Chapter 7 - The Transport System Flashcards
What process helps oxygen spread through simpler animals?
Diffusion, it carries oxygen to any part of the cytoplasm which needs it.
Do simple animals possess specialised systems for the transport and distribution of materials?
No, due to the fact that they posses a large surface area to volume ratio meaning that no part of the cytoplasm is far away from the absorbing surface.
Why is diffusion unpractical for larger and more complex animals?
As organisms increase in size and complexity so do the quantity of materials moving in and out of the body increases.
The distance the materials have to travel within the body also increases, meaning that diffusion becomes inadequate.
What do larger organisms use in order to absorb oxygen?
They use a respiratory organ and a circulatory system is involved.
What’s the blood circulatory systems role in the body?
It carries oxygen rapidly from lungs/gills to all parts of the body.
It also carries dissolved food and excretory products to or from specialised organs to other parts of the body.
The circulatory system carries what, to where?
Blood carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues, and Corbin dioxide from the tissues to the lungs.
Give 2 examples of animals that lack a transport system.
Jellyfish and anemone.
Both are in close contact with their surroundings.
Animals with a small surface area to volume ratio need a transport system. True or false?
True!
Body fluids consist of 3 components. Name them below.
Blood, Tissue fluid and Lymph.
How many litres of blood does an adult have?
5-6 litres of blood.
Blood is made up of 2 components. State them.
Liquid part (plasma 55%) Cellular part (45%)
The cellular blood is divided into 3 types of cells. Name them.
Erythrocytes - Red blood cells (44%)
Leucocytes - White blood cells (1%)
Thrombocytes - Platelets (1%)
What is plasmas characteristics?
It’s a pale yellow coloured liquid.
Sticky to touch.
Made up of 90% water and 10% dissolved substances.
What are the dissolved substances found within the plasma?
Mineral salts (Na, K, Mg, Ca) Digested foods (glucose, amino acids) Excretory substances (urea) Hormones (testosterone) Plasma proteins (albumen, fibrinogen, globulin)
What does the plasma protein albumin do?
It makes blood sticky, similar to egg whites.
What does the plasma protein fibrinogen do?
It’s important for the process of blood clotting.
What are the functions of the plasma?
It transports all materials in the blood.
Plasma also forms tissue fluid and lymph.
What are erythrocytes?
Red blood cells.
Are red blood cells extremely numerous in blood?
Yes.
What is the site of production of erythrocytes?
The soft tissue found in between bones, called the red bone marrow.
This tissue can be found in the skull, vertebra, sternum and ribs.
What is the life span of a red blood cell?
4 months.
This is because they are pumped at very high speed from the heart and they die due to friction and when trying to escape through capillaries which are even thinner than red blood cells, squeezing them
What pigment is found in dead reed blood cells?
Haemoglobin which is made up of iron and protein.
What does the liver do with the haemoglobin?
It removes the iron part and stores it.
The remaining proteins help produce bile (important for emulsification)
What is the structure if the red blood cells?
They are described are being small non-nucleated bi-concave disks.
Rather compressed from both sides, hence the concave.
What’s erythrocytes main function?
Their main function is to carry oxygen through the body.
How are red blood cells adapted for their functions?
They have a large surface area for more O2 absorption.
They are thin and small so that many can fit into one capillary.
They have an elastic membrane to pass from one capillary to another.
Have no nucleus and therefore have more space for haemoglobin.
How would a person living at high altitudes differ from a person living in normal altitude?
People who live in higher altitudes have less oxygen present, therefor have much more red blood cells to compensate.
What are leukocytes?
White blood cells.
Which are bigger, red blood cells of white blood cells?
White blood cells are much bigger.
What are leukocytes involved in?
The body’s immune system.
Where is the leukocytes site of production?
Red bone marrow. Same as red blood cells.
Where do white blood cells undergo a maturation process?
In the thymus gland, spleen or lymph nodes.
Lymph glands are found in the arm pits, in the neck and in the groin
Do leukocytes possess a nucleus?
Yes, unlike red blood cells.
How many types of white blood cells are there?
5 types.
What is the main function of leukocytes?
To fight diseases.
The difference between each type is how they fight.
What are thrombocytes?
Platelets.
How big are platelets?
They are the smallest cells in the blood.
What is the site of production for thrombocytes?
They are formed in special bone marrow cells called megakaryocytes.
What is the function of platelets?
Their main function is to clot blood at wounds.
Why is clotting blood important?
This helps to stop the bleeding and prevent any further entry of bacteria.
How do thrombocytes initiate their process?
When they encounter an irregular surface, such as a wound they get to work.
What the 3 major functions of blood?
Transport, defence and homeostasis.
Why is blood needed as an essential aspect of transportation?
In other for substances such as glucose to be transported into the cell, and substances such as carbon dioxide to be taken away; a medium is needed.
Blood is this medium.
Red blood cells carry 2 substances in order to form another substance. Name them.
Red blood cells carry oxygen and haemoglobin in order to produce oxyhemoglobin, which is a very unstable compound.
This reaction is reversible.
When cells respire, what do they produce?
Carbon dioxide.
Once this carbon dioxide is picked up by red blood cells, what does it do with it?
Red blood cells have an enzyme which combines with carbon dioxide with water to produce carbonic acid.
What happens to carbonic acid in the alveoli?
It is broken down and carbons dioxide is exhaled.
Only some of the water is exhaled however.
What is anaemia?
A condition that is associated with red blood cells, in which the oxygen carrying capacity of blood is reduced either by:
Because few red blood cells are present.
The haemoglobin is defective.
Anaemia shares certain symptoms with 2 other disease, which are they?
Malaria and leukaemia.
What can be done to improve anaemia?
Either by taking iron tablets or food rich in iron such as vegetables.
What are the symptoms of anaemia?
Weak, tired and pale.
From where do we receive oxygen? Furthermore, to where does it go?
We receive oxygen from the alveoli and lungs.
It goes to tissues, all cells in the body, in the form of oxyhemoglobin.
From where do we receive carbon dioxide? Where is it transported to?
It is given from tissues, all cells within the body.
It goes to alveoli in lungs be means of haemoglobin and in the form of hydrogen carbonate ions in the plasma.
Where is food digested such as glucose and amino acids? Where do these substances end up?
Food is digested in the ileum of the small intestine.
Glucose is given to the respiring tissues and liver in the plasma.
Amino acids and vitamins are given to the liver and body tissues in plasma.