MAMMALIAN CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

-All multi-cellular animals need a circulatory system to transport substances round and round
their bodies.

Why multicellular animals need a circulatory system?

-Multicellular animals can not take up substances by diffusion only, since their surface area to
volume ratio is smaller than for single celled organisms. That means, if substances were to be
transported by diffusion only, they will take a long time to cross from the outside to the inside or
vice versa.

-The circulatory system transport some useful substances like oxygen from the lungs to the body
cells, food from the alimentary canal to the cells.
-It also has to remove waste material like carbon dioxide from the cells to lungs and urea, excess
water and salts from cells to kidneys.
-It can also transport substances like hormones, antibodies and blood proteins to all body cells.

-The circulatory system consists of tubes (blood vessels), with a pump (heart) and valves to
ensure one way flow of blood.
-The blood, pumped by the heart, travels all around the body in blood vessels. It leaves the heart
in arteries and returns in veins.

Pulmonary and systemic circuits

The blood passes twice through the heart during one complete circulation/circuit, once on its
way to the body cells and again on its way to the lungs. For this reason it is sometimes called
dual circulation.

-The circulation through the lungs is called pulmonary circuit and the circulation around the rest
of the body is called systemic circuit.

KEY
Lungs
-deoxygenated blood Pulmonary circuit

-oxygenated blood
Heart

Systemic circuit
Rest of
the body
Differences between the two circuits

Systemic
1. The pressure of the blood
-The pressure of the blood is high because
blood has to travel a greater distance e.g. as
far as the legs. Thicker walls of the left
ventricle apply more force to push blood out.
Pulmonary
-The blood pressure here is low since it is
only travelling a short distance. Thinner
walls of right ventricle apply less force to
push blood out.

2. Direction of flow
-Here blood travels from the heart to the -Blood travels from the heart to the lungs
different body cells e.g. to kidneys, legs, only.
arms.
-We can also mention that it travels from the -Direction is from right side to left side.
left side of the heart to the right side.

3. Quality of blood
-Oxygenated blood is carried from the heart -Oxygenated blood is carried in a vein from
to cells in arteries and deoxygenated blood lungs to heart and deoxygenated blood is
in veins from cells to the heart. carried in an artery from heart to lungs.

The heart

Function: The function of the heart is to pump blood. The contraction of the heart muscles gives
blood the force/pressure to be able to travel around the body and reach all the cells.

Structure of the heart

Draw fig 12.6 page 110

-The heart is nearly all muscle. It is about the size of an individual’s fist. It is divided into two
sides by the septum muscle. This way, the two sides are completely separate so that oxygenated
blood on the left side does not mix with deoxygenated blood on the right side, otherwise less
oxygen will reach the body cells for respiration.

-On each side of the heart there are 2 chambers.

-The upper chambers on each side are called ATRIA (singular atrium). Their duty is to receive
blood from veins and then contract to push blood into the lower chambers.
-The lower chambers are called ventricles. These have thicker muscular walls. Their duty is to
contract and push blood into arteries.
-The left ventricle has thicker walls than the right8 ventricle because it has to pump blood at a
higher pressure to reach further parts of body while pressure from the right ventricle is low as
blood travels a short distance to the lungs.
-Blood pressure is the force developed by the blood pushing against the walls of the blood
vessels. It is usually measured in the bronchial artery in the arm by using a sphygmamometer.
-The systolic pressure is produced by the contraction of ventricles and diastolic pressure is
pressure in arteries when ventricles relax. If systolic is 16KPa (120mmHg) and diastolic is
10KPa (80mmHg), this is expressed as 120/80 mmHg.
-Blood pressure is affected by age, sex and state of health.
-Between in atrium and ventricle, there is a valve which prevents the blood from flowing back
into atria when ventricles contract – tricuspid in the right side and bicuspid in the left side.
-Semi-lunar valves prevent the backflow of blood from main arteries into the ventricles.

The blood vessels

The rest of the circulatory system is made up of tubes called the blood vessels.
-There are 3 types of blood vessels, namely:
-arteries
-veins
-capillaries
-These vessels differ in structure as well as in function.

Differences in function:

1. Arteries carry blood at high pressure away from the heart to different body organs (the blood
is oxygenated except that in pulmonary artery).

2. Veins carry blood back to the heart from body organs (the blood is deoxygenated except that
in the pulmonary vein). The blood is carried at steady/low pressure.

