The Circulatory System
2023/24
What is blood circulation?
Is also called the cardiovascular system or the vascular
system, is an organ system that permits blood to
circulate and transport nutrients (such as amino acids
and electrolytes), oxygen, carbon dioxide, hormones, and
blood cells to and from the cells in the body to provide
nourishment and help in fighting diseases, stabilize
temperature and pH, and maintain homeostasis.
The circulatory system includes the
-heart
-blood and
- blood vessels
The main function is to transport substances such as -
oxygen
- food
- nutrients and
- wastes(excretory ones )
While humans, as well as other vertebrates, have a
closed cardiovascular system (meaning that the blood
never leaves the network of arteries, veins, and
capillaries), some invertebrate groups have an open
cardiovascular system. The lymphatic system, on the
other hand, is an open system providing an accessory
route for excess interstitial fluid to be returned to the
blood. The more primitive, diploblastic animal phyla lack
circulatory systems.
The circulatory system in humans consists of blood
vessels that carry the blood through - arteries
- Veins and
-capillaries
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Heart
What it looks like
Your heart is about the same size as a pear. It sits
behind your ribs on the left side of your body just next to
your sternum.
It has four parts, the left ventricle (say ven-trik-ul) and
the right ventricle which are both at the bottom of the
heart, and the left atrium (say ay-tree-um) and the right
atrium at the top. A wall of muscle called the septum
separates them.
The heart is two pumps joined together.
The right side of the heart gets the blood after it has
taken oxygen round the body and sends it back to the
lungs for some more [Link] blood is a bright red
color. This blood is carrying carbon dioxide (say car-bon
dye-ox-eye-d), which gets breathed out when it reaches
the lungs. This blood looks a darker red colour. The
diagram shows it as blue, but the blood is still a red
colour even after the oxygen has passed out of the blood
into the rest of the body.
So the main job of the heart is to pump blood to every
part of the body. The blood carries oxygen and all the
food, vitamins and minerals that your body needs to
move, think, grow and repair itself. At the same time the
blood picks up stuff that your body doesn't need and
takes it to those parts of your body that get rid of waste
(your lungs, kidneys and liver).
Your blood is pumped all around your body and gets
back to your heart in about a minute.
Love your heart
If your heart is healthy it will be able to work for a very
long time. It is up to you to keep your heart healthy.
Your heart will like it if you:
Exercise every day
You need to exercise your heart by making it work harder
for at least 30 minutes a day. Topics on 'Fitness' and
'Exercise' will show you how.
exercising
healthy heart
Eat a healthy diet.
Too much fatty food will block up the arteries with fat
and your heart will have to work harder and harder just
to do its regular job of pumping blood round your body.
See our topics in the 'Your food' category to learn about
the foods your body needs and what your heart likes.
Drink lots of water every day rather than fizzy drinks.
Spend less time sitting still. Take a break while watching
TV, playing computer games or doing your homework.
Get up from your seat and move around.
heart Make good choices as you grow older. You can
choose not to smoke, not to take illegal drugs and not to
drink too much alcohol.
Your heart will love you for it!
Heart-y sayings
Have you thought about all the sayings we have about
the heart?
Here's a list that some kids came up with.
love heartsI love you with all my heart.
She has broken my heart.
He died of a broken heart.
He wore his heart on his sleeve.
She was heartsick.
I give you my heart.
His heart leaped into his throat.
Her heart missed a beat.
You have my heartfelt thanks.
Can you think of any more?
I guess that over the years people have noticed that when
you have a powerful feeling like fear, anger or excitement,
the heart beats faster and so maybe they thought that
the heart was where all the strong feelings hang out.
You can feel your heart beat by checking your pulse. Our
topic 'Exercise - check your pulse' will tell you how.
The changes in the heart and blood vessels that cause
heart attacks in adults are now starting in many more
children and young people. They won't have a heart
attack while they are kids, but some of the damage is
done then.
Keep your heart healthy by eating healthy food,
exercising, getting plenty of sleep, and having fun!
About one in one hundred children have some sort of
heart problem, usually something they were born with.
For a few, their problem may be very serious and some
will have needed an operation when they were very
young.
What is a heart murmur?
When your heart is working normally it sounds quiet and
smooth.
It's like a tap that is turned on enough for the water to
flow quietly and smoothly. If you turn the tap onto full
then the water becomes more turbulent (mixed up) and
the sound gets louder.
A heart murmur in young children can happen when the
heart beats quite fast. This can happen when a child has
a fever or after exercise. The blood flow gets faster and
noisier.
This is not a health problem.
A heart murmur can be a sign of a health problem when
there is a hole between two parts of the heart and