Topic 1 - Lifestyle, Health and Risk Flashcards
What is an open circulatory system?
One where blood is not contained in closed blood vessels
What is a closed circulatory system?
One where blood is contained within blood vessels
Why do larger organisms require a mass transport system?
Their SA:vol ratio is much smaller and therefore diffusion cannot be effective. A transport system is used to facilitate mass flow of substances (heart and circulatory system)
What is mass transport?
The bulk movement of liquids/gases in one direction
What is mass flow?
The movement of fluid down a pressure gradient
What does mass transport help to do?
- maintain diffusion gradients
- ensure effective cell activity
- bring substances quickly
What properties does water have that make it cohesive and a solvent?
Water has unevenly shared electrons in a covalent bond, creating a dipole - this means that hydrogen bonds can form between the negative and positive dipoles of water molecules
What is cohesion and adhesion and why is it important that water has these 2 properties in transport?
Cohesion - attraction of water molecules to each other
Adhesion - attraction of water molecules to other molecules
This means that water flows easily
How is water a solvent and why is this important in transport?
Water molecules can surround charged particles and cause them to break up
This dissolves them for efficient transport
What is a single circulatory system?
A simple loop in which blood flows
What is a double circulatory system?
Where the blood passes through the heart twice for each complete circuit of the body
What are the features of arteries?
Narrow lumen, thicker walls, more collagen, smooth muscles and elastic fibres, no valves
How does the structure of arteries relate to their function?
Elastic fibres for elastic recoil to maintain pressure, smooth muscle to contract, narrow lumen to maintain high blood pressure, collagen to avoid rupture/damage, smooth endothelial wall to reduce friction
What are the features of veins?
Wide lumen, thinner walls, less collagen and smooth muscle, fewer elastic fibres, valves
How does the structure of veins relate to their function?
Little elastic fibres/muscle as blood is under lower pressure, wider lumen due to low pressure, valves prevent the backflow of blood, body muscles around veins contract to move blood
What are the features of capillaries?
No muscle, wall made of 1 cell thick endothelium, small lumen, no valves
How does the structure of capillaries relate to their function?
One cell thick to reduce diffusion distance, narrow lumen (one cell wide) to force red blood cells to slow down for diffusion
Why do double circulatory systems enable mammals to carry out effective gas exchange?
- One side of heart pumps blood to lungs, the other to the body
- separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
- maintained concentration gradient
- transport system for mass flow, supplying O2 to cells
- need a good supply of oxygen as mammals are very active
What is the cardiac cycle?
The series of events that take place within one heartbeat
What happens to pressure when volume increases/decreases within a chamber of the heart?
Volume increase = pressure decrease
Volume decrease = pressure increase
When do valves open/close in the heart?
Valves open when the pressure of the blood behind them is greater than the pressure in front of them
Valves close when the pressure behind them is less than the pressure in front of them
What happens during atrial systole?
Atria contract (volume decrease, pressure increase) Atrioventricular valves forced open Blood forced into ventricles
What happens during ventricular systole?
The ventricles contract (volume decrease, pressure increase)
AV valves shut, semi-lunar valves open
Blood forces into arteries and out of heart
What happens during diastole?
Atria and ventricles relax
Atria continue to fill with blood
Blood flows passively into the ventricles
How do pressure differences in the heart ensure efficient pumping of the blood into the arteries?
- greater pressure in ventricles than atria
- this causes AV valves to shut
- the semi lunar valves are then forced open and blood is pushed into arteries
Why is there a difference in thickness between the right atrium wall and right ventricle wall?
The right atrium wall is thinner because of the higher blood pressure required in the ventricles. The right atrium only pumps blood to the ventricle but the ventricle pumps blood to the lungs (pulmonary artery)
Why is the left ventricle wall thicker than the right ventricle wall?
It has to pump blood further around the body, and therefore has to withstand higher pressure
What is atherosclerosis?
The hardening of the arteries due to damage of the endothelium of an artery
How does atherosclerosis develop?
Endothelial layer of artery is damaged, this leads to an inflammatory response from WBCS.
The WBCs entering leads to other chemicals gathering, mainly cholesterol which accumulates to form an atheroma.
Calcium salts and fibrous tissue build up the deposit and a hard plaque forms. The artery narrows, blood pressure rises and a positive feedback loop is established.
What is the consequence of atherosclerosis on an artery?
Reduced elasticity, increased blood pressure due to abnormal/reduced blood flow
What happens in the clotting cascade?
Damaged blood vessel releases protein thromboplastin. Calcium ions from plasma and thromboplastin trigger conversion of soluble promthrombin protein into enzyme thrombin.
Thrombin catalyses conversion of soluble protein fibrinogen to insoluble protein fibrin. Fibrin fibres mesh and tangle together, trapping platelets and RBCs - a blood clot is formed.
How can atheromas increase the risk of blood clotting?
The plaque deposit from atheromas can rupture through the endothelium, triggering thrombosis
What can blood clotting lead to?
Heart attacks
Strokes
How does blood clotting lead to heart attacks?
Atheromas and blood clots in coronary arteries restrict blood flow to areas of the heart. This means the cardiac cells receive less oxygen and the cells cannot produce ATP or perform respiration, meaning they may die.
This leads to a heart attack, which may be fatal
How can the location of an atheroma result in the position and size of dead heart muscle?
Area of dead heart muscle is the region normally supplied by the blocked artery. The artery normally provides the cells with glucose/oxygen, so the cells will be unable to respire and therefore die.
If the atheroma is located near the end of an artery, a much smaller region will be impacted.
How can a blood clot in an artery leading to the brain cause a stroke?
Reduced blood flow due to clot means oxygen/glucose will not reach cells in brain. Therefore there is no aerobic respiration and no ATP produced. The brain needs lots of ATP to function, so lactic acid is produced from anaerobic respiration which inhibits enzymes and is toxic
What is a platelet?
A cell fragment that releases thromboplastin
What is fibrinogen?
A soluble plasma protein
What is cardiovascular disease?
A general term for conditions affecting the heart and blood vessels. It is usually associated with atherosclerosis and thrombosis
What are risk factors?
Factors leading to an increased chance of disease