3. Capillaries allow exchange of substances between the cells and blood e.g. oxygen, nutrients,
CO2. The blood pressure is relatively higher in order to force substances out through the capillary
walls.

Differences in structure

Artery Vein Capillary

-No valves -Has valves to prevent blood -Has no valves

–Has thicker walls to
withstand the high pressure
of blood.
-Has narrow lumen to create
more pressure in the blood
for it to reach distant parts.
flowing backwards.
-Walls are thinner. -Walls are extremely
thin and permeable for
rapid diffusion of
substances.
-Has water opening. –Has very narrow lumen,
to create pressure to
force tissue fluid
outwards.

PULSE

Pulse refers to the heart beat. It can be felt on arteries close to the skin as they contract to force
blood along.
It can also be defined as a wave of pressure passing down arteries caused by the heart beating.

Pulse points
These are areas where pulse can be felt and they include:
temple wrist
neck groin
collarbone behind knees
ankle inside of elbows

Pulse rate
This refers to the number of heart beats in a given period of time e.g. in a minute. At rest, for a
healthy person, the range is between 60 and 80 beats per minute and the average is 72 beats per
minute for an adult.

During exercise or physical activity this rate increases and may go up to over 100. This increases
the supply of oxygen and glucose to the tissues needed for respiration to provide energy. This
increased pulse rate also removes CO2, which is a waste product of respiration.

CORONARY HEART DISEASE

-Coronary heart disease comes about as a result of the blockage of coronary arteries, i.e, the
blood vessels which supply heart muscles with oxygen and food for it to keep pumping blood.

-In the lining of the large and medium arteries, deposits of a fatty substance called atheroma are
laid down in patches (get numerous with age).
-These patches may join up to form a continuous layer which reduces the internal diameter of the
blood vessel.
-The surface of a patch of atheroma sometimes become rough and causes fibrinogen in the
plasma to deposit fibrin on it, causing a blood clot to form, known as thrombus. If the blood clot
blocks the coronary artery which supplies the ventricle muscles with blood, the muscles will be
short of oxygenated blood and the heart may stop beating.
-This results in a severe heart attack or coronary thrombosis/cardiac arrest.
-In the early stages of coronary heart disease the atheroma may partially block the coronary
arteries and reduce the blood supply to the heart. This can lead to angina, a sharp pain in the
chest which occurs during exercise or emotional stress. It is due to not enough oxygen reaching
the heart muscles.
-Angina should act as a warning to the sufferer to change their lifestyle or stand a chance of
experiencing a heart attack in future.

a) A normal artery:

b) Atheroma forming:

c) Thrombus forming:
Possible causes of coronary heart disease

The following are thought to increase the chances of getting heart disease
a) fatty diet
b)smoking
c)lack of exercise
d)stress

Smoking:
-Smokers are 2-3 times more likely to die from a heart attack than non-smokers of the same age.
-Carbon monoxide and other chemicals in the cigarette smoke may damage the lining of the
arteries, allowing atheroma to form.

Fatty diet
-Atheroma deposits contain cholesterol which combines with proteins in the blood.
-Cholesterol appears naturally in our body systems, but people with high levels are likely to
suffer from heart attack than those with low levels.
-Blood cholesterol can be influenced by the amount and type of fat in the diet.

Emotional stress
-Emotional stress often leads to a raised blood pressure. High blood pressure may increase the
rate at which atheroma is formed in the arteries.

Little or no exercise
-Lack of exercise increases chances of atheroma formation because blood flow is not stimulated.

Preventative measures
-To prevent a heart attack, the following might be done:

a) –Take care of your diet by eating more poultry and fish as they contain fat.
-Cut down on fried foods.
-Eat less red meat as it has more cholesterol.
-Eat more fresh fruits and vegetable; they have no fat.

b) –Take some regular exercise to burn up fat in the body, and improve coronary blood flow.
-It also strengthen heart muscles and they work efficiently.

c) Quit smoking.

d) Avoid stress
-Devote some time for leisure and relaxation.
-Seek counselors for advice.
-Be in the company of people who make you feel good about yourself.
The blood

There are about 5 litres of blood in the body. Blood appears as a red liquid but there are cells
(45%) floating in a yellow watery liquid (55%).

