape
yDo not have nucleus
yFunction: transport oxygen to body cells
yProduce in the bone marrow
yWhite Blood Cells
yLarger size than red blood cell and dont

have definite shape

yHave a nucleus
yFunction: protect the body from being
attacked by microorganisms
yProduced in bone marrow and lymph glands

yPlatelet
yPlatelets are small pieces in the blood that

have no definite shape

yDo not have nucleus
yThe size of platelet are very small
yFunction: to clot blood in a wound to prevent
the loss of an excessive amount of blood
yProduced in the bone marrow

BLOOD GROUP

yHuman blood is classified into 4 groups:

yA
yB
yAB
yO
yA person who donates his blood to another is

called blood donor

yA person who receives blood from another is
called a recipient
yBlood transfusion is the transfer of blood from a
donor to a recipient

yThe blood of the recipient and the donor must

be compatible
yIf incompatible, blood clotting (agglutination)
will occur, and can cause death to the recipient
yBlood transfusion that can be done between
donor and recipient
RECIPIENT

DONO
R

BLOOD
GROUP

AB
O

AB

yPeople with blood group AB are called universal

recipients because they can receive blood from
people with blood group O, A, B and AB.
yPeople with blood group O are called universal
donor because they can donate blood to people
with blood group O, A, B and AB

BLOOD donation

yThe loss of a lot of blood as a result of an

accident or an operation needs to be replaced

with blood transfused from another person
yThis is because massive blood loss will damage
bodily functions and cause death
yPeople are encouraged to donate blood to save
the lives of others
yBlood transfusion must be carried out with care
to avoid blood coagulation
yThe type of blood transfused to a recipient must
be suitable and compatible

yTwo types of blood transfusion:

yThrough blood kept in the blood bank
yThrough direct channelling from donor and

recipient
yBlood donation is important because there is no
substitute for blood

STORAGE AND HANDLING OF BLOOD

yEach blood donor must be tested beforehand to

know his or her blood group

yThe donor must also be examined by a doctor to
ensure that the donors body is healthy enough
for blood transfusion
yBefore blood is transfused to a patient, it must
be tested to ensure that it is free from diseases
like hepatitis B, hepatitis C, HIV and venereal
diseases like syphilis
yBlood obtained from a donor should be stored in
a cold place before use

2.3 TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN PLANTS

TRANSPIRATION

yTranspiration process in plants in which is lost

in the form of water vapour through evaporation
from the surface of leaves
yIf too much water evaporates from a plant, the
cells of the plant will lose turgid pressure and wilt
yStomata are pores or openings on the surface of
leaves
yMore stomata are found on the under surface of
leaves
yThe pore size of the stomata is controlled by the
guard cells

yFunction of stomata:
yAllows air to diffuse in and out of the leaves
yEnables water vapour to be released from the
leaves during transpiration
yThe structure of stomata:

FACTORS AFFECTING THE RATE OF

TRANSPIRATION

yFactors affecting the rate of transpiration are:

yTemperature
yLight intensity
yWind
yAir humidity
yPlease refer to SPS Book for experiment (page
22)

THE IMPORTANCE OF TRANSPIRATION TO A

PLANT

yThe role of transpiration is to:

yGet rid of excess water from plants
yCool the plants on the hot days
yTransport water and mineral salts from the
roots to the whole plant

TRANSPORT IN PLANTS THROUGH THE

XYLEM AND PHLOEM

yXylem is a vessel which transports water and

mineral salts from the roots to the leaves

yXylem is situated in the middle section
yPhloem is a vessel which transports food
(glucose) from the leaves to the stems and roots
yPhloem is located in the bark of the plant