KS4 The Heart and Circulatory System

KS4 Biology
The Heart and

Circulatory System
1 of 49 Boardworks Ltd 2004

Contents
The Heart and Circulatory System
The circulatory system

Structure of the heart
Valves in the heart
How the heart pumps blood
Summary quiz

How do substances move around the body?
The body has its own transport

system that carries substances
around the body.
Which organs are involved in

this system?
heart
blood vessels
blood
The bodys transport system is

called the circulatory system.
Why is it given this name?

What is carried by the circulatory system?
Which gases are transported to and from the bodys cells

by the blood flowing in the circulatory system?
carbon
dioxide
oxygen
Oxygen is the gas needed for respiration and is transported

to the bodys cells.
Carbon dioxide is the waste gas produced by respiration
that must be carried away from the bodys cells.
Two types of blood
The circulatory system carries two types of blood:
oxygen-rich oxygen-poor
blood blood
blood travelling blood travelling

c
to the body cells away from the body cells
high oxygen content low oxygen content
low carbon dioxide high carbon dioxide
content content
The arrangement of the circulatory system means that these

two types of blood do not mix. Why is this important?
At the heart of the circulatory system
The heart is the organ at the centre of the circulatory system.
It pumps blood around the body.
How are the two types of blood (oxygen-rich and

oxygen-poor) kept apart inside the heart?
Inside the heart
The inside of the heart is divided into two sections so that
the two types of blood (oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor)
are kept apart.
right side left side

of the heart of the heart
oxygen-poor oxygen-rich
blood blood
Remember that the heart is always labelled as if it is in a

body facing you, so the right side of the heart is on the
left of the diagram.
The two sides of the heart

How does blood circulate around the body?
Blood is pumped
around the body by
the heart.
It takes about 30
seconds for blood to
go once around the
body.
Starting with the left
side of the heart,
what route does the
blood follow to
complete one circuit
of the body?

The left side of

the heart pumps
oxygen-rich blood
to the rest of the body.
This blood supplies
the bodys cells with
oxygen.
What gas does the
blood then pick up
from the bodys cells
and where does the
blood go next? bodys
cells

Blood picks up
carbon dioxide from
the bodys cells.
This oxygen-poor
blood then travels
back to the right side
of the heart.
The oxygen-poor
blood needs to lose
the carbon dioxide and
pick up more oxygen.
How does it do this? bodys
cells

Next, the right side

of the heart pumps lungs
oxygen-poor blood
to the lungs.
In the lungs the blood
gets rid of the waste
carbon dioxide and
collects more oxygen.
Where does this
oxygen-rich blood
then travel to?
bodys
cells

The oxygen-rich
blood then returns lungs
to the left side of the
heart.
This completes the
bloods journey
around the body.
Why is the journey
of blood through the
circulatory system
called a double
circulation? bodys
cells

A double circulatory system
During one complete
circuit of the body,
blood passes through
lungs
the heart twice.
The heart has two
jobs to do and so the
circulatory system
involves a double
circulation.
What are the two jobs
that the heart carries
out during this double bodys
circulation? cells

Which way does blood flow?

Contents

Valves in the heart
Summary quiz

The structure of the heart exterior
The heart pumps blood around the circulatory system.
What is the heart made of?
muscle
tissue
The heart is made of muscle and keeps pumping blood

around your body, even when you are asleep!
What do the blood vessels on the outside of the heart do?
The heart needs blood too!
The heart is full of blood but also needs its own blood
supply so that the muscle can keep pumping.
blood vessels
muscle
supply blood
tissue
to muscle tissue
The blood vessels on the outside of the heart carry

oxygen-rich blood to the heart muscle cells.
Oxygen-poor blood is then carried away from these
cells by outer blood vessels and back into the heart.
The structure of the heart interior
The inside of the heart is divided into two sections to keep
oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor blood separate.
Each side of the heart is also divided into two sections.
right side left side

of the heart of the heart
Each section of the heart is called a chamber.

How many chambers are there?
4
The chambers of the heart
The four chambers of the heart have special names:
An upper chamber is called an atrium (plural atria).
right left
atrium atrium
right left
ventricle ventricle
A lower chamber is called a ventricle.

What do atria and ventricles do?
The chambers of the heart have different functions.
blood to blood to
the lungs the body
blood from blood from

the body the lungs
The atria collect blood that enters the heart.

The ventricles pump blood out of the heart.
Inside the heart labels

Inside the heart labelling activity

Chambers of the heart activity

Contents

Valves in the heart
Summary quiz

Preventing backflow
Blood always flows in the same direction as it moves
through the heart during each circulation of the body.
Why is it important that blood does not flow backwards?

