Professional Documents
Culture Documents
Circulatory System
plasma proteins:
• albumin (to maintain high osmotic potential)
• fibrinogen (clotting)
• globulins (immunity, antibodies)
Red Blood Cells
• Called “erythrocytes”
• Transport oxygen; about 30 trillion in
bloodstream
• contain HEMOGLOBIN (red pigment protein)
which acts like an "oxygen magnet"; iron
• non-nucleated (cannot repair themselves)
• short lifespan (120-130 days)
• Replaced from bone marrow stem cells
White Blood Cells
• called “leukocytes”
• 1 or 2 WBC for every 1,000 RBC
• larger than RBC, have nucleus, no hemoglobin,
colorless
• Can migrate outside of vessels (RBC’s cannot) to
directly cleanse tissues (lymph)
• Some act by: phagocytosis of bacteria/viruses/etc.
• Others make antibodies (proteins) that attack
microorganisms
• "Pus"-dead WBC; new WBC form in spleen, bone
marrow
Platelets
• colorless, oval/irregular shaped
• smaller than RBCs
• "little bags of chemicals" that function in
clotting and plugging up breaks in vessels
Blood Clotting- a complex series of chemical reactions, involving platelets and plasma
"clotting factors". Often referred to as the "clotting cascade".
Thromboplastin
(produced in liver)
Prothrombin------------------------------>Thrombin
Fibrinogen---------------------------------------------> Fibrin
Heart--->Arteries--->Arterioles--->Capillaries--->Venules--->Veins--->Heart (etc)
Arteries
Diffusion
• the site of all exchange with cells
• in very close contact with all cells
• Lined with a single layer of epithelium
• smallest diameter of all vessels -only about 5
micrometers in diameter- (RBCs pass in single file)
Atherosclerosis
•…is a disease affecting arterial
blood vessels.
•Main cause: cholesterol buildup
in arteries (plaques)
•It is commonly referred to as
"hardening" of the arteries.
• It is caused by the formation of
multiple plaques within the
arteries
•This often leads not only to
clogs, but also hypertension
(high blood pressure), which
both may result in heart attacks.
The Heart
Evolution of the Heart
• simplest (in earthworms)
are enlarged, muscular
portions of a blood vessel =
"aortic arches"