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TRANSPORT IN ANIMALS

The Mammalian Circulatory System

Multicellular organisms need a circulatory system to
1. Supply all the cells within the body with food nutrients so as to carry out their functions.
2. Supply the cells with oxygen is necessary for the generation of energy
3. Get rid of waste products from cells to excretory parts where they can be eliminated out
of the body.

Constituents of the Circulatory System

 The Heart (a pump) – to pump the blood and dissolved substances
 The blood vessels – to carry blood around the body
 The valves - ensure unidirectional flow of blood.

The mammalian transport system has a dual / double circulation consisting of;
 Pulmonary circulation
 Systematic circulation

The pulmonary circuit supplies the lungs with deoxygenated blood and the systematic circuit
supplies oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. Therefore the blood pressure in the pulmonary
circuit is low since blood flows through a short distance and through delicate capillaries during
gaseous exchange and high in the systematic circuit where blood must be pumped over long
distances.

The main blood vessels are;

Aorta – main artery carrying oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body
Vena cava - carries deoxygenated from the rest of the body back to heart.
Pulmonary vein – carrying oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart
Pulmonary artery – conveys deoxygenated from the heart blood to the lungs
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Hepatic artery – carries blood the liver

Hepatic portal vein – conveys blood rich with absorbed food nutrients from the alimentary
canal
Hepatic vein – carries blood from the liver towards the heart
Renal artery – conveys blood to the kidneys
Renal vein – carries blood from the kidneys
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The Structure of the Heart

The heart is a muscular organ the size of a human fist. It is divided into the two sides (left & right
sides) and four chambers. The two upper chambers are called atria (or auricles) and the
remaining bottom chambers called ventricles
 Right Atrium (right auricle)
 Left Atrium (left auricle)
 Right Ventricles
 Left Ventricle

The role of the heart is to pump deoxygenated blood from the head & other body parts to the
lungs for oxygenation, and to pump oxygenated blood from the lungs to the head & the rest of the
body.

Deoxygenated blood enters the heart from the head & other parts through the vena cava into right
atrium. This blood is then forced down into the right ventricle as the atrium contracts. The
tricuspid valve then closes to prevent backward flow of blood into from the right ventricle to the
right atrium. The muscles of the right ventricle contracts to push the blood into pulmonary artery
which carries it to the lungs. The semi-lunar valves in the pulmonary artery prevent the blood from
flowing back into the right ventricles.

Oxygenated blood from the lungs enters the heart at the left atrium through the pulmonary vein.
This blood then passes to the left ventricle when the left atrium contracts. The passage of blood
from the left atrium to left ventricle is controlled by the bicuspid valve. When the left ventricle
contracts blood is pushed into the aorta which carries it towards the head & other body parts. The
semi-lunar valves in the aorta also direct the flow of oxygenated blood.
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Blood Vessels
a) Arteries
 Have a smaller lumen as compared to veins
 Have thick walls made of many fibrous elastic tissue
 Arteries divide into arterioles (smaller vessels) which have less elastic tissue but more
muscle fibres than the larger arteries.
 Largest artery is called the aorta

Muscle layer

Lining of lumen

lumen

All Arteries serve to carry oxygenated blood from the heart to different body parts, (except the
pulmonary artery)

b) Veins

 Largest vein is called the vena cava

 Have a wider lumen
 Have thinner walls with fewer fibrous & less elastic tissues.
 Have valves
 Veins divide into venules (smaller vessels)

valve
Wider
lumen

All veins carry deoxygenated blood from various body tissues to the heart, (except the pulmonary
vein)

c) Capillaries
 These are tiny vessels which are one cell thick (have diameter of about 0.001mm)
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 They are semi-permeable to allow tissue fluids and gases to escape through them.
 Blood flows very slowly in the capillaries.

Cell

Capillaries supply all living cells with oxygen and food nutrients, and pick up substances from the
cells i.e. allows for the exchange of substances between the blood stream and body cells.

Arteries Arterioles Capillaries Venules Veins

Transfer of materials at capillaries

The blood pressure in the capillaries forces part of the plasma fluids out through the capillary
walls. This fluid is known as tissue fluids. The tissue fluid is similar to plasma but has fewer
proteins and it supplies the cells with dissolved food substances & O 2.

When the tissue fluid returns back to capillary it contains waste products e.g. CO 2 from
respiration. The deoxygenated blood then leaves the capillaries through the venules which
recombine to form veins.

