BIOLOGY

CHAPTER 1 : TRANSPORT
1.2

CONCEPT OF THE
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

Circulatory system in humans and

animals
Circulatory system (CS) includes:
Medium fluid that flows in CS (eg:
animal : blood; insects: haemolymph)
Vesels arteries, veins and capillaries
Pump muscular heart

Erythrocytes

Erythrocytes
Small, biconcave disc
Have no nucleus
Great quantities of haemoglobin (which contains iron)

(Cells become bright

red)

Site of production: bone marrow

Life span: 120 days
Site of destruction: liver and spleen (by phagocytes)
Ratio of erythrocytes to leucocytes 1000 : 1 (in normal person)

Leucocytes (White blood

cells)
Erythrocyte
s

Leucocytes

Leucocytes (White blood

cells)

Less numerous than eryhtrocytes.

Have nuclei
Do not have haemoglobin
Larger than erythrocytes and do not
have fixed shapes.
Site of production : bone marrow
Site of growth and development:
thymus gland or lymph nodes

Cont.
Basic types of leucocytes:
Granulocytes (have granular cytoplasm
and lobed nuclei)
Neutrophils
Eosinophils
Basophils

Agranulocytes (clear cytoplasm and no

lobed)
Monocytes (largest)
Lymphocytes (smallest)

Platelets

Small, irregularly
shaped
F(x) : blood clotting
Life span: 5 -9 days

Plasma
Pale, yellow liquid
Made up of 90% water & 10% dissolved
solutes (gases, minerals, hormones,
plasma proteins and excretory wastes)

Plasma

Function of blood in
transport
Transport oxygen from the lungs to
other parts of the body
Transport absorbed food materials
from the digestive tract to body tissues
Transport waste products
Eg: carbon dioxide from body tissues to
the lungs
Urea to the kidneys

Transport heat, hormones and water

Transport of heat,
hormones & water
Body temperature can be regulated
by blood by distributing heat from
heat-producing sites (eg:muscles) to
the skin.
Hormones (eg:insulin & glucagon)
produced by endocrine glands
(pancreas) transported by blood to
target organs (liver).
Water is important to provide
medium for biochemical reaction.

Function of haemolymph
Circulating blood-like fluid found in
invertebrates with open-circulatory systems
Tubular heart pumps the haemolymph into
haemocoel (body cavity).
Haemolymph bathes the tissues and
internal organ directly.
Nutrients and hormones diffuse from
haemolypmh into the cells
Waste products diffuse out from the cells
into haemolymph.

Structure of human blood vessels

Blood vessels : tubes that transport blood from one part to another.
Arteries

Capillaries

Veins

Transport blood away

from the heart

Connect arterioles to
venules

Transport blood to the

heart

Transport oxygenated
blood (except
pulmonary artery)

Act as the sites for

exchange of
substances with the
cells

Transport
deoxygenated blood
(except pulmonary
vein)

Thick muscular wall

Thinnest wall, one cell Thinner wall

thickness

No valves except
semilunar valves at
the base of the aorta
and pulmonary artery

No valves

Valves present to
prevent back flow of
blood

Blood flows in pulses

under high pressure

No pulses. Pressure
lower than arteries
but higher than veins

No pulses. Blood
flows under lower
pressure than
arteries.

Artery, vein and capillary

How blood is propelled through the

human circulatory system
Organ responsible to pump the blood
: heart

 The human heart has four chambers :

Atria (atrium) the upper chambers which receive
blood returning to the heart
Ventricle the lower chambers which pump blood out of the
heart

The Septum seperates the right chambers from the

left chambers
The valves in the heart ensure blood flow only in one
direction :
Semilunar Valve , at the base of the aorta and pulmonary
artery
Bicuspid valve , between left atrium and left ventricle
Tricuspid valve , between right atrium and right ventricle

The heart is made up of cardiac muscles. It is

myogenic (auto rhtyhm) because it is not controlled by
the nervous system

Structure of the human

heart

Flow of blood
Pulmonary
Circulation
Pulmonar
y Artery

Pulmona
ry Vein

Systemic
Circulatio
n

Lungs
Pulmonary
veins

Pulmonary
Artery

Left atrium

Right ventricle
Tricuspid
valve

deO2
blood

O2 blood

Right atrium

Bicuspid
valve

Left ventricle

Aorta

Vena Cava
Whole body

How does the heart pump blood?