Heart valves
The chambers of the heart are separated by valves
which prevent blood from flowing in the wrong direction.
valve leading valve leading

out of out of
right ventricle left ventricle
valve between valve between

right atrium and left atrium and
right ventricle left ventricle
There are valves between the atria and the ventricles

and there are valves leading out of the ventricles.
Naming the heart valves

How are valves held in place?
The valves between the atria and ventricles are connected
to the inner walls of the heart by tough tendons.
valve open
How are valves held in place?
The tendons allow the valves to close and hold the valve
flaps in place. They prevent the valves from flipping up
and turning inside out. Why is this important?
valve open valve closed

How do valves work?
A valve acts like a door that only opens in one direction.
If the door is held by someone at a fixed point, only the arm

moves as the door opens and closes.
When the door is closed the arm is fully extended, so the
door can only be opened in one direction.
How do valves work?
A valve acts like a door that only opens in one direction.
In the heart, the tendons holding the valve are like the
arm holding the door.
One end of each tendon is fixed to the wall of the heart
and so the valve can only open in one direction.
Contents

Valves in the heart
Summary quiz

How does the heart pump blood?
Imagine the force needed
to squeeze a tennis ball.
Thats how much force
the heart uses to pump
blood around the body!
How does the heart produce
enough force to keep doing
this 24 hours a day?
The heart can pump blood
because it is made of muscle.
Muscle tissue works by
contracting (squeezing)
and relaxing.

How does the heart pump blood?
All the parts of the heart on
either side, work together
in a repeated sequence.
The two atria contract and
relax; then the two ventricles
contract and relax.
This is how blood moves
through the heart and is
pumped to the lungs and
the body.
One complete sequence of
contraction and relaxation is
called a heartbeat.

Heartbeat animation

Stages of a heartbeat
Stage 1:
A heartbeat begins
with the heart muscle
relaxed and valves
closed.
Blood flows into the
two atria and both
sides fill up with blood.
This blood has to be
pushed through the
valves to get into the
ventricles. How does
this happen?

Stage 2:
The atria contract and
the blood is squeezed
which causes the
valves leading to the
ventricles to open.
Blood then flows from
the atria into the
ventricles.
What happens to the
open valves when the
atria are empty?

Stage 2 (continued):
The valves between
the atria and the
ventricles close.
This prevents any
backflow.
What happens next

to the blood in the
ventricles?

Stage 3:
Almost immediately,
the ventricles contract
and the blood is
squeezed again.
The pressure of the
blood forces open the
valves leading out of
the heart.
Blood is pumped out
of the heart.
What happens to the
open valves when the
ventricles are empty?
Stage 3 (continued):
When the ventricles
are empty, the valves
leading out of the
heart close and the
heart muscle relaxes.
This completes the
sequence of
contraction and
relaxation in one
heartbeat.
What will happen
next?

Stage 1 (again):
The atria fill up with
blood as the heartbeat
sequence begins
again.
Why are the walls

of the atria thinner
than the walls of
the ventricles?
Why is the wall of the

left ventricle thicker
than the right
ventricle?

Listening to a beating heart: lub-dub
What does a doctor hear when they listen to a patients heart?
lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub
The sound of a heartbeat is the sound of the heart valves.
The lub is caused by The dub is caused by

the closing of the valves the closing of the valves
leading to the ventricles. leading out of the heart.
Measuring a beating heart
You can measure how Place the fingertips of one
fast your heart is beating hand on the opposite wrist,
by taking your pulse. where an artery passes
near the surface of the skin.
Each pulse that you feel What is your heart rate,

is due to the pressure of in beats per minute,
blood leaving the heart as right now?
the left ventricle contracts.

How many heartbeats?
If your heart beats at an average rate of 70 times
per minute, how many heartbeats are there
in one hour?
70 x 60 = 4, 200
in one day?
4, 200 x 24 = 100, 800
in one year?
100, 800 x 365 = 36, 792, 000
in 70 years?
36, 792, 000 x 70 = 2, 575, 440, 000
The sequence of a heartbeat

Journey of blood around the body

Contents

Valves in the heart
Summary quiz

Multiple-choice quiz

KS4 The Heart and Circulatory System

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KS4 Biology

The Heart and

1 of 49 Boardworks Ltd 2004

The Heart and Circulatory System

The circulatory system

How the heart pumps blood

2 of 49 Boardworks Ltd 2004

The body has its own transport

Which organs are involved in

The bodys transport system is

3 of 49 Boardworks Ltd 2004

Which gases are transported to and from the bodys cells

Oxygen is the gas needed for respiration and is transported

blood travelling blood travelling

The arrangement of the circulatory system means that these

How are the two types of blood (oxygen-rich and

right side left side

Remember that the heart is always labelled as if it is in a

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The left side of

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Next, the right side

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The Heart and Circulatory System

The circulatory system

How the heart pumps blood

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The heart is made of muscle and keeps pumping blood

The blood vessels on the outside of the heart carry

right side left side

Each section of the heart is called a chamber.

A lower chamber is called a ventricle.

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blood from blood from

The atria collect blood that enters the heart.

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The Heart and Circulatory System

The circulatory system

How the heart pumps blood

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Why is it important that blood does not flow backwards?

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valve leading valve leading

valve between valve between

There are valves between the atria and the ventricles

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valve open valve closed

If the door is held by someone at a fixed point, only the arm

The Heart and Circulatory System

The circulatory system

How the heart pumps blood

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