Pulse

Pulse, in physiology, is the rhythmic expansion of the arteries resulting from passage of
successive surges of blood, produced by continuing contractions of the heart.
(Or simply the expansion and contraction of the arterial walls that can be felt in all the arteries
near the surface of the skin).
The pulse may be felt wherever an artery passes over a solid structure, such as a bone or
cartilage. The crest of the pulse wave represents the systolic pressure whilst the trough is the
diastolic.
Pulse rate is the number of heart beats in a minute. The rate of the pulse varies from 150 beats
per minute in the embryo to about 60 in the aged; however the average pulse rate measures 72
beats per minute in a mature healthy person.

Physical activity e.g. taking an exercise increases the pulse rate. This is because the rate at
which the heart pumps blood is increased to provide the body with enough oxygenated blood to
cope with activity undertaken as well as to remove the CO 2 that may be accumulating in body
cells.

Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is a disease caused by the occlusion or blockage of coronary arteries
(Coronary artery is an artery branching from the aorta and supplies the heart muscles with food &
oxygen).

Causes of coronary heart disease

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 Blood clot
 Diet
 Stress
 Smoking
 Lack of exercise

Atheroma (also called atherosclerosis) is a disease caused by deposits of fatty substances in the
lining of the arteries.

Blood clot
If the blood clots it blocks the coronary artery and starves the heart muscle of oxygen and
nutrients as a result the heart may stop beating. Due to this the brain is deprived of oxygen
resulting in stroke or death

Diet
Too much fatty foods taken result in excess fat accumulating in the lining of the arteries,
narrowing their lumen and eventually blocking them. If these fats become rough patches they
result in the formation of thrombus (blood clot) due to the breaking down of blood platelets. This
blockage of the artery again results in no oxygen & nutrient supply to the heart muscles.

Stress
Emotional stress (or when a person is immobilized for long time) often leads to a raised blood
pressure. High blood pressure may increase the rate at which thrombus is formed in the arteries.

Smoking
Carbon monoxide and other chemicals in cigarette smoke may change the lining of the arteries,
allowing atheroma to form. These harden up the arteries resulting in breaking down of platelets
as they pass along the rough surfaces of the arteries. The platelets release enzymes which aid in
blood clotting & consequently lead to occlusion of the arteries.
Note; Smokers are 2 to 3 times more likely to die from a heart attack than non-smothers of the
same age.

Lack of Exercise
A sluggish blood flow resulting from lack of exercise may allow atheroma to form in the lining of
the arteries. Regular, vigorous exercise reduces the chances of a heart attack due to an improved
coronary blood flow.

Preventing Coronary Heart Disease

 Avoid being immobile or isolated, communicate your stressful situations to relief yourself.
 Avoid smoking
 Avoid fatty foods especially animal fat.
 Take regular body exercises.

Blood Components
 Plasma
 Red blood cells (erythrocytes)
 White blood cells (leucocytes)
 Platelets (thrombocytes)

Plasma - Is a pale yellow liquid part of the blood. It consists of 92% water and many important
dissolved substances including the products of digestion, albumin, fibrinogen, antibodies,
hormones, waste materials like urea & CO2. Plasma can be forced through the blood vessels
under high pressure, carrying with it food & O2 from the tissue fluid which bathes every cell in the
body. This fluid is constantly circulating among body cells supplying food & O 2 and removing
waste products.
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Function of Plasma;
It transports blood cells, ions, end products of digestion, hormones, vitamins & plasma proteins. &
excretory materials like CO2 & urea.

Red blood Cells;

 These are biconcave disc-like structures formed in the bone marrow.
 Extremely small
 Have no nucleus (non-nucleated)
 Flexible, so they can squeeze through narrow blood vessels
 Live for about 120 days and later destroyed in the liver

Function of Red blood cells;

They are responsible for the transport of O2 around the body.

White blood Cells;

These cells are larger in size but fewer in number than the red blood cells.
The two most common & important types of white blood cells are the phagocytes & lymphocytes

 Phagocytes;

 They are irregular in shape & can change their form.

 They have a lobed nucleus.
 The cells move by the flowing action of the their cytoplasm and can sometimes
pass through the capillary walls.
 They are made in the bone marrow.

Function of phagocytes.
They accumulate on the site of injury / infection in order to attack the invading bacteria. They
destroy bacteria & deed tissue cells by flowing around, engulfing and digesting them, and this
action is known as phagocytosis. This helps to prevent the spread of harmful bacteria &
accelerate the healing process.

 Lymphocytes

 They are smaller than phagocytes.

 Have a round nucleus which occupies most of the cell
 They are made in the spleen & the lymph nodes

Function of lymphocytes;
The lymphocytes produce chemical substances called antibodies which attack foreign substances
called antigens in the body. The antibodies can adhere to the surfaces of the microorganism,
making them clump together (agglutination) or cause them to disintegrate (lysis). The remains of
the microorganisms are then ingested by the phagocytes.

