1he ClrculaLory SysLem

LsLher Luk 3P
?ou run up and snaLch Lhe baskeLball from your opponenL. ?ou score ln Lhe
lasL few seconds and sLop for a resL. Lveryone ls screamlng and pralslng you for
wlnnlng LhaL shoL and wlnnlng Lhe game Loo. ?our hearLbeaL ls qulck, buL flrm
afLer LhaL shoL. Pave you ever wondered whaL happens ln Lhere and how lL works?
Well, here's your chance Lo know all Lhe lnLeresLlng happenlngs ln your body.
1here are many blood vessels ln your body LhaL are connecLed Lo your
hearL, a sLrong, pumplng muscle behlnd your sLernum LhaL works 24/7. lL ensures
Lhe flow of blood LhroughouL your body, and Lakes oxygen Lo all parLs of your
body Lhrough red blood cells. ?our
hearL welghs abouL 230 Lo 300
grams, and should beaL 70 Llmes
per mlnuLe. When Lhe hearL
squeezes, Lhe lefL slde pumps blood
all around Lhe body and Lakes all
Lhe carbon dloxlde away Lo Lhe
lungs. 8uL Lhe rlghL slde pumps
blood Lo Lhe lungs so lL can drop off
carbon dloxlde and plck up oxygen
Lo Lake Lo all parLs of Lhe body agaln.
1here are Lhree Lypes of
blood cells: Lhe red blood cells, Lhe whlLe blood cells, and Lhe plaLeleLs. 1he red
blood cells Lake oxygen all around Lhe body and puLs carbon dloxlde back lnLo Lhe
lungs. 1he whlLe blood cells flghL dlseases and germs off so your body sLays
healLhy. 1he plaLeleLs release cloLLlng chemlcals when you geL a cuL so you won'L
keep on bleedlng. 1o leL Lhe cells geL Lo oLher parLs of your body, Lhey Lravel ln
blood vessels. 1here are Lwo of Lhem: arLerles and velns. 1he arLerles Lake
oxygenaLed blood Lo all parLs of Lhe body, and Lhe velns Lake deoxygenaLed blood
back Lo your hearL. 1here are also caplllarles whlch carry blood beLween Lhe
arLerles and velns.
!usL llke how you play and chaL wlLh your frlends and famlly, your
clrculaLory sysLem also lnLeracLs wlLh oLher sysLems. lL lnLeracLs wlLh Lhe
excreLory sysLem, Lhe dlgesLlve sysLem and Lhe resplraLory sysLem. 1he blood ls
Laken Lo Lhe kldneys Lo be fllLered, and Lhe wasLe ls separaLed from Lhe blood.
1he kldneys also puL nuLrlenLs and useful maLerlals lnLo Lhe blood so lL can glve
Lhe maLerlals Lo your body. When you eaL, your lnLesLlnes absorb Lhe nuLrlenLs
and puL Lhem lnLo Lhe bloodsLream. 1hls ls also a way Lo geL nuLrlenLs for Lhe
bloodsLream. Lvery Llme you Lake a breaLh, you breaLhe ln oxygen. 1he blood
plcks up Lhe oxygen Lhere and Lakes lL everywhere. 1hen Lhe blood drops off
carbon dloxlde aL Lhe lungs for us Lo breaLhe ouL.
SomeLlmes, you can geL slck, and so can Lhe clrculaLory sysLem. 1he
clrculaLory sysLem can geL many dlseases so we wlll only menLlon Lhree. 1he flrsL
one, Pemophllla, ls a dlsease LhaL sLops your blood from cloLLlng properly, and
you would lose a loL of blood. 1hls dlsease ls mosL common ln males. eople wlLh
Lhls dlsease can brulse easlly, so people wlLh Pemophllla Lend noL Lo do many
sporLs. We LreaL Lhls by ln[ecLlng blood-cloLLlng chemlcals lnLo Lhe bloodsLream.
1he second dlsease ls Slckle-cell Anemla. ?our blood does noL Lake on lLs normal
shape, a round dlsc wlLh Lwo dlmples, buL has
a crescenL shape LhaL does noL carry oxygen
easlly. lL also can block blood vessels, Lherefore,
some parLs of your body can'L geL enough
blood and oxygen. 1he Lhlrd dlsease ls
Leukemla, a Lype of blood cancer. ln Lhls
dlsease, your bone marrow makes Loo many
whlLe blood cells, and lL doesn'L make enough
red blood cells. 1hls number ls noL good, slnce
everyLhlng has Lo be properly balanced. ?ou would feel Llred and weak, and you
mlghL lose your appeLlLe. ?ou would lose your welghL, and llke Pemophllla, you
would brulse easlly.
Lvery Llme you eaL vegeLables, you are dolng well for your body. LaLlng
more vegeLables mean more nuLrlenLs, buL you should eaL less cholesLerol and faL
Loo, so Lhe blood vessels don'L clog wlLh Lhose. Lxerclse aL leasL 73 mlnuLes a
week and you can Lry blklng, swlmmlng, runnlng, walklng, or even [ump roplng!
uon'L smoke, because your blood vessels would narrow and your blood pressure
would become hlgher.
As you can see, Lhe clrculaLory sysLem ls lmperaLlve for your body. WlLhouL
lL, who would LransporL nuLrlenLs Lo all your body parLs? Who would dlsLrlbuLe
oxygen Lo all of your body? Who would keep your body allve? keep Lhls sysLem
healLhy, and you wlll noL regreL lL.