THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

 The human heart is a pump that is centrally located in the thoracic cavity along with the
lungs. The rib cage protects the heart and the lungs from physical damage.
 A vertical septum divides the heart into left and right sides. The right side has
deoxygenated blood and the left side has oxygenated blood.
 The human heart has four chambers. The upper chambers are the auricles (also called
atrium, plural is atria) and the lower chambers are the ventricles. The auricles are thin-
walled and the ventricles are thick-walled. The left ventricle has the thickest wall.
 The left side of the heart contains oxygenated blood while the right side contains
deoxygenated blood. Blood enters the heart through the auricles and leaves through the
ventricles. As blood enters and leaves the heart twice circulation in humans is called
Double Circulation.
 Blood flows through blood vessels. Arteries, veins and capillaries are the three blood
vessels. Arteries carry oxygenated blood (the exception is the Pulmonary artery as it
carries deoxygenated blood). Veins carry deoxygenated blood (the exception is the
Pulmonary vein as it carries oxygenated blood).
BLOOD VESSELS
 Blood vessels that take blood away from the heart are called arteries.
 The walls of arteries are thick and elastic to withstand high blood pressure.
 The movement of an artery is called a pulse.
 Blood vessels that bring blood from body parts to the heart are called veins.
 Veins have thinner walls and contain valves to prevent the backward flow of blood.
 The smallest blood vessels are called capillaries.
 A capillary wall is only one cell thick.
 Capillaries are spread throughout the organ so that all cells receive the blood.
  Pressure of blood is the highest in the arteries hence they are thick-walled. Blood flow in
the veins is steady hence they do not need thick walls.
 Capillaries are thin-walled (one cell thick) hence blood flow is the slowest. This helps in
the exchange of gases and nutrients.

MOVING OXYGEN AND CARBON DIOXIDE TO THE CELLS

 The oxygenated blood (from the lungs) is transported to the heart through the
pulmonary vein and is circulated through the body.
 The deoxygenated blood from the cells of the body is carried by veins to the heart and
then goes to the lungs through the pulmonary artery. In the lungs deoxygenated blood is
converted to oxygenated blood after the process of gas exchange has taken place.
DOUBLE CIRCULATION:
Blood enters the heart and leaves the heart twice. In this process, there are two distinct circuits
formed.
1) Pulmonary Circuit: In this circuit, the blood leaves the heart, goes to the lungs and
returns to the heart.
Right Ventricle (deoxygenated blood) Pulmonary Artery  Lungs 
Pulmonary Vein (oxygenated blood)  Left Auricle

2) Systemic or Body Circuit: In this circuit, the blood leaves the heart, goes to the body and
returns to the heart.
Left Ventricle (oxygenated blood)  Aorta  Body  Vena Cava's (deoxygenated blood) 
Right Auricle

ADVANTAGES OF DOUBLE CIRCULATION:

 Oxygenated and Deoxygenated blood are separated.
 Double circulation improves the efficiency of Oxygen delivery to cells and also ensures a
consistent supply of Oxygen.
 It allows for higher metabolic rates due to more efficient delivery of Oxygen.
 Double circulation helps mammals to maintain their body temperature.
SINGLE CIRCULATION IN FISH
 In fish, blood circulation is called single circulation. This is because blood only travels
through the heart once during each complete circuit of the body.
 The heart receives oxygen-depleted blood from the bodily tissues, which is then pumped
to the gills, where the gas exchange occurs (carbon dioxide is released and oxygen is
absorbed). The oxygenated blood from the gills then travels to different regions of the
body before returning to the heart.
 The gills are constantly washed with water, which brings in dissolved oxygen. This
dissolved oxygen diffuses into the oxygen-depleted blood from the bodily tissues and
the blood becomes oxygen-rich.
HEALTHY HEART
 The blood vessels of the heart are called coronary arteries and veins.
 Fatty substances such as cholesterol stick to the walls of the arteries, calcium settles in
the fatty layer and forms a raised patch.
 These patches may cause the formation of a thrombus (blood clot) which narrows the
artery causing thrombosis (blockage).
 Thrombosis in the coronary artery (Coronary thrombosis) causes heart attack
(Myocardial infarction = death of myocardial tissue in the heart).
HEART HEALTH
 Physical activity increases the heartbeat as a greater supply of oxygen is needed by the
cells to the muscles during physical activity.
 Diet plays an important role in maintaining heart health. Unhealthy food over long
periods can cause damage to the heart.
 Besides diet smoking, stress, lack of exercise, age, genetic predisposition and sex of an
individual do affect coronary heart disease.
BLOOD
 Blood is made of many cells.
 Red Blood Cells (RBCs) contain haemoglobin (it is a pigment) which transports oxygen
from the lungs to different parts of the body.
 White Blood Cells (WBCs) help to fight infection and disease.
 Lymphocytes are WBCs that attack bacteria and produce chemicals called antibodies to
fight against bacterial infection.
 Phagocytes are WBCs that engulf bacteria and destroy them. This is called Phagocytosis.
 White blood cells die in this process and their bodies collect to form pus in the wound.
 The blood also carries platelets, which are fragments of cells.
 These collect in the capillaries at the site of the wound to prevent the loss of blood.
 Platelets help the blood to form a blood clot. The clot prevents disease germs from
entering the body and it also prevents loss of blood.
 The watery liquid of blood is called plasma.
 Plasma contains digested food, hormones and waste products like urea and carbon
dioxide.
BLOOD COMPONENTS
RED BLOOD CELLS
Red cells, or erythrocytes, are large microscopic cells. Mature RBCs do not have a
nucleus. In this latter trait, they are similar to the primitive prokaryotic cells of bacteria.
They transport oxygen from the lungs to all of the living tissues of the body and carry
away carbon dioxide. Red blood cells are produced continuously in our bone marrow
from stem cells. They have a fixed shape (disc-shaped) and a large surface area.
Haemoglobin is a gas-transporting protein molecule. Haemoglobin has an affinity for
oxygen and combines to form oxy-haemoglobin. The red colour of blood is primarily due
to oxygenated red blood cells. At the cellular level, the oxygen is released from the
haemoglobin. People who are anaemic generally have a deficiency in red cells and
subsequently feel fatigued due to a shortage of oxygen. Red cells remain viable for only
about 4 months before they are removed from the blood and their components recycled
in the spleen.
WHITE BLOOD CELLS
White blood cells or leukocytes are not limited to blood. They do not have a fixed shape
but do have a nucleus. They can squeeze out of blood capillaries and hence are found
elsewhere in the body as well, most notably in the spleen, liver, and lymph glands. Most
are produced in our bone marrow from the same kind of stem cells that produce red
blood cells.
Some white cells called lymphocytes are the first responders to our immune system.
They seek out, identify, and bind to alien proteins in bacteria, viruses, and fungi so that
they can be removed. Lymphocytes are responsible for antibody production.
Other white cells (called phagocytes) then arrive to engulf and destroy the alien cells by
phagocytosis. Phagocytes ingest pathogens and digest them with the help of enzymes.
PLATELETS
Platelets, or thrombocytes, are cell fragments without nuclei that work with blood
clotting chemicals at the site of wounds. They do this by adhering to the walls of blood
vessels, thereby plugging the rupture in the vascular wall. They also can release
coagulating chemicals which cause clots to form in the blood that can plug up narrowed
blood vessels.
Platelets help in the clotting of blood. When a clot (thrombus) forms it prevents the
further loss of blood and does not allow pathogens to enter through the wound. When
there is a wound blood is exposed to air. This causes the platelets to release substances
at the site of the wound that changes the soluble protein fibrinogen to insoluble fibrin
(also a protein). Fibrin forms a net in the region of the wound which traps RBCs in it. This
forms the clot or thrombus. With time the clot dries up and forms a scab which then falls
off. They have a lifespan of 9-10 days. Like the red and white blood cells, platelets are
produced in bone marrow from stem cells.
PLASMA
Plasma is the relatively clear, yellow-tinted water, sugar, fat, protein and salt solution
which carries the red cells, white cells, and platelets in the blood. As the heart pumps
blood to cells throughout the body, plasma brings nourishment to them and removes
the waste products of metabolism. Plasma also contains blood clotting factors, sugars,
lipids, vitamins, minerals, hormones, enzymes, antibodies, and other proteins.