Chapter 8 - Transport in Animals Flashcards
State 5 reasons why most animals need specialised transport systems.
- high metabolic demands - lots of oxygen and food required and lots of waste products, diffusion over long distances is not enough
- low SA:V - as orgs get bigger, diffusion distances get bigger and amount of SA available to absorb/remove substances gets smaller
- hormones/enzymes made in one place but needed in another
- food digested in one organ system then needs to be transported to every cell for respiration & other uses
- waste products need to be removed from cells and transported to excretory organs
Describe how diffusion distance, SA, volume and SA:Vol ratio vary with increasing organism size.
- diffusion distances get bigger - there will be more cells between the surface of organism and the inner cells
- SA gets larger but V grows quicker so the SA:Vol ratio decreases = slower diffusion rate & bigger diffusion distances
Describe how the level of activity of an organism is related to demand for oxygen and glucose.
- high levels of metabolic activity = more energy required
- energy is released through respiration which requires glucose and oxygen - demand will be higher
Explain how volume is related to demand and SA is related to supply
- as V increases, org get larger - made up of more cells
- these cells will require glucose and oxygen supply in order to carry out respiration to carry out vital bioprocesses
Explain why supply meeting demand requires adaptations as organisms incerase in size.
- made up of more cells that all require constant and large supply of O and removal of a lot of CO2
- metabolic rate is usually higher - more respiration needs to occur
- diffusion distances increase - not possible to supply cells deeper inside the organism through just the surface
- smaller SA:V ratio - slow diffusion and gases cant be exchanged fast enough or in large amounts
Explain why diffusion alone cannot meet the demands of most multicellular animals but state where diffusion is still necessary in these organisms.
- most MCO too large for transport of substances by diffusion - rate would be too slow due to the low SA:V ratio & large diffusion distances
- MCO are also more metabolically active so large amounts of oxygen & food need to be transported -diffusion too slow
- diffusion occurs in specialised exchange surfaces in organisms - alveoli and capillaries - other substances are transported by mass flow
Define mass flow
movement of a fluid in bulk in one direction
Define diffusion
net movement of particles from a region of higher concentration to a region of lower concentration.
Define circulatory system
transport system of an animal
Define open circulatory system
circulatory system with a heart but few vessels to contain the transport medium
Define closed circulatory system
where blood is enclosed in blood vessels and does not come directly into contact with the cells of the body beyond the blood vessels
What is haemolymph?
transport medium in insects
Describe a single circulatory system
where blood passes through the heart once in each circulation (eg. fish)
Describe a double circulatory system
blood passes through the heart twice in each circulation in two separate circuits:
- deoxygenated blood is pumped by the heart to the lungs
- oxygenated blood is pumped by the heart to the rest of the body
Describe pulmonary circulation
passage of blood from right side of the heart through arteries to lungs where it picks up oxygen and is returned to the left side of the heart by veins
Describe systemic circulation
passage of blood from left side of the heart through arteries to the capillaries in body tissues where it exchanges O for CO2 and is returned to the right side of the heart by veins
State some examples of organisms with each type of circulatory system.
- open - invertebrate animals (most insects)
- single closed - fish
- double closed - birds & most mammals
Describe the general features of circulatory systems
- liquid transport medium that circulates around the system
- vessels that carry the transport medium
- pumping mechanism to move fluid around the system
Explain why organisms need mass flow.
- it delivers oxygen and food to cells in the body a lot more rapidly than diffusion does
- large quantities of oxygen and food are able to be moved at once - large multicellular organisms are highly metabolically active
Describe the features of open circulatory systems.
- very few vessels needed to contain transport medium
- transport medium pumped from heart into the body cavity of animal
- transport medium comes into direct contact with tissues and cells (where exchange takes place) & is at low pressure
- in insects - haemolymph does not carry gases
- haemolymph does circulate but steep diffusion gradients cannot be maintained for efficient diffusion
Describe the features of closed circulatory systems and what organisms have them.
- blood is enclosed in vessels - does not come into contact with cells of the body
- heart pumps the blood at high pressure through arteries
- blood returns back to the heart through veins after the exchange at capillaries in tissues
- amount of blood flowing can be adjusted by widening/narrowing blood vessels
- most able to carry gases using haemoglobin
Describe the features of single closed circulatory
- blood travels once through the heart for each complete circulation
- blood passes thru 2 sets of capillaries before returning to heart
- first set - exchanges O2 and CO2
- second set - substances exchanged between blood and cells in diff organ systems
- blood returns to the heart slowly bc it passes thru 2 sets of very narrow vessels the pressure drops considerably - efficiency of exhange processes relatively low
Describe how the single closed circulatory system of a fish
- fish have efficient single circulatory system and can be very active bc:
- countercurrent gas exchange system in gills maintains steep conc gradient for diffusion of oxygen
- body weight supported by water & they do not maintain their own body temp - lower metabolic demands so no need for double circ
Describe the features of a double closed circulatory system and state which animals have them.
