B8 - Transport in animals Flashcards
Why do animals need specialised transport systems?
- high metabolic demands (require lots of oxygen/produce lots of waste products)
- small SA:V ratio (SA available for absorption/removal decreases)
- larger size (increase in diffusion distance, which decreases rate of diffusion/its efficiency)
What are the features of a circulatory system?
- liquid as a transport medium that circulates around the system
- blood vessels that carry the transport medium
- pumping mechanism that moves the fluid around the system
What are the different types of circulatory systems?
- single (closed):
- blood flows through the heart and is pumped out to travel around the body, then returns to the heart
- (blood passes through two sets of capillaries)
- double (closed):
- blood travels through the heart twice for each circuit of the body
- (each circuit passes through one capillary network)
- open:
- very few vessels that contain the transport medium
- it comes into direct contact with the tissues/cells
- closed:
- blood is enclosed in blood vessels and does not come into direct contact with cells
- the blood is pumped around under pressure
What is the open circulatory system? (insects)
- very few vessels to contain the transport medium
- pumped straight from the heart to the body cavity
- open body cavity = haemocoel
- transport medium is under low pressure
- comes into direct contact with the tissues and cells
- where exchange takes place between the transport medium and cells
- where exchange takes place between the transport medium and cells
- found in insects and other invertebrates
- insect blood = haemolymph
- does not carry CO2 or O2 (transports food/nitrogenous waste/cells involved in disease defence)
- membrane splits body cavity
- heart extends along thorax and abdomen
- ** steep diffusion cannot be maintained and amount of haemolymph cannot be varied **
What is the closed circulatory system?
- blood is pumped and enclosed within blood vessels
What is the single closed circulatory system?
- blood passes through the heart once in each complete circulation, and is transported within blood vessels
What is the double closed circulatory system?
- blood is pumped through the heart twice for each circuit of the body
- blood is enclosed within blood vessels
What are some components of blood vessels?
- elastic fibres:
- composed of elastin
- allows vessel to stretch and recoil (flexibility)
- smooth muscle:
- contracts/relaxes
- changes the size of the lumen
- collagen:
- provides structural support
- maintains shape/volume of vessel
What are arteries?
- carry blood away from the heart to the body tissues
- carries oxygenated blood
- except the pulmonary/umbilical artery (carry deoxygenated blood from heart to lungs)
- blood is under higher pressure
What are artery walls made of?
- elastic fibres (inner layer):
- helps to withstand the force of blood pumped away from heart
- allows them to stretch and increase blood volume
- they recoil and return to original size (evens out surges of blood)
- generates blood pressure with the stretching and recoiling
- smooth muscle (middle layer)
- collagen (outer layer):
- provides strength to withstand the high pressure
- endothelium - smooth layer which allows blood to easily flow over it
What is the structure of arteries?
- small lumen to maintain high pressure as the blood is transported around the body
What are arterioles?
- they are vessels that link the arteries and the capillaries
What are arterioles made of?
-
less elastin:
- they have little pulse surge (do not need to eliminate)
-
more smooth muscle:
- allows the walls to constrict/dilate to control flow of blood into certain organs
What is vasoconstriction?
- when the smooth muscle of the arteriole wall constricts and prevents the flow of blood into a capillary bed
What is vasodilation?
- when the smooth muscle of the arteriole wall relaxes and allows blood to flow into the capillary bed
What are capillaries?
- they are microscopic vessels that link the arterioles with the venules
- form an extensive network through all the tissues of the body
What is the structure of capillaries?
- small lumen:
- red blood cells have to travel in single file
- large enough gaps between endothelial cells (wall):
- where substances pass out into the fluid
- ** except the capillaries in the central nervous system (tight junctions) **
How are capillaries adapted to their function?
- thin wall (one cell thick):
- allows for short diffusion distance
- substances can be exchanged through the capillary walls between the tissue cells/blood
- large SA:
- helps for efficient diffusion of substances into and out of the blood
- greater cross-sectional area:
- rate of blood flow falls
- the relatively slow movement allows for enough time for exchange of substances
What are veins?
- they are blood vessels that carry blood away from the cells towards the heart
- carry deoxygenated blood
- except pulmonary vein (oxygenated) and umbilical vein (during pregnancy) carries ox. blood from placenta to foetus
What are vein walls made of?
- lots of collagen
- relatively less elastic fibre (pulse is absent)
- they do not need to withstand a high blood pressure
What is the structure of veins?
- larger lumen
- valves in medium-sized veins to prevent backflow
- thin lining (endothelium) allowing for easy blood flow
What are venules?
- they are blood vessels that link capillaries with veins
What are venules made of?
- very thin walls
- little smooth muscle
How does the body overcome low pressure/gravity?
- veins have one-way valves:
- close when blood flows backwards
- bigger veins run through active muscles:
- when muscles are active they squeeze the veins, forcing blood towards the heart
- valves prevent backflow when muscles relax
- breathing movements act as pump:
- pressure changes and squeezing actions move blood in chest veins towards the heart