Components of blood
The following things make up blood:
-Red blood cells (Erythrocytes).
-White blood cells (Leucocytes)
-Platelets (Thrombocytes)
-Plasma

Red blood cells:

Structure:

-There are millions of red cells in a drop of blood. They are made in the bone marrow of ribs and
sternum.
-They have a disc like shape and in most mammals they contain no nucleus, but instead are filled
with haemoglobin. Initially the nucleus was present but it dissolved and disappear over time as
they become mature and specialized.
-They are made of a spongy cytoplasm enclosed in an elastic membrane.

Function:
-Carry oxygen around the body, from the lungs to the cells, in the form of oxyhaemoglobin.

White blood cells

-They are colourless
-Have nuclei
-Have no fixed shape
-Made in the bone marrow, spleen and lymph nodes.

Function:
To fight diseases in the body and defend the body against infection through phagocytosis,
antibody formation and tissue rejection.
-There are two main types of white blood cells

1.Phagocytes:

Function of phagocytes:
-They fight off infection by surrounding/engulfing and then digesting/killing microorganisms by
the process called phagocytosis.

2. Lympocytes:

Function: They fight off infection by producing substances called antibodies which will kill
harmful microorganisms.

-Lymphocytes in the course of circulation through blood and lymph accumulate in the lymph
nodes and produce antibodies.
-If during organ or tissue transplant, the lymphocytes of the recipient do not match that of the
donor, the tissue is going to be rejected, the antibodies will attack the tissues. To prevent attack
or rejection, the patient is given immuno-suppressive drugs to suppress the patient’s immune
response.

3. Platelets
These are pieces of special blood cells budded off in the bone marrow. They are irregularly
shaped.
Structure:

Function: They help clot blood at wounds or cuts and so stop the bleeding and entry of harmful
microbes into the wound.

How clotting happens

-Platelets help to change fibrinogen to fibrin by producing a substance which acts on fibrinogen
through a series of enzymes (thrombokinase).
-Fibrinogen is a soluble protein found in the plasma. Fibrin is insoluble and forms a mesh work
of threads which trap the red cells to make a clot.

4. Plasma
-Is the liquid part of blood.
-It is 91% water with a number of substances dissolved in it or floating.

Function: to transport;
i) end products of digestion e.g. sugars, amino acids, vitamins, minerals.
ii) chemical waste like urea, uric acid
iii) blood proteins like antibodies, fibrinogen
iv) hormones e.g insulin, oestrogen
v) blood cells like red blood cells

Transfer of materials between capillaries and tissue fluid

-It is estimated that there are over 80 000km of capillaries in the body.
-Arteries branch many times into arterioles, then further again until the smallest branch form
capillaries.
-These are very narrow, as little as 0.001mm in diameter and with walls only one cell thick.

Draw

-Blood as a whole can not escape through the thin capillary walls, but instead, some liquid called
tissue fluid is allowed to pass through.
-This fluid is forced out by blood pressure in the capillaries. It is similar to plasma but contains
less or no plasma proteins.
-It is without the blood cells as they are too large to pass across the capillary walls.
-This fluid completely surrounds all the living cells of the body to deliver dissolved oxygen and
food.
-The tissue fluid eventually seeps back into the capillaries again, but it has now received the
waste products of the cells e.g CO2, urea, which are carried away by the blood stream.
-The capillaries join up into larger vessels called venules, which then combine to form veins.

Draw

Advantages of capillaries for diffusion

1. The walls of capillaries are very thin so diffusion is rapid (since substances do not have very
far to diffuse).
2. Capillaries have very narrow lumen which creates pressure to force substances out.
3. The capillaries are constantly supplied with fresh blood, this keeps up the concentration
gradients of dissolved substances between blood and tissues. Without this gradient diffusion
could not occur.

IMMUNITY, INFECTION AND VACCINATION

-Lymphocytes produce proteins called antibodies which attack antigens of bacteria or any
foreign cells or proteins which invade the body.
-An antibody is a protein produced by the body in response to an antigen.
-An antigen is a protein or carbohydrate on the surface of the pathogen/harmful microorganism
(or any cell).
-To fight infection, the antibodies may
i) attach to the surface of the bacteria and make it easier for the phagocytes to ingest them
(opsonins).
ii) clump the bacteria together (agglutinins).
iii) neutralise the poisonous proteins (toxins) that the bacteria produce (anti-toxins).

