TRANSPORT

Importance of having a Transport

System

• Living organism needs the exchange of

substances such as nutrients, waste products &
respiratory gases with the environment in order
to survive & grow.

• Diffusion is a major transport mechanism for

moving materials into & out of its body.
The exchange of substances occurs
rapidly if:
• Surface area of the organism is large

• Volume of the organism is small

• Total surface area / volume ratio is large

(TSA/V)

• Distance between the substances & the body

cells is near

• High concentration gradient

 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
Carries waste products
away from the cells

FUNCTIONS

Protects the body from Deliver nutrients &

infections oxygen to the cells
 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
MAJOR
COMPONENTS

BLOOD HEART BLOOD

VESSELS
Medium of Pump blood
transport
- blood cells - Arteries
-plasma - Capillaries
-platelets - Veins
 Haemolymph
• Medium of transport in many inverterbrates such
as insects

• Transport water, inorganic salts & organic

compounds throughout the haemocoel

• Haemolymph does not transport respiratory

gases
 BLOOD

• General functions
– Transportation (O2, CO2, nutrients, hormones,
antibodies, waste products)

– Regulation (temperature, pH, water content)

– Protection (infections, blood clotting)

Composition of human blood

Human
Blood

Cellular
Plasma
components

Erythrocytes Leucocytes Platelets

 Plasma
• Main transport medium in the body

• Yellowish fluid in blood

• Water

• Ions (Na+, K+, Mg2+ , Ca2+ , HCO3-)

• Plasma proteins (fibrinogen, albumin, immunoglobulins)

• Hormones

• Dissolved substances (glucose, urea, O2)

 Erythrocytes (RBC)
• Biconcave disc, diameter 8 µm, thickness 2 µm
• The shape increases the surface area for
gaseous exchange
• Have no nucleus, increases the space for
haemoglobin
• Produced in the bone marrow
• 120 days  destroyed by phagocytes in liver &
spleen
 Erythrocytes (RBC)
• Bright red : haemoglobin + oxygen
• Dark red : haemoglobin without oxygen
• Oxyhaemoglobin (98%)
• Carbaminohaemoglobin (23%)
• Haemoglobin :
– Protein which contains iron
– 1 haemoglobin + 4 oxygen
– Transport O2
 Leucocytes
• Colourless, have nucleus & mitochondria
• Irregular shape, larger than erythrocytes
• Made by stem cells in bone marrow
• Fight infections in various ways(increasing num.)
• Most activities take place outside blood vessels
(interstitial fluid)
• Squeeze through pores in blood capillaries &
fight the pathogens
 Platelets
• Play an important role in blood clotting
• Irregular shaped cell fragments
• Have no nucleus
• Formed in the bone marrow
• Lifespan of 5-10 days before being destroyed in spleen
& liver
 KBAT
Discuss the importance of each
types of leucocytes.
Types of blood vessels
 Capillary

• respiratory gases, nutrients, waste products,

hormones are exchanged by diffusion
• between the blood & the interstitial fluid
surrounding the cells
• across the thin walls of the capillaries
When the skeletal muscles
contract, the muscles
squeeze the vein & forces the
valve to open.

Blood then flows towards the

heart.

Valves prevent the back flow

of the blood.
 Human Heart

LEFT
RIGHT
 RIGHT LEFT
LUNGS

artery vein

pulmonary pulmonary
artery vein

HEART

vein artery

vena cava aorta

BODY
CELLS
 KBAT
What happens if all valves are
absent in human heart?
 Cardiac conduction system
• Cardiac muscles are myogenic
• Can contract & relax automatically
• Not controlled by the nervous system
• The muscles are interconnected so that
electrical signals can be conducted rapidly
• Cardiac conduction system :
– Sino-atrial node (SA node)
– Atrio-ventricular node (AV node)
– Bundle of His
– Purkinje fibres
 Heartbeat Sound
• ‘lup-dup’

• Lup : closing of atrioventricular (tri/bi) valves

• Dup : closing of semilunar valves

 Heartbeat Rate
• Although the pacemaker sets the rhythmic
contractions of the heart, it is controlled by the
nervous system & endocrine system
• Sympathetic nerve : can increase heartbeat
• Parasympathetic nerve : can slow down
heartbeat
• Increase heartbeat / heart rate
– Adrenaline hormone
– Partial pressure of CO2 in blood increases
(chemoreceptors)
 Blood Pressure
• When blood flows through a vessel, it exerts
pressure against the walls of the blood vessel
• This pressure is called Blood Pressure
• Healthy adult at rest : 120/80 mm Hg
• Systole stage : highest pressure in large arteries
when ventricles are contracted
• Diastolic stage : lowest pressure during
relaxation phase of the heartbeats
 Blood Pressure
• Regulation of blood pressure is coordinated by
– baroreceptors (arch or aorta & carotid arteries)
– cardiovascular centre (medulla oblongata)
• Baroreceptors detect the changes in the blood
pressure
• Send impulses to cardiovascular centre
• Cardiovascular centre receives impulses &
regulates the blood pressure (responds)
 Normal Blood
Pressure
BP decreases BP increases

Weaker cardiac muscle Baroreceptors are

contractions, decrease stimulated
heartbeat rate,
vasodilation, decrease
the resistance of blood
flow in blood vessels Send impulses
at a faster rate

Cardiovascular
Send nerve impulses to centre
the effectors via
parasympathetic nerves
 Normal Blood
Pressure
BP increases BP decreases

Stronger cardiac
muscle contractions, Baroreceptors are
increase heartbeat stimulated
rate, vasoconstriction,
increase the
resistance of blood
flow in blood vessels Send impulses
at a slower rate

Cardiovascular
Send nerve impulses to centre
the effectors via
sympathetic nerves
 Fish

Closed
circulatory
system

CIRCULATORY Amphibians
SYSTEM

Open
circulatory Insects
system
 Human

• Four chambered heart

• Two atria, two ventricles

• Double circulatory system

• Blood enters the heart twice in a complete

cycle
 Amphibians

• Three chambered heart

• Two atria, one ventricle

• Double circulatory system

• Blood enters the heart twice in a complete

cycle
 Fish

• Two chambered heart

• One atrium, one ventricle

• Single circulatory system

• Blood enters the heart once in a complete

cycle
 Exercise
Humans Amphibians Fish
 Organism A Organism B

a) Give one example of organism A and organism B.

(2m)
b) Describe the comparison between the blood
circulatory system in organism A and organism B.
(6m)