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LIFE SCIENCES
GRADE 10
The Skeleton, Heart and
Circulation
Theory
Compiled by:
R. Prigge
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The Skeletal System:

Bone is connective tissue and has a matrix that is solid and impermeable which contains salts
(calcium carbonate and calcium phosphate) deposited around protein fibres (especially collagen
fibres). The minerals give bone rigidity, while collagen fibres provide elasticity and strength. The
matrix contains bone cells called osteocytes or osteoblasts (bone-forming cells).

A long bone consists of a centre part which is cylindrical, known as the shaft or diaphysis, and two
end portions, known as heads or epiphyses (singular epiphysis). The heads of long bones are
covered in hyaline cartilage which reduces friction at the joints. The shaft is made up of sturdy
compact bone enclosing the bone marrow cavity which contains yellow bone marrow.

• Red marrow - Found at the epiphysis (head) of the long bone. Have special cells that produce
red blood cells and white blood cells.
• Yellow marrow - Found in the shaft (diaphysis) of the long bone. Consists of connective tissue
and fat cells. Yellow in color

Bone can exist as spongy or compact bone.

Compact Bone

Has fewer pores or spaces

Has large number of small canals, called Haversian canals, lie longitudinally in the bone. These
canals contain nerves and blood vessels.
The bone cells are found in fluid-filled spaces, called lacunae.
The lacunae are connected by small canals called canaliculi.
Life Sciences – Grade 10 Chapter 10 – The heart and circulation All Rights Reserved.
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The fluid in the Haversian canal and the canaliculi assists in carrying nutrients, oxygen and cellular
waste to and from bone cells (remember bones are living)
The ground substance that is arranged in concentric layers around the Haversian canals and
between the lacuna is called lamellae.
A Haversian canal and lacunae with bone cells (osteoblasts) form a unit called a Haversian system.
The connective tissue which covers the outside of the bone is called the periosteum.

Spongy Bone

Contains a large number of spaces / pores.

Found in the head (epiphysis) of the long bones.
Although lighter, spongy bone is still designed for strength.

Different organisms have different skeletal systems. They can be internal, external or hydrostatic...
For example:
Hydrostatic skeletons.

• Consist of fluid held under pressure in a closed body compartment

• Cnidaria (jellyfish, sea anemones), flatworms, nematodes (round worms), and annelids
(segmented worms)
• Can control their form and movement by changing the shape of the fluid-filled compartments
with muscles in the body wall
• Offers no protection or support for large land animals
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Exoskeletons.

• A hard encasement deposited on the surface of an animal

• As the animal grows, the exoskeleton changes size by the enlargement of the shell when new
layers are added to the outer edge
• Chitin, a polysaccharide similar to cellulose, makes up almost half of the cuticle. Chitin is
embedded in a matrix made of protein to form a composite material which increases the
flexibility and strength of the exoskeleton.
• The exoskeleton is hardened by the addition of organic compounds and non-organic salts
• As the organism grows, the exoskeleton must be moulted and replaced by a larger
exoskeleton
• Typically seen in arthropods and molluscs

Endoskeletons.

• Consist of hard supporting elements buried within the soft tissues of an animal
• Sponges, echinoderms (starfish) and chordates
• Sponges have hard spicules of inorganic material or softer protein fibres to reinforce them
• Echinoderms have hard plates beneath their skin called ossicles which are either tightly
bound together by protein fibres (e.g. sea urchins) or loosely bound for changing shape (e.g.
sea stars)
• Chordates have endoskeletons of bone and/or cartilage. The mammalian skeleton consists of
over 200 bones and is divided into the axial skeleton and the appendicular skeleton

Axial Skeleton = Skull,

vertebral column, ribs.
Appendicular Skeleton =
All of the bones of the
skeleton, that are not part
of the Axial Skeleton…

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The Heart and Circulation

The circulation in humans, and other mammals, is a closed loop of tubes that run in a continuous
figure of "8" centered on the heart.
The heart is the pump that keeps the blood flowing. This is called a "double circulation" system: one
loop carries blood around the lungs. The blood is carried to the lungs in the pulmonary arteries and
returns in the pulmonary veins.

The other loop supplies blood at high pressure to the head and body. The main artery from the heart
is the aorta. It branches to carry blood to the head and body. The blood returns to the heart in the
vena cava.

The double circulation:

Right and
Pulmonary left lung
circulation capillaries

Systemic
circulation Upper and
lower Body
capillaries

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Blood travels around the body in over 75,000 miles of arteries, veins and capillaries. Stretched end-
to-end, that's three times around the world! Blood vessels transport oxygen from the lungs, remove
carbon dioxide from the cells and carry nutrients, hormones, and water to all parts of the body.

The structure of these blood vessels differs a lot depending on where they are found.

The blood leaving the heart, does so through arteries. Arteries have a very specific structure,
because arteries need to withstand the pumping pressure of the heart (the blood leaves the heart at
high pressure). As the blood vessels become smaller, eventually becoming one cell thick (capillaries),
the useful substances that have been transported in the blood (namely Oxygen - O2) can diffuse out
into the surrounding tissues and into the respiring cells. The metabolic waste that moves out of cells
and tissues diffuses back into the capillaries and then is transported in the blood, to be excreted by
the body (namely – Carbon dioxide - CO2)

The structure of the blood vessels:

Arteries Capillaries Veins

Vein wall

Arteries Capillaries Veins

Carry blood: away from the heart from arteries to veins towards the heart
Pressure: high low very low
Walls are: thick and muscular with very thin and leaky - one cell thin
elastic fibres thick
Blood is: oxygenated exchanging nutrients and de-oxygenated
(except pulmonary artery) gases with cells (except pulmonary vein)
Pulse: Strong none none

Arteries

The wall of an artery consists of three layers. The innermost layer, the tunica intima (also called
tunica interna), is simple squamous epithelium surrounded by a connective tissue basement
membrane with elastic fibers. The middle layer, the tunica media, is primarily smooth muscle and is
usually the thickest layer. This layer not only provides support for the vessel but also changes
vessel diameter to regulate blood flow and blood pressure (controlled by the nervous system). The
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outermost layer, which attaches the vessel to the surrounding tissue, is the tunica externa or tunica
adventitia. This layer is connective tissue with varying amounts of elastic and collagenous fibres. The
connective tissue in this layer is quite dense where it is adjacent to the tunic media, but it changes to
loose connective tissue near the periphery (outside) of the vessel.

Capillaries

Capillaries, the smallest and most numerous of the blood vessels, form the connection between the
vessels that carry blood away from the heart (arteries) and the vessels that return blood to the heart
(veins). The primary function of capillaries is the exchange of materials between the blood and tissue
cells.

Veins

The walls of veins have the same three layers as the arteries. Although all the layers are present,
there is less smooth muscle and connective tissue. This makes the walls of veins thinner than those
of arteries, which is related to the fact that blood in the veins has less pressure than in the arteries.
Because the walls of the veins are thinner and less rigid than arteries, veins can hold more blood.

Medium and large veins have venous valves, similar to the semilunar valves associated with the
heart, that help keep the blood flowing toward the heart. Venous valves are especially important in
the arms and legs, where they prevent the backflow of blood in response to the pull of gravity.

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The Heart.

Oxygenated
Blood

Deoxygenated
Blood

Semilunar valves

Tri-cuspid Bi-cuspid
valve valve

Right Left
ventricle ventricle

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Blood flow through the heart:

Upper
Body

Right Left
Lung Lung

Lower
Body