Antibody formation

-Synthesis or manufacture of antibodies is initiated or started when a foreign thing enters the
body. Lymphocytes respond to the foreign thing/antigen by making antibodies that fit molecules
on the surface of the antigen so that antibodies combine with it and make it harmless.
-Each different antigen stimulates the production of a particular type of antibody that will destroy
that antigen, so antibodies are very specific. A particular antibody would attack one specific
antigen.

Draw fig 12.22 page 118

-Being immune is when some of the lymphocytes which produced specific antibodies remain in
the lymph nodes for some time as memory cells and divide rapidly and make antibodies so that if
the same antigen gets into the body again, in some cases, you would be unlikely to catch the
disease again because the pathogens are quickly destroyed. This is called Natural acquired
immunity.
-Apart from acquiring immunity after infection, a person can get immunity naturally through
heredity or acquiring antibodies from mother’s milk. This is called innate immunity.
-Immunity produced by a vaccine is called artificial acquired immunity.
-Immunity acquired after an infection or vaccination is called active immunity because the
person produces his/her own antibodies.
-When plasma with known antibodies (serum) from a donor is introduced into the blood of a
patient who is at risk of contracting a disease, this is called Passive immunity, because the
antibodies have not been produced by the patient e.g Rabies and chickenpox vaccines.
 Immunity

Passive Active

Natural Artificial Artificial Natural

Innate Serum Vaccination Infection

Why immunity often results after an infection or a vaccination

a) Immunity resulting after an infection

-When the body is invaded by bacteria, viruses and other foreign protein that’s when
lymphocytes start making the specific antibodies to fight off the invaders.
-It takes a few days to produce antibodies, so the infected individual will show some symptoms
of the disease.
-Once the lymphocytes have learnt to make a particular type of antibody in response to the
antigens on the pathogens the body begins to recover as these organisms are destroyed.
-After an infection some lymphocytes are kept in lymph nodes as memory cells and may last for
years, making the body immune to the disease i.e the body defends itself against any future
attacks by the pathogen by quickly destroyed it.

b) Immunity resulting after a vaccination

-Immunity can also occur after a vaccination.
-Vaccination means introducing dead or harmless germs into the body to make it produce the
right antibodies for the real germs/antigens, so that the body can be defended in case of an attack
by that antigen. The substance with which you are injected is called a vaccine.
-But during vaccination, the person does not suffer or portray the symptoms of the disease.
-Vaccines are produced in several ways:
i) dead pathogens e.g whooping cough vaccine.
ii) weakened by heat/chemicals pathogens e.g oral polio vaccine, BCG against TB.
iii) genetically engineered fragments- proteins from the pathogen’s surface which are recognized
by lymphocytes e.g Hepatitis B viral coat protein.

-Some vaccines are given 2 or 3 times at intervals to build up more antibodies on each occasion.
-A booster dose may be needed after some time to ensure that there are enough memory cells to
maintain the immunity e.g polio vaccine is given at 2, 3, 4 months and booster at 18 months.
*NB
-There are several types of lymphocytes
i) B-lymphocytes – the only ones which produce antibodies.
ii) T-lymphocytes – either attack pathogens directly or produce chemicals which coordinate the
activity of all cells in the immune system.
-One type of T-lymphocytes, the T- helper cells are the ones invaded by HIV. This virus then
causes severe depression of the immune system, allowing infections by other pathogens,
resulting in AIDS.

Why people do not become immune to some diseases:

-People may not be immune to those diseases that do not cause the body to store memory cells
for future use when attacked by the same disease.
-People can not become immune to diseases whose pathogens keep on mutating and so become
difficult to make and store memory cells for.

BLOOD GROUPS

-People who are injured or ill may need blood transfusion. The blood drains into a vein in the
arm from a plastic bag.
-For a transfusion to be successful, the blood type of the donor (healthy person who supplies the
blood) has to match the blood of the patient (recipient).
-If the two blood types do not match, the donor’s red cells are clumped in the patient’s blood
vessels and can be fatal if the blood vessels are blocked, this is called agglutination.
-For purposes of transfusion, people can be put in one of the four blood groups- A, B, AB and O.

-Your blood group is determined by the antigen present on the cell membrane of your red cells.
-There are 2 types of antigens; A and B.
1. People with blood group A have A antigens only.
2. People with blood group B have B antigens only.
3. Blood group AB people have about ½ of red blood cells with A antigens and about ½ with B
antigens.
4. Blood group O has no antigens.

