Circulatory SystemBy Sarah Snowdon

Learning Outcomes

• What the circulatory system is• The characteristics of the circulatory system• The function of the circulatory system• The constituents of blood• A blood cells’ journey• The different types of blood vessels• Diffusion and Osmosis• Conditions affecting diffusion and osmosis• Scabs and blood clots• Atherosclerosis• Conditions affecting the circulatory system

What is the Circulatory System?

• The Oxford English Dictionary definition• The system that circulates blood through the body,

consisting of the heart, blood vessels, blood, lymph (aka white blood cells), and the lymphatic vessels and glands.

• Can also be called cardiovascular system.

• It is the fluid filled network of tubes (or vessels) through which materials move between the environment and the cells of a multicellular animal

Characteristics

• Closed system• It connects all parts of an organism in a way that

allows individual cells to thrive as well as for organisms to function as a unit.

• Includes:• Heart• Blood Vessels• Blood

Blood Vessels

• Three major types of blood vessels:• Arteries• Capillaries• Veins

• Two sub-types:• Arterioles • Venules

• 60,000miles of blood vessels

Arteries, Veins and Capillaries

• ARTERIES carry blood AWAY from the heart

• VEINS carry blood TO the heart

• CAPILLARIES are where tissues exchange water and chemicals with the blood

Function

• Transport in:• Oxygen• Glucose

• Transport out:• Carbon Dioxide• Urea

Blood

• Plasma = yellowish liquid• Red blood cells• White blood cells• Platelets

Plasma

• The liquid portion of blood. • Transports chemicals to cells:

• Hormones• Antibodies• Nutrients:

• Water • Glucose • Amino acids• Minerals and vitamins

• Waste substances:• Carbon Dioxide• Urea

• Transports waste products away from cells• Distributes heat throughout the body• Maintains homeostasis

Red Blood Cells

• Flattend disc shape• Large surface area• Erythrocytes• Contain a protein called haemoglobin • Haemoglobin

• bright red in colour• contains iron• carries oxygen

• Average life cycle = 120 days

White Blood Cells

• Several different types• Accounts for about 1% of blood• Essential for good health and

protection against illness and disease

• When infection present, numbers increase to combat it

• Immunity cells• Battles viruses, bacteria and

other foreign invaders

Platelets

• Irregular shape• Colourless• Sticky surface • Help with clotting process• Small fragments of white blood cells

A Blood Cells Journey

• Start at the lungs• Left atrium• Left ventrical• Aorta• Various different Arteries• Capillaries – where the oxygen is lost• Veins• Right atrium• Right ventrical• Back to the lungs

A Blood Cells Journey

• http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PgI80Ue-AMo

Diffusion and Osmosis

• Oxford English Dictionary Definition:• Diffusion:

• The spreading of something more widely:• Physics: the intermingling of substances by the natural

movement of their particles: the rate of diffusion of a gas

• Osmosis:• Biology & Chemistry: a process by which molecules of a

solvent tend to pass through a semipermeable membrane from a less concentrated solution into a more concentrated one.

Diffusion and Osmosis

Conditions Affecting Diffusion and Osmosis

• Cystic Fibrosis• Genetic condition• Many different symptoms• Build up of mucus in Lungs

• Mucus build up• Bronchitis• COPD• Cough

Scabs and Blood Clots

Athlerosclerosis

Abdominal Aortic Aneurysm

Conditions

• Anemia• Where your body does not get enough iron• RBC cannot carry enough O2

• Haemophillia• Rare bleeding disorder• Takes a long time for blood to clot

• Leukemia• Cancer of the bone marrow• Abnormally large numbers of WBC are produced

Any questions?