Key Area 6 - Transport Systems In Animals Flashcards
What is blood composed of?
Red blood cells
White blood cells
Platelets (aids in blood clotting)
Plasma (watery, straw-coloured fluid)
What is plasma and what is it made of?
It makes up just more than half of the blood and carries dissolved substances around the body. It’s made up of:
Proteins, e.g. antibodies
Soluble end products of digestion (glucose and amino acids)
Gases such as carbon dioxide
In mammals, what is transported around the body in the blood?
Nutrients, carbon dioxide and oxygen
How are red blood cells structure related to their function?
Red blood cells are specialised with a biconcave shape, giving an increased surface area for maximum gas exchange; have no nucleus and contain haemoglobin, which gives maximum room to transport oxygen in the form of oxyhaemoglobin
What is the function of white blood cells?
They are a part of the immune system and are involved in destroying pathogens
What are the two main types of cells involved in destroying pathogens and what are their functions?
- Phagocytes which carry out phagocytosis by engulfing pathogens
- Lymphocytes which produce antibodies to destroy pathogens
Why is each antibody specific to a particular pathogen?
As they have complementary active sites which are specific to each other
Give the structure and function of the mammalian heart including the:
- right and left atriums
- right and left ventricles
Right and left atriums - receive blood into the heart
Right ventricle - only pumps blood to the lungs
Left ventricle - has a thicker muscular wall than the right ventricle, as it pumps blood all around the body
Describe the pathways of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood through the heart, lungs and rest of the body!
Deoxygenated blood from all parts of the body is brought to the right atrium by the vena cava, it passes into the right ventricle and is carried away by the pulmonary artery. This blood becomes oxygenated in the lungs and returns to the heart through the pulmonary veins and enters the left atrium and into left ventricle, then leaves the heart through the aorta to be pumped around the body
What is the function of valves?
To prevent the back flow of blood
What are the two types of valves in the heart (4 valves 2 of each type) and where are they located?
- Atrioventricular valves are between the atriums and their corresponding ventricles
- Semilunar valves are for the blood leaving the heart from each ventricle
What are the coronary arteries and their function?
They supply the heart muscle cells with food and oxygen. Carbon dioxide and other waste are removed from the muscle cells by the coronary veins
What is the structure and function of arteries?
- They have thick muscular elastic walls to withstand the high pressure of blood coming from the heart and to allow for the expansion and contraction if the vessel each time the heart pumps
- Narrow central channel
- Blood flows away from the heart in the arteries, and they carry oxygenated blood with the exception of the pulmonary artery
What is the structure and function of veins?
- Thinner muscular walls, as blood is flowing at a lower pressure
- Wide central channel to reduce resistance of the flow of blood
- Have valves to prevent backflow of blood
- Veins carry deoxygenated blood with the exception of the pulmonary vein
What is the structure and function of capillaries?
- Tiny thin walled blood vessels
- All exchanges of materials between blood and living tissues takes place through their thin walls
- They form networks, forming a large surface area for exchange of materials
