11/21/22, 1:03 AM Circulatory System

Circulatory System
The circulatory system is responsible for transporting substances (gases, nutrients,
waste products) throughout the body. It is fundamental in connecting all the bodily
systems and ensuring they function correctly.

Why is there a need for a circulatory

system? 

Consider the two questions in this section.

Can multicellular organisms rely on diffusion alone for

transport and exchange of substances? 

The answer is a NO, right?

The main reason is that the large sizes of multicellular organisms result in a small
surface area to volume ratio. Substances need to travel large distances to get
inside designated cells, tissues and organs. The surface that substances enter
proportionately reduces. This becomes too time-consuming if the only means of the
exchange of substances is diffusion. 

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In short, the larger an object, the smaller the surface area to volume ratio, as
highlighted in the diagram below:

This is why multicellular organisms require circulatory systems (or ‘internal pipes’) to
transport substances from one site to another.

Animals have hearts, but plants do not. Why is this?

Animals and plants are both multicellular organisms and have their own ‘piping
systems’ (i.e. vessels). However, animals have a high metabolic rate that is
necessary for generating sufficient energy (ATP). Since animals cannot
photosynthesise, they have the capacity for locomotion to obtain food which
requires a lot of energy. Therefore, a biological pump (i.e. the heart) is essential for
maximising the exchange of metabolic substances across cells.

What are the functions of circulatory

systems?

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Circulatory systems are well-organised transport systems with pumps to keep fluid
moving through them. Their relevant functions can be summarised as follows:

Supplying respiring cells with nutrients such as glucose absorbed from small
intestines 
Maintaining a constant supply of oxygen from lungs to cells undergoing
aerobic respiration 
Getting rid of metabolic waste products such as carbon dioxide in respiring
tissues and transporting it back to the lungs

Besides the importance of circulatory systems in respiration, they also transport

substances made from one part of the body to another, such as hormones made in
the pancreas to muscle cells.

What are the different components of the

circulatory system? 

There are four components of the circulatory system, whose names and functions
are described below.

Table 1. The main components of the circulatory system and their function.

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Blood Lymph Vessels Heart

Medium for
specialised cells Made of tissue fluid Facilitates the
(e.g. red blood to regulate the movement of
cells, white blood osmotic pressure in blood to specific
cells) to carry out the body tissues in the body.
their function
A hollow, muscular
Red blood cells organ that pumps
play a role in the blood. Made of
transport of oxygen specialised muscle
and carbon Medium for There are five cells that contract
dioxide. specialised white different types of involuntarily
blood cells (e.g. vessels (arteries, without rest.
Also contains lymphocytes) to arterioles,
plasma where carry out their capillaries, venules
solutes (e.g., function and veins)
glucose) are
dissolved and
transported.

What are the types of circulatory systems in

multicellular organisms? 

With a better understanding of the importance of circulatory systems, let’s go into

more detail about the different types of circulatory systems out there. The examples
focus on the types of circulatory systems in animals.

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There are two main types of circulatory systems - the open circulatory system and
the closed circulatory system. Below is a table to contrast their differences.

Table 2. Differences between open and closed circulatory systems.

Open circulatory system Closed circulatory system

The exchange of substances happens

instead via the walls of the blood
No gas exchange. Haemolymph only
vessels. As closed circulatory systems
transports food and waste products.
facilitate gas exchange, oxygen-carrying
pigment is often present. 

Present in echinoderms (e.g., starfish,

Present in arthropods such as insects sea urchins), cephalopod molluscs (e.g.,
and most molluscs. squids), earthworms, and all
vertebrates.

‘Leak free’ because blood

‘Blood’ (haemolymph) leaks out of
is contained within tubes without
vessels into the cavities surrounding
coming into direct contact with cells,
cells under low pressure (haemocoel),
allows a continuous journey of blood
then re-enters the heart via an open-
out to the most distant parts of the body
ended vessel.
and back to the heart at high pressures. 

 Deep dive

Both snails and squids are from the same mollusc phylum; however, they
have evolved different circulatory systems. A squid has a closed circulatory
system that creates a high-pressure blood flow, so when the squid is injured
you would see black ink gushing out. A snail has an open circulatory system
where the blood flow is slower due to the lower hydrostatic pressure. If you

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pick up a snail, you will notice that it feels squishy (this is from the lower
pressure).

What are the types of closed circulatory systems? 

Given how closed circulatory systems facilitate efficient blood flow, these circulatory
systems are crucial in organisms with higher oxygen demand. For example, in warm-
blooded animals with high metabolic rates, closed circulatory systems satisfy the
need to remove waste products rapidly.

Similarly, there are two main types of closed circulatory systems. These include
single and double circulatory systems. Below is a table that contrasts their
differences:

Table 3. Single and double circulatory systems

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Single circulatory system Double circulatory system

Has two  different circulatory
routes:
Has only one circulatory route
that involves two sets of Systemic - carries
capillaries: oxygenated (oxygen-rich)
blood to the body, then back
First set - oxygen and carbon to the heart after gas
dioxide exchange. exchange.
Second set - exchange of Pulmonary - carries
substances between the deoxygenated (oxygen-poor)
blood and cells. blood to the lungs, then
back to the heart upon
oxygenation.
Blood travels once through the Blood travels twice through the
heart on one complete ‘circuit.’ heart on one complete ‘circuit.’
Present in fish, echinoderms and Present in warm-blooded
earthworms where oxygen animals (e.g., mammals and
demand is low. birds), also reptiles.

The structure of the human circulatory system

The human circulatory system is a closed double circulatory system consisting of

both pulmonary and systemic circulation. 

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In pulmonary circulation, blood leaves the right ventricle via the pulmonary artery,
enters the lung to get oxygenated, then is directed to the left atrium via the
pulmonary vein. On the other hand, blood leaves the left ventricle to the rest of the
body via the aorta, then returns to the right side of the heart in the vena cava in the
systemic circulation.

What are the advantages of a double

circulatory system? 

There are two advantages of a double circulatory system:

1. Ensures that there is no mixing of blood - not only allows respiring cells to
receive as much oxygen as possible but blood flow can also be directed more
precisely to the organs that need most oxygen and nutrients.
2. Enables pressure differences - the systemic circulation has a higher pressure
to receive oxygenated blood rapidly. The pulmonary circulation has a lower
pressure to prevent damage to vessels and allow gas exchange.

 Food for thought: I like to compare double circulatory systems to the water pipes in our
homes, where there are separate pipes for clean and dirty water to prevent cross-

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contamination. 

Circulatory System - Key

takeaways
Multicellular organisms need circulatory systems due to their small surface
area to volume ratios. Animals require hearts for maximal efficiency of the
exchange of metabolic substances across cells.
The circulatory system plays a role in respiration and the transport of
substances. It consists of four components - blood, lymph, vessels and
heart.
Animals have either open or closed circulatory systems. There are two
types of closed circulatory systems - closed single and double circulatory
systems. Humans have closed double circulatory systems.
The advantages of closed circulatory systems include no mixing of blood
and pressure differences enabled.

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