-In the plasma, there are blood group antibodies, which are not produced in response to the
donor’s antigens as is the case in the immune reactions already studied. Therefore these
antibodies do not attack antigens on their own red cells e.g:

1. Antibodies in blood group A plasma do not attack A antigens on the red cells, but they will
attack B-antigens. Therefore they are called anti-B antibodies.
2. Antibodies in blood group B plasma do not attack the B antigens on blood group B red cells,
but will attack A antigens, thus they are called anti-A antibodies.

3. AB blood plasma has no antibodies.

4. Group O plasma has both anti A and anti B antibodies.

Summary of antigens and antibodies

Group Antigen on red cells Antibody in plasma

A A anti B
B B anti A
AB A and B none
O none anti A and anti B

Blood transfusion
The table below shows the acceptable pattern of giving and receiving blood for the 4 groups:

Group Can donate blood to Can receive blood from

A A and AB A and O
B B and AB B and O
AB AB only All groups
O All groups O only

-Blood group O is called universal donor, meaning it can be given to any group, because group O
posseses cells which will not be agglutinated by the recepient’s plasma antibodies, since its red
blood cells have no antigens.
-Blood O can receive blood only from their own group since it has anti A and anti B antibodies
which might attack antigens from the other groups.
-Blood group AB is called universal recepient, meaning it can receive blood from all other
groups because it has no antibodies in its plasma to attack any incoming antigens, or its own A
and B antigens.

-During transfusion, antibodies in the donor’s blood are insignificant, they are in too low a
concentration to cause major damage, so only antibodies of recipient are considered since they
are the ones that attack incoming antigens.
-So, although group O has anti A and anti B antibodies, when its donated to all the groups, there
will very little agglutination of the recipient’ cells because the donated plasma is diluted so much
by the recepient’s blood that it is ineffective in its agglutination activity.

Blood related diseases

These are diseases that are either transmitted through contact of blood or affect components of
blood or as a whole when they invade the body.
a) HIV/AIDS
-One of the ways by which the virus HIV is transmitted from person to person is through blood
contact of an infected person with that of a healthy person.
-The contact of blood can come about as a result of the following:
*unscreened blood transfusions.
*sharing of unsterilized sharp instruments to pierce skin.
*mother to child during delivery (chapped or broken skin).
-AIDS may be detected in its early stages by the presence of antibodies to HIV in the plasma. In
the later stages of the disease, the number of white blood cells (CD4+) is very much reduced. A
healthy person has more than 600 CD4 cells/cm3 of blood.

b) LEUKAEMIA
-It is the cancer of white blood cells, it can be detected by high numbers of oddly shaped white
blood cells. It occurs in 2 forms a) acute, which is common in children and young adults.
b)chronic- common in middle aged individuals.
-The exact cause remains unknown, but the following have been found to initiate it: Exposure to
high-energy ionizing radiation, chemicals e.g Benzene, some viruses, certain abnormalities in
chromosomes.

Symptoms:
-Irregular fever.
-Haemorrhage (bleeding) from gums, mucuous membranes and under skin.
-Rapidly developing anaemia.
-Enlargement of spleen and lymph nodes.

Treatment:
-Radiation therapy.
-Chemotheraphy.
-Transfusion.

Prevention:
Avoid exposure to high radiation and certain chemicals.

c) ANAEMIA (Greek=bloodlessness)
-It is a blood condition involving abnormal reduction in the number of red blood cells or in their
haemoglobin content.
-The most common types are
a) Iron deficiency anaemia- occurring when the body’s needs for iron increases e.g in pregnancy.
b) Sickle cell anaemia- result of a hereditary defect in synthesis of haemoglobin.
-Anaemia has been found to be more common in females than males.
-It has 3 primary causes
*reduced production of rbc
 *excessive destruction of rbc
*excessive blood loss caused by gastrointestinal ulcers, menstrual period, overdose of asprin.

Symptoms:
Shortness of breath, general weakness, dizziness, digestive disorders.

Treatment:
-Removal of spleen.
-Repeated blood transfusions.
-Diet with beef or calf’s liver, beetroots, spinach.
-Iron supplements.
-Injections of vitamin B12.
-Bone marrow transplants.

-One way to prevent it is to eat an iron-rich diet.