The Human Circulatory System

Teacher: D.Bleau
School: St Anthony’s Secondary School
The Circulatory System

The Circulatory system is the bodies transport system by

which blood is carried to all parts of the body.

All other systems depend on its function efficiently.

 The Functions of circulatory system
The circulatory system carries out all of the following important
functions:

1. Circulates blood through the body.

2. Transports water, blood and food to cells and removes waste from
the cells.
3. Helps other body systems carry out their particular function(s) for
example blood supply to muscles is increased during exercise.
4. Helps fight disease.
5. Helps maintain correct body temperature.
 The structure and workings of the circulatory
system.

The circulatory system consists of three parts:

• The Heart: The organ that pumps blood around the body.

• The blood vessels: The tubes – Arteries, capillaries and veins through
which the blood moves

• The blood Itself : The average adult has about 5 litres of blood.
The Heart
The heart has four chambers inside. The two upper chambers
are called atria. Each is an atrium

The two lower chambers are called ventricles.

The wall down the middle of the heart is called the septum.
The septum divides the heart into two halves or parts.
Blood Vessels
There are three types of blood vessels in the circulatory system:
• Veins
• Arteries
• Capillaries

Veins take blood towards the heart, while arteries take blood away
from the heart. Capillaries allow the exchange of oxygen and
carbon dioxide.
The Blood
Blood is a liquid called plasma, with red cells, white cells and platelets
floating in it. The average adult has nearly 5 litres of blood in the body.

Plasma is a yellowish liquid. Plasma is mostly water with substances

like glucose, hormones and carbon dioxide dissolved in it.

Red Cells are the body’s oxygen carriers. The red cells contain
haemoglobin which gives the cells their red colour.

White cells defend the body against disease. There are different kinds
of white cells such as antibodies and phagocytes

Platelets are fragments from a special cell made in the bone marrow.
Platelets stop you from losing blood. This is done by clotting or making
a blood clot which then hardens into a scab.
 Types of Circulation
As we learnt earlier, the heart is divided down the middle. Each part
acts as its own pump, making the heart a double pump for double
circulation.

The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs and then it
returns to the heart. This process is called Pulmonary Circulation.

The left side pumps blood to the body and then it returns to the
heart. This process is called Systemic Circulation.
How does blood circulate around the body ?
Deoxygenated blood
enters the right
atrium

The left ventricle

The blood is pumped
pumps blood out
to the right ventricle
the heart to the
rest of the body

Oxygenated blood in The right ventricle

pumped to the left forces the blood to the
ventricle lungs

In the lungs, the

blood becomes
oxygenated and flows
back to the heart
through the left
atrium
Effects of Physical Activity on the Circulatory
System

Physical Activity improves the circulatory system in the

following ways:

• The heart pumps more blood per beat

• Resting heart rate decreases
• The number of capillaries in the body increases