Circulatory system

 The circulatory system is an organ system, the role of which is to transport blood around the
body

 Components of the circulatory system include:

o blood vessels

o a pump

o valves to ensure one-way flow of blood

Circulatory system diagram

Circulatory Systems of Fish

& Mammals: Extended

Extended Tier Only

Circulatory systems in Fish

 Fish have a two-

chambered
heart and a single
circulation

 This means that for

every one circuit of
the body, the blood
passes through the
heart once

Advantages of Double
Circulation: Extended

Extended Tier Only

 Blood travelling
through the small
capillaries in the
 lungs loses a lot of pressure that was given to it by the pumping of the heart, meaning it cannot
travel as fast

 By returning the blood to the heart after going through the lungs its pressure can be raised
again before sending it to the body, meaning cells can be supplied with the oxygen and
glucose they need for respiration faster and more frequently

The Mammalian Heart

 The heart is labelled as if it was in the chest so what is your left on a diagram is actually the right
hand side and vice versa

 The right side of the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the
lungs

 The left side of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the body

 Blood is pumped towards the heart in veins and away from the heart in arteries

 The two sides of the heart are separated by a muscle wall called the septum

 The heart is made of muscle tissue which are supplied with blood by the coronary arteries
Examiner Tips and Tricks

Remember A-A: Arteries carry blood Away from the heart

Monitoring Activity of the Heart

 Heart activity can be monitored by using an ECG, measuring pulse rate or listening to the
sounds of valves closing using a stethoscope

 Heart rate (and pulse rate) is measured in beats per minute (bpm)

 To investigate the effects of exercise on heart rate, record the pulse rate at rest for a minute

 Immediately after they do some exercise, record the pulse rate every minute until it returns to
the resting rate
  This experiment will show that during exercise the heart rate increases and may take several
minutes to return to normal

Investigating Effect of Physical Activity on Heart Rate

 It is relatively simple to investigate the effects of exercise on the body in the classroom

 Breathing rate can be measured by counting the number of breaths per minute, while heart rate
can be measured by taking a pulse

 Either can be measured before and after an activity is performed and the results plotted on a bar
chart

o It is important that the time over which breathing rate and pulse rate are measured is
consistent, and that individuals fully recover (rest) before starting a new activity

 Increased physical activity results in an increased heart rate and breathing rate

o Heart rate remains high for a period of time after physical has stopped, there is a gradual
return to resting heart rate

 Coronary Heart Disease

 The heart is made of muscle cells that need their own supply of blood to deliver oxygen, glucose and other nutrie
carbon dioxide and other waste products
  The blood is supplied by the coronary arteries

 If a coronary artery becomes partially or completely blocked by fatty deposits called

‘plaques’ (mainly formed from cholesterol), the arteries are not as elastic as they should be and
therefore cannot stretch to accommodate the blood which is being forced through them -
leading to coronary heart disease

 Partial blockage of the coronary arteries creates a restricted blood flow to the cardiac muscle
cells and results in severe chest pains called angina

 Complete blockage means cells in that area of the heart will not be able to respire and can no
longer contract, leading to a heart attack

Diet, Exercise & Coronary Heart Disease

Reducing the risks of developing coronary heart disease

 Quit smoking

 Diet - reduce animal fats and eat more fruits and vegetables - this will reduce cholesterol levels
in the blood and help with weight loss if overweight

 Exercise regularly - again, this will help with weight loss, decrease blood pressure and
cholesterol levels and help reduce stress
Identifying Structures in the Heart: Extended
Extended Tier Only

 The ventricles have thicker muscle walls than the atria as they are pumping
blood out of the heart and so need to generate a higher pressure
 The left ventricle has a thicker muscle wall than the right ventricle as it has
to pump blood at high pressure around the entire body, whereas the right
ventricle is pumping blood at lower pressure to the lungs
 The septum separates the two sides of the heart and so prevents mixing of
oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
The function of valves

 The basic function of all valves is to prevent blood from flowing backwards
 There are two sets of valves in the heart:
o The atrioventricular valves separate the atria from the ventricles
o The valve on the right side of the heart is called the TRICUSPID and the
valve on the left side is called the BICUSPID
o These valves are pushed open when the atria contract but when
the ventricles contract they are pushed shut to prevent blood from
flowing back into the atria
o The semilunar valves are found in the two blood arteries that come out of
the top of the heart
 o They are unusual in that they are the only two arteries in the body that
contain valves
o These valves open when the ventricles contract so blood squeezes
past them out of the heart, but then shut to avoid blood flowing back into
the heart

Functioning of the Heart: Extended

Extended Tier Only

 Deoxygenated blood coming from the body flows into the right atrium via
the vena cava
 Once the right atrium has filled with blood the heart gives a little beat and the
blood is pushed through the tricuspid (atrioventricular) valve into the right
ventricle
 The walls of the ventricle contract and the blood is pushed into the pulmonary
artery through the semilunar valve which prevents blood flowing backwards into
the heart
 The blood travels to the lungs and moves through the capillaries past the alveoli
where gas exchange takes place (this is why there has to be low pressure on this
side of the heart – blood is going directly to capillaries which would burst under
higher pressure)
 Oxygen-rich blood returns to the left atrium via the pulmonary vein
 It passes through the bicuspid (atrioventricular) valve into the left ventricle
 The thicker muscle walls of the ventricle contract strongly to push the blood
forcefully into the aorta and all the way around the body
 The semilunar valve in the aorta prevents the blood flowing back down into the
heart

Explaining the Effect of Physical Activity on Heart Rate:

Extended
Extended Tier Only

 Heart rate increases during exercise to increase blood flow to the working muscles
 This is important for several reasons:
o To provide them with enough nutrients and oxygen for increased respiration
o To removewaste products at a faster rate
 Following exercise, the heart continues to beat faster for a while
o to ensure that all excess waste products are removed from muscle cells
o to deliver extra oxygen to the muscle cells to pay off the oxygen debt accumulated
when oxygen levels are not high enough to support aerobic respiration
 The extra oxygen is used to break down the lactic acid that has been built
up in cells as a result of anaerobic respiration
Blood vessels

 The blood vessels are a system of closed tubes within which blood flows

 Different types of blood vessels transport blood in different directions, and to different parts of
the body

Arteries

 These blood vessels carry blood away from the heart at high pressure

 Arteries transport oxygenated

o The single exception to this is the pulmonary artery

 The walls of arteries are thick and muscular and contain elastic fibres

 Arteries have a narrow lumen

Veins

 These blood vessels carry blood towards the heart at low pressure

 Veins transport deoxygenated blood away from the body

o The single exception to

this is the pulmonary
vein

 The walls of veins are thin in

comparison to arteries

 Veins have a wide lumen

 Valves in veins prevent blood

from flowing backwards

Arteries and veins diagram

Capillaries

 These blood vessels carry

blood to the cells of the tissues

 Capillaries
transport oxygenated blood
from the arteries to the cells,
and deoxygenated blood from
the cells to the veins

 The walls of capillaries are one

cell thick and contain gaps to
allow fluid to leak out
  Capillaries have a very narrow lumen

Capillaries diagram

Main Blood Vessels in the Body

 Blood is carried away from the heart and towards organs in arteries

 These narrow to arterioles and then capillaries as they pass through the organ

 The capillaries widen to venules and finally veins as they move away from the organs

 Veins carry blood back toward the heart

How Structure of Blood Vessels is Adapted to their Function: Extended

Extended Tier Only

Arteries

 Have thick muscular walls containing elastic fibres to withstand the high pressure of blood and
maintain the blood pressure as it recoils after the blood has passed through

 Have a narrow lumen to maintain high pressure

Veins
  Have a large lumen as blood pressure is low

 Contain valves to prevent the backflow of blood as it is under low pressure

Capillaries

 Have walls that are one cell thick so that substances can easily diffuse in and out of them

 Have ‘leaky’ walls so that blood plasma can leak out and form tissue fluid surrounding cells

Arterioles and venules

 As arteries divide more as they get further away from the heart, they get narrower

 The narrow vessels that connect arteries to capillaries are called arterioles

 Veins also get narrower the further away they are from the heart

 The narrow vessels that connect capillaries to veins are called venules

Blood Vessels & the Liver: Extended

Extended Tier Only

 You must be able to identify the main blood vessels to and from the liver

o The hepatic artery brings oxygenated blood from the heart to the liver

o The hepatic vein brings deoxygenated blood from the liver back to the heart

o The hepatic portal vein transports deoxygenated blood from the gut to the liver

Components of Blood

 Blood consists of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and plasma
Identifying Red & White Blood Cells

 You need to be able to identify red and white blood cells in photomicrographs and diagrams

o Red blood cells have a concave disc shape with no nucleus

o White blood cells are usually round in shape with a nucleus

Components of Blood: Function

 Plasma is important for the transport of carbon dioxide, digested food (nutrients), urea, mineral
ions, hormones and heat energy

 Red blood cells transport oxygen around the body from the lungs to cells which require it for
aerobic respiration

o They carry the oxygen in the form of oxyhaemoglobin

 White blood cells defend the body against infection by pathogens by carrying
out phagocytosis and antibody production

 Platelets are involved in helping the blood to clot

Blood Clotting
  Platelets are fragments of cells which are involved in blood clotting and forming scabs where
the skin has been cut or punctured

 Blood clotting prevents continued / significant blood loss from wounds

 Scab formation seals the wound with an insoluble patch that prevents entry of
microorganisms that could cause infection

 It remains in place until new skin has grown underneath it, sealing the skin again

Lymphocytes & Phagocytes: Extended

Extended Tier Only

 White blood cells are part of the body’s immune system, defending against infection by
pathogenic microorganisms

 There are two main types, phagocytes and lymphocytes

Phagocytes

 Carry out phagocytosis by engulfing and digesting pathogens

 Phagocytes have a sensitive cell surface membrane that can detect chemicals produced by
pathogenic cells

 Once they encounter the pathogenic cell, they will engulf it and release digestive enzymes to
digest it

 They can be easily recognised under the microscope by their multi-lobed nucleus and
their granular cytoplasm
Lymphocytes

 Produce antibodies to destroy pathogenic cells and antitoxins to neutralise toxins released by
pathogens

 They can easily be recognised under the microscope by their large round nucleus which takes up
nearly the whole cell and their clear, non-granular cytoplasm

Conversion of Fibrinogen: Extended

Extended Tier Only

 Platelets are fragments of cells

which are involved in blood
clotting and forming scabs where
the skin has been cut or punctured

 Blood clotting prevents continued /

significant blood loss from wounds

 Scab formation seals the wound

with an insoluble patch
that prevents entry of
microorganisms that could cause
infection

 It remains in place until new skin

has grown underneath it, sealing
the skin again

 When the skin is broken (i.e. there

is a wound) platelets arrive to stop
the bleeding

 A series of reactions occur within

the blood plasma

 Platelets release chemicals that

cause soluble fibrinogen
proteins to convert into insoluble
fibrin and form an insoluble
mesh across the wound, trapping
red blood cells and
therefore forming a clot

 The clot eventually dries and

develops into a scab to protect the
wound from bacteria entering