TRANSPORT SYSTEM

Transportation is the movement of metabolic substances from various parts of the organism
where they are produced or obtained to the parts where they are used, stored or removed
from the body.

Transport system involves all the tissue and organs responsible for the movement of metabolic
substances from various parts of the organism.

Need for Transportation

1. It aids in the removal of metabolic waste e.g carbon dioxide, water and urea

2. It helps to move hormones in plants and animals from where they are produced to areas of
need.

3. It helps transport essential materials in organisms for metabolic process e.g nutrients, oxygen
and water.

4. In plants, transport is necessary to move mineral salt and water from the root to the stems
and leaves.

5. Photosynthetic product in the leaves of plants need to be transported to various storage

organs within the plants.

TRANSPORT IN LOWER ORGANISMS

In lower or unicellular organisms such as amoeba, paramecium, euglena etc, the surface area to
volume ratio (SA/V) of the body is large. As a result, essential nutrients like food, oxygen and
water as well as excretory product e.g water, carbon dioxide etc move in and out of the body by
diffusion. Also some simple multicellular animals such as tapeworm are flat and thin in
structure.

Materials that are transported in animals

1. Water

2. Digested foods (vitamins, amino acids, mineral salts, fatty acids glycerol)

3. Gases (oxygen, carbon-dioxide)

4. Excretory products (urea, carbon- dioxide, excess salt)

5. Hormones (adrenalin, insulin, oestrogen etc) and other materials.

6. Antibodies 7. Mineral salt 8. Sugar

9. Vitamin 10 Fatty acid and glycerol

Materials that are transported in plants

1. Water 2. Manufactured food 3. Excretory products 4. Hormones

5. Mineral salts 6. Oxygen 7. Glucose 8. Amino acid

9. Lipids

MEDIA OF TRANSPORTATION

In all organisms, a liquid or fluid is the medium of transportation of materials. Generally, there
are four major media of transportation, which are

1. Cytoplasm
2. Cell sap or latex
3. Blood
4. Lymph

Cytoplasm: is used as the medium of transportation of materials in lower unicellular organism

such as amoeba and paramecium

Cell sap or latex: Cell sap or latex is used as the medium for transportation of materials in plant

Blood: The blood is powerful medium of transportation of materials in most animals especially
vertebrates.

Lymph: Lymph is one of the media of transportation in higher animals. It is a fluid similar in
composition to tissue fluid.

Mechanism of transportation in unicellular organism

In unicellular organism, the continuous streaming movement of the cytoplasm circulate

materials within one-cell body

Mechanism of transportation in simple multicellular organism

Hydra: In hydra, movement of the gut wall draw water into the gut and cause digested food
and oxygen within it to circulate.
Flatworm: In flatworm, the gut branches extensively throughout the body. These features
enable sufficient food and oxygen to diffuse into the body cell.

Insect and mollusks: They have open circulatory system. In the system, the heart pumps blood
out into a blood vessels which branches and open into the spaces in the body cavity
called HEAMOCELS

Mechanism of transport in higher animals

In higher animals, the blood is made to circulate round the body by the pumping action of the
heart through the blood vessels like the arteries, veins, and capillaries.

Mammals’ exhibits double circulation. Double circulation means that blood passes through the
heart twice every time it makes one complete movement round the body.

Pulmonary circulation: During pulmonary circulation, blood is taken from the heart to the lungs
through pulmonary artery and taken back to the heart through pulmonary vein.

Systemic circulation: This circulation takes the blood (oxygenated blood) from the heart to all
parts of the body.

Mechanism of transportation in higher plants

While the unicellular plants are able to exchange materials with their environment by simple
diffusion, the more complex plants will also require a more sophisticated system for transport.
The system is composed of conducting tissues known as vascular tissues. Vascular tissues are
found in both flowering and non-flowering plants. The materials for transport in plants include:
oxygen, carbon (IV) oxide, water, mineral salts, food substances, pigments and hormones.

These materials are transported mainly in the plant and cell sap. The plant sap is the fluid found
in the vascular tissues which contain 97.6% water and dissolved organic and inorganic solutes.
The cell sap is the watery fluid contained in the vacuoles of plant cells. The vascular tissue
contains the vascular bundle which is made of xylem, the phloem and cambium. Cambium is
found between xylem and phloem tissue.