- blood travels through the heart twice per circuit
- involves two separate circulations:
- blood pumped from heart to lungs to pick up oxygen and unload CO2 and then returns to the heart
- blood flows thru the heart and is pumped out to travel around body to deliver oxygen and pick up CO2 before returning to the heart again
- each circuit passes thru one capillary network so high pressure and fast blood flow maintained - most efficient system for transporting substances
List in order the sequence of blood vessel types that blood passes thru once it leaves the heart.
artery - arteriole - capillaries - venule - vein
Define lumen
inside space of a tubular structure, such as an artery or intestine.
State the names of anatomical layers in blood vessels & what they are composed of.
- tunica intima - endothelium (thin squamous cells)
- tunica media - smooth muscle and elastic fibres
- tunica externa - connective tissue with collagen fibres
State properties and functions of endothelium in blood vessels.
- smooth – minimises friction
- thin – can be a good exchange surface if nothing else gets in the way
- there can be gaps between cells for filtration (and allowing WBCs into tissues)
State properties and function of smooth muscle tissue.
- can contract or relax - change diameter of lumen which adjusts how much blood flows down from which blood vessel & regulates blood pressure
State properties & function of elastic fibres in blood vessels.
can stretch and recoil – stretching copes with high blood pressure, recoiling maintains the blood pressure. Both stretching and recoiling result in an evening out of surges in blood flow.
State properties and function of connective tissue with collagen fibres in blood vessels.
- inelastic, flexible and high tensile strength – prevents blood vessels increasing in diameter too much when blood pressure is high.
- protects blood vessels from physical damage (e.g. rubbing against other organs).
Compare the relative proportions of elastin fibres, smooth muscle and collagen in the aorta, medium-sized arteries and arterioles.
- aorta has most elastic fibres bc blood pressure is high and pulses need evening out - pumps blood directly from heart to body
- medium arteries and arterioles have more smooth muscle tissue than aorta bc these are the blood vessels where redirecting blood flow is important
(stressed vs relaxed states, hot vs cold) vasoconstriction and vasodilation - aorta has most connective tissue with collagen to prevent aorta from widening due to high pressure and preventing from damage from rubbing against other organs because of surges of blood, medium sized arteries have less collagen because they have more smooth muscle
State the width of the aorta, medium-sized artery and arteriole
- aorta: 2.5cm
- medium-sized artery: 0.4cm
- arteriole: 30μm
Describe the structure of capillaries
- single layer of endothelial cells with gaps in between
- lumen is very small - just enough for erythrocytes to travel in single file line
Describe how capillaries are adapted for their function
- large surface area for diffusion of substances in/out of blood
- walls are single endothelial cell thick - thin layer for diffusion - small diff distance
- total cross sectional area of capillaries greater than arteriole so blood flow rate falls - blood moves more slowly giving more time for exchange of substances by diffusion
Describe how veins are adapted for their function
- function: carry low pressure deoxygenated blood (except pulm vein) to the heart
- thin walls - no need for resistance to pulse because surges from heart are lost as blood passes thru capillaries
- large lumen to allow more blood to flow with less vessel resistance because it is at low speed & pressure
Describe the function of valves in veins and explain how they work
- prevent backflow of low pressure blood
- flaps of inner lining of vein
- when blood flows in direction of the heart, the valves are open so blood can pass thru, if it flows backwards they close
Describe 3 adaptations that enable the body to return low pressure blood to the heart against gravity
- veins have one-way valves at invervals
- bigger veins run between big active muscles so when they contract they squeeze the veins forcing blood towards the heart
- breathing movements of chest cause pressure changes, squeezing actions move blood in the veins of the chest and abdomen to the heart
Compare the function of arteries, capillaries and veins
arteries: carry blood away from heart under high pressure
capillaries: carry blood slowly through tissues - allow exchange of materials with the cells
veins: carry blood back to heart under low pressure
State whether blood is oxygenated or not in arteries, capillaries and veins
arteries: oxygenated (except pulmonary artery)
capillaries: oxygenated in systemic, deoxygenated in pulmonary circulation
veins: deoxygenated (except pulmonary vein)
Compare the lumen diameter of arteries, capillaries and veins
arteries: relatively narrow
capillaries: approx. RBC thick
veins: relatively wide
Compare the wall structure of arteries, capillaries and veins
arteries: thick, endothelium, lots of elastic fibres & smooth muscle, a lot of connective tissues
capillaries: one cell thick, thin endothelial cells
veins: thin, endothelium, little smooth muscle & elastic fibres, lots of collagen
State whether the arteries, capillaries and veins have valves
arteries: no (except start of aorta & pulmonary artery)
capillaries: no
veins: yes
Describe the processes of vasoconstriction and how this affects blood flow through capillaries.
smooth muscle in arteriole contracts & constricts the vessel preventing blood flowing into a capillary bed