Unit 2.2 The Circulatory System Flashcards
What is the circulatory system?
The circulatory system (also referred to as the cardiovascular system) is the transport system of the body by which food, oxygen, water and other essential nutrients are carried to the cells and waste products such as urea and carbon dioxide are carried away.
What are the 3 essential parts of the circulatory system?
1) The blood - a liquid containing suspended cells which carries substances around the body.
2) The heart - a muscular pump which provides the force needed to move the blood to the lungs and pick up oxygen and around the body.
3) The blood vessels - the tubes through which the blood travels to, through and from the tissues.
What is the blood?
Blood as both liquid and solid components and is actually a complex tissue in which living blood cells are suspended in non-living fluid matriculates called plasma.
How much blood does an average adult have in their body?
Between 3 - 5 litres.
What are the main constituents of blood?
The plasma which makes up about 55% of blood volume.
The RBCs which make up about 44% of the volume
The remaining 1% consists of WBCs inc leukocytes and lymphocytes and platelets.
Where does the red colour of blood come from?
The red colour comes from the pigment haemoglobin found in the red blood cells.
Why does circulating blood appear bright red in the arteries?
Circulating blood appears bright red in the arteries because in the arterial system the haemoglobin is fully oxygenated and oxyhemoglobin is bright red.
What happens to oxyhemoglobin during its passage through the body?
During its passage through the body, oxyhemoglobin gives up this oxygen to the tissues leaving more purplish red blood in the veins of the body.
What is plasma?
Plasma is the fluid portion of the blood and is a clear, straw coloured watery fluid similar to the liquid you see in a blister.
What components is the plasma made from?
- Water
- Proteins
- Salts
- Urea
- Glucose
Other substances inc. vitamins, enzymes, antibodies, and antitoxins are also carried around the body in the plasma.
What does the water component of the plasma do?
Many of the substances carried in plasma are dissolved in water. It replenishes the intercellular fluid which bathes all the body cells and renders the intracellular fluid (fluid within cells) Up to 90% of the plasma is water.
Where are many of the plasma proteins made?
In the liver.
What are the plasma proteins albumin and globulin responsible for?
For maintaining the osmotic press of blood, preventing excess fluid loss into the tissues
What is the plasma proteins responsible for blood clots called and what is the plasma called without this protein?
Figrinogen is essential for when the blood clots. Plasma with the fibrinogen removed is called serum - the is the clearest fluid that leads out when a clot is formed.
What are the salts found primarily in the plasma?
Chlorides, sulphates and phosphates of sodium, potassium and calcium.
What do the salts do?
They help to maintain the pH of the body, neutralising acids or alkalis taken into or formed within the body, thus keeping the blood and body tissues at a slightly alkaline pH of about 7.4
What is Urea?
Urea is a waste product of protein metabolism in the liver, where amino acid are broken down (metabolised). It is transported along with other waste products to be removed from the body (excreted) by the kidneys.
What is glucose?
Glucose is a simple sugar, a product of carbohydrate digestion and is used in cellular respiration in all cells. it is transported along with other digested food products such as amino acids from the gastro-intestinal tracts to all parts of the body.
How many types of blood cells are there?
There are essentially 3 types of blood cells.
What are Red Blood Cell also called?
Erythrocytes or red corpuscles
What are RBCs?
They are bi-concave discs which do not have a nucleus - packed full of haemoglobin
How many RBCs are there per mm cubed of blood?
5,000,000
How do RBCs develop?
The RBCs develop in the bone marrow, they are formed from stem cells and then under the influence of B12, vit C, cobalt, copper and folic acid they mature so they can be released into the bloodstream. During this process they build up haemoglobin and lose their nucleus and other organelles
What is haemoglobin? what does it do?
Haemoglobin is an iron-containing protein that transports most of the oxygen that is contained within the blood. Haemoglobin absorbs oxygen from the lungs and releases it to tissues.