Xylem tissue transports water and mineral salt from the root to other parts of the plants.

The phloem tissue transports manufactured food from the leaves to other part of the plant.

Processes which aids transportation in plant

1. Translocation: This is the movement of substances (sugars, amino acids, hormones and
water) to the various parts of the plants. This is brought about by the vascular tissues
which are in bundles of characteristic patterns in roots, stems and leaves. Plants are able
 to take up nutrients and water by applying simple diffusion and osmosis. Note that the
root hairs present a selectively permeable membrane. The transport of solutes through
the xylem also involves active transport.
2. Transpiration: Transpiration is the loss of water by evaporation to the atmosphere
through the stomata of the leaf. Transpiration stream is the continuous flow of water
from the roots to the leaves which results from::
a. Water loss in leaves by evaporation.
b. Increase in osmotic concentration of the cells of the leaves and stem.
c. Movement of water from the xylem tissues to the cells of laves and stem

Importance of transpiration includes:

1) It helps to cool the plant as water evaporates from the leaf surface.

2) It provides water for physiological functions of the plant cells.

3) It moves mineral salts to all parts of the plants.

Water, minerals oxygen gas and carbon dioxide uptake

Oxygen and carbon dioxide are absorbed via the stomata and lenticels. Absorption of water is
via the root of the plant. The young root hairs of flowering plants penetrate the soil. The cell of
root hairs is more concentrated than the surrounding, hence water from soil flow into the
membrane and fill the vacuole. Tugor pressure is raised and osmotic pressure reduced. Water
fills cell and reaches the cortex where it flows into the xylem. And the xylem by means of
transpiration pull, root pressure and capillary action conducts and transports water. It is
important to note that mineral salts are dissolved in soil water, hence transported alongside
water.
Differences between transport in plants and animals

Features Plants Animals

Medium Water, latex/sap Blood
Transport vessels Xylem, phloem Arteries, veins and capillaries
Substances transported Starch, amino acids, minerals
Glucose, glycerol, minerals,
vitamins, hormones , amino
acids, fatty acids
Environmental factors Transport depends on Transport is internal and is
environmental factors rarely affected
Mechanism Osmosis and transpiration, Pumping of the heart
translocation
 THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM (TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN MAN)
The circulatory system refers to organs and structures responsible for moving blood around the
body.
Types of circulatory system
(1) Closed and open circulatory system.
(2) Single and double circulatory system
(3) Pulmonary and systemic circulatory system
(1) Closed and open circulatory system
In a closed circulatory system, the cavity of the blood vessels never meets the cells of the body.
The blood vessels grow smaller to form capillaries to enable diffusion from blood vessels. Hence
there is no mixture between oxygenated (this is confined to the left part of the heart) and
deoxygenated blood (this is confined to the right part of the heart) e.g. the circulatory system
of mammals.
An open circulatory system is one in which blood vessels leads out of the heart to an open
space called haemocoels within the body cavity. In these spaces the blood comes in direct
contact with the cells after which it is returned to the heart. Anthropods and some molluscs
have open circulatory systems.
(2) Single and double circulation
In single circulation the blood passes through the heart once after making a complete
movement round the body. This is common with fishes as they possess a two chambered heart.
Double circulation is the movement of blood through the heart twice every time it makes one
complete revolution round the body. The double circulation is due to the pulmonary and
systemic circulation of blood.
(3) Pulmonary and systemic circulation
Pulmonary is the circulation of blood between the heart and the lungs while systemic is the
circulation of blood between the heart and all parts of the body excluding the lungs.
Pulmonary = heart + lungs; Systemic = Heart + body
This circulatory system consists of two main parts:
a) The blood vessels: These ducts carry blood round the body (they include the veins,
arteries and capillaries). The artery is thick walled muscular elastic duct with narrow
lumen of high pressure that transports oxygenated blood to the body tissues (except the
pulmonary artery which transports deoxygenated blood to the lungs during pulmonary
circulation) The vein is a slightly muscular inelastic duct with a large lumen of low
pressure that transports deoxygenated blood from body tissues to the heart (except the
pulmonary vein which transports oxygenated blood to my heart). The artery narrows
into arterioles and the vein narrow into venules. The network of blood vessels formed at
the junction of a body tissue is the capillaries. These are very thin-walled ducts that
allow substances diffuse in and out.