(Tissue rejection)
This happens if a living tissue is transplanted from an individual to another, and the recipient
recognizes the foreign antigens in the transplanted tissue and reject (destroys) it. Transplanted
organs such as kidneys & hearts are usually rejected unless the two individuals share exactly
similar antigens, i.e. when they are genetically identical.
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Platelets
These are tiny irregular shaped structures made in the bone marrow.

Function of platelets
They help in clotting in wounds or damaged blood vessels walls to prevent excessive loss of
blood & entry of germs. The formation of blood clot involves the following stages;

 When the skin cut & blood is flowing out, the platelets are exposed to air, they
disintegrate & release an enzyme called thrombokinase, into the plasma.
 Thrombokinase in the presence of calcium ions found in the blood can now change the
plasma protein prothrombin to an active enzyme thrombin.
 Thrombin reacts with the soluble plasma protein fibrinogen and changes it to insoluble
fibrin which forms a network of fibres around the injured part.
 The blood cells become trapped in the fibres, dry up, die and harden to form a scab
under which the wound can heal & prevent entry of foreign particles.

BLOOD GROUPS

Although red blood cells look alike under a microscope, they may carry different substances
(antigens) called antigen A & antigen B on their cell surface. Plasma contains antibodies which
attack foreign red cell antigens but does not contain antigens which would attack a person’s own
red blood cell antigens.

The table below shows a possible combination of antibody-antigen combinations which would
otherwise determine a person’s blood group.

Antigen on Red Blood Cell Antibody in plasma Blood group

A Anti-B A
B Anti-A B
A and B None AB
None Anti-A and Anti-B O

Before a person can receive blood transfusion it is important to know if the donor blood is
compatible with that of the patient. If it not, then the patient’s red blood cells will clump together in
the blood vessels causing serious harm.

If a donor’s blood causes the patient’s blood to clump (agglutination) their blood groups are said
to be incompatible.

Blood groups, compatibility, between donor & recipient.

Blood Group Donates to Receives from

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

The red cells from group O can be given to any other group because they have neither the A nor
B antigens, and so cannot be clumped, hence known as the universal donors
Group O can only receive blood from their own group because their plasma contains both ant-A
and anti-B antibodies. Although group O possesses a & b agglutinins (antibodies), there will be
very little agglutination of the recipient’s blood because the donated plasma is diluted so much by
the recipient’s cells that it is ineffective in agglutination activity.
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Group AB people having neither anti-A and anti-B antibodies in their plasma, can receive blood
form any other group hence they are called Universal recipients.

BLOOD RELATED DISEASES

1. Leukaemia
2. Aids
3. Anaemia
4. Malaria

Leukaemia;
This is a condition in which large numbers of immature white blood cells are produced & released
into the blood stream. Over production of abnormal white blood cells results in less formation of
the red blood cells and hence an imbalance in the composition of the blood cells. These immature
white blood cells will not be able to carry out their role effectively, i.e. being unable to protect the
body against infections. Leukaemia can also be termed “cancer of the blood”.

(i)Cause;
Radiation is the primary cause of this disease. Radiation may be from uv rays, nuclear power
stations & stored radioactive wastes.

(ii)Treatment;
 Leukaemia can be treated using drugs such as interferon
 Can also be treated by radiotherapy & chemotherapy

(iii)Prevention
Avoid prolonged exposure to radiation.

Anaemia
(i) Cause
It is a disease which occurs as a result of deficiency of iron in the body, which results in
insufficient haemoglobin which will affect oxygen transportation.

Other factors leading to anaemia are;

 Failure to produce enough red blood cells
 Uncontrollable destruction of the red blood cells
 Excessive loss of blood e.g. due to accidents

(ii) Treatment
 If the condition is not that serious, a person can be given iron supplementary tablets and
be advised to eat food rich in iron
 If its serious he / she can be can be given iron syrup or an injection
 Extreme cases are treated through blood transfusion

(iii) Prevention
Eating food rich in iron e.g. liver, meat and green vegetables.

AIDS
(i) Cause
It is caused by a virus called Human immunodeficiency virus (HIV)
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HIV is transmitted from one person to another through;

 Sexual contact
 Mixing of infected blood with a non-infected one, e.g. by blood transfusion, sharing
unsterilised sharp instruments like needles & blades.
 Mother to child during pregnancy by breast feeding

(ii) Treatment
AIDS has no treatment; however, its unpleasant effects can be alleviated through the use of
antiretroviral therapy.

(iii)Prevention
 Abstinence
 Using a condom during sexual contact
 Avoid sharing needles & blades
 Screening of blood before transfusion.

Malaria
Refer to the notes under biodiversity. (protozoa)

Courtesy of Lebsy Mb
Contact 71726846