What are SAN & AVN?
The sino - atrium node (SAN) is a specialized bundle of tissue,
located in the right atrium wall, near the entrance of the anterior
vena cava
It acts as a pacemaker which generate a wave of electric impulse.
The blood is then spread to the atria, causing them to contract
simultaneously. Hence blood is forced into the ventricle

The impulse also stimulates the second node ; atrio

ventricular node (AVN) lying at the base of the right atrium
Impulses from the AVN are conducted by specialized muscle fibres
called Bundle of His and purkinje fibres and bundle fibres to the
ventricular walls. This causes the contraction of both ventricles to
pump blood out of the heart.
The right ventricle pumps the blood into the pulmonary artery, which
forces the blood to the lung
The left ventricle which is thicker and more muscular than the right
ventricle, pumps blood into the aorta and then to the whole body

The pumping of the heart

Sinoatrial
node

Atrio-ventricular
node

Bundle of His
containing
Purkinje tissue

Interventricular
septum

How does the blood in the veins flow

back to the heart?
Cardiac cycle is the series of events that occur during one
complete heartbeat :
Contraction (systole)
Relaxation (diastole)

1 systole & 1 diastole equal to 1 heartbeat (0.8 sec)

The pumping of the heart generates sufficient force to move
blood through the artery, arterioles and capillaries
However, when the blood reaches the vein, the blood pressure
produced by the heart is insufficient to force it back into the
heart
When the body moves, the skeletal muscles around the veins
contract and press on the veins.
The veins contract and blood pressure increases, to open the
valves and the push the blood towards the heart.

Contraction of skeletal muscles

around veins

Regulatory Mechanism of Blood

Pressure
SAN can initiate the heartbeat on its own. But the
heart rate may be modified by certain external
factors.
The sympathetic nerve carrying impulse to the
heart can increase the heart rate and the
parasympathetic nerve can slow it down
Heart rate increase when :
an increase in the secretion of hormone (adrenaline)
when someone is excited
Body temperature is elevated
Increase in the partial pressure of carbon dioxide in the
blood

 Blood pressure is the force of the blood

exerted on the walls of the arterial blood
vessels
Arterial blood pressure is highest during
ventricular systole and lowest during diastole
Normal blood pressure is 120 (systolic) / 80
(diastolic) mm Hg

Stretch sensitive receptors known as

baroreceptors are located in the walls of the
aorta and carotid arteries branch out from
the aorta
They monitor the pressure of blood flowing to the
body and to the brain

An
increase in
blood
pressure
stretches
the
barorecept
ors

Thus,
regular
heartbea
t

This slows
down the
heartbeat,
resulting in
a decrease
of blood
pressure

Impulses are
sent to the
cardiovascul
ar control
centre in the
medulla
oblongata of
the brain

Impulses
are then
sent via
the
parasympa
thetic
nerve to
the heart

Decrease in
blood pressure
increases
stimulation of
the SAN by the
sypathetic
nerve

Blood pressure
returns to the
Normal level

This increases
the
contraction of
the cardiac
muscles of the
heart and
smooth
muscles of the
arteries

Circulatory system in
insects

2. Valves ensure the haemolymph flow in one

direction

1. When the heart relax, haemolymph reenters ostia

Material exchange
occurs here.
Haemolymph in
haemocoel carry
nutrients and waste
products

Circulatory system in fish

Sinuse
s

Single circulatory
system.
Deoxygenated blood
leaves the heart at high
pressure and passes
through the gills where
the gaseous exchange
occurs.
Oxygenated blood flows
through the organs and
blood pressure drops.

Circulatory system in amphibians

(eg:frogs)
Double circulatory system:
Pulmonary circulation
Systemic circulation

Have three-chambered heart (2

atria & 1 ventricle)
Mixing of oxygenated and
deoxygenated blood in ventricle. The
mixed blood enters the systemic
circulation.

Circulatory system
in humans

Circulatory system in humans

Double circulatory system (blood passes through
the heart twice for each circuit)
Pulmonary circulation
Systemic circulation

Two divisions of heart:

Right side pump deoxygenated blood to the lungs
Left side pump oxygenated blood to the body (except
lungs)

Advantage: blood returns to the heart to be

pumped again will increase the blood pressure and
flow rate, thereby speeding up delivery O 2 to the
tissues and organs.