Differences between arteries, veins and capillaries

Artery Vein Capillary

Has a thick and elastic wall Has a fairly thick and Has very thin wall
slightly elastic wall
Carries blood from the Brings blood from different Forms a network
heart to different parts of parts of the body to the throughout the body in all
the body heart living cells connecting
arteries to veins
Lacks valves (except Contains valves that allow Lacks valves
semilunar valves in the blood flow in one direction
aorta and pulmonary towards the heart
artery)
Carries oxygenated blood Carries deoxygenated As the capillaries are much
except the pulmonary blood, except the thinner so the artery
artery pulmonary vein becomes arterioles and
the veins become venules
when they need to
exchange substances with
the cells
Contains blood at high Contain blood at low Pressure is lower than in
pressure pressure arteries and higher than in
veins
b) The Heart: This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels and this causes blood to
flow round the body. It is four chambered.
 COMPOSITION OF BLOOD
Blood is the liquid tissue that serves as the transport medium of the body and it consist of
Blood cells or corpuscles and a watery liquid containing food molecules called plasma.

(A) Plasma: It is a pale yellow liquid which is largely made-up of 90% water and many
dissolved substances like proteins, waste materials, digested food, gases, hormones and
salts.

(B) Blood cells: There are three blood cells and each performs different functions. They
include:
1) Red blood cells: are bi-concave, flat and circular cells without a nucleus in the mature cells.
The cells contain oxygen-carrying, red pigment hemoglobin which is responsible for the color of
the cells. They are formed in the bone marrow of adults. The red blood cells are called the
erythrocytes.

Function: They transport oxygen from the lungs to the body cells.
2) White blood cells: are larger than red blood cells and are nucleated. They are formed in
lymph nodes and bone marrow. White blood cells are called leucocytes and these leucocytes
defend the body by engulfing invaders (these are called phagocytes and the process is
phagocytosis) and by producing antibodies which neutralize toxins (these cells are called the
lymphocytes) (T lymphocytes are produced in the thymus and B lymphocytes are produced in
the bone marrow).

Function: They defend the body against diseases by getting rid of foreign bodies.

3) Platelets: These are irregular, non-nucleated and tiny cell fragments formed in large bone
marrow cells. These cells that aid blood clotting when an injury occurs. These are also called
thrombocytes.

Function: They prevent excessive loss of blood by the formation of the blood clot when there is
a cut. This is known as clotting.

TRANSPORT SYSTEM HOMEWORK

Multiple choice questions.

1. The loss of water by evaporation to the atmosphere through the stomata of the leaf is
known as

a. Transpiration
b. Translocation
c. Evaporation
d. Emission
2. The movement of substances (food and water) to the various parts of the plants is known
as

a. Transpiration
b. Translocation
c. Evaporation
d. Emission

3. Medium of transportation of materials in lower unicellular organism such as amoeba and

paramecium is

a. Cytoplasm
b. Cell sap or latex
c. Blood
d. Lymph
4. Medium for transportation of materials in plant is

a. Cytoplasm
b. Cell sap or latex
c. Blood
d. Lymph

5. Medium of transportation of materials in most animals especially vertebrates.

a. Cytoplasm
b. Cell sap or latex
c. Blood
d. Lymph
6. Another name for platelet is

a. Thrombocyte
b. Leucocyte
c. Plasma
d. Erythrocyte

7. Another name for white blood cell is

a. Thrombocyte
b. Leucocyte
c. Plasma
d. Erythrocyte
8. Another name for red blood cell is
a. Thrombocyte
b. Leucocycte
c. Plasma
d. Erythrocycyte

Theory

1. Define transport system

2. State 4 needs for transport system
3. List 5 materials for transport in both plants and animals
4. Explain three media for transportation of materials
5. Explain the mechanism of transportation in unicellular organism and Simple
multicellular organism
6. In a tabular form, give 3 differences between the 3 blood cells
7. How does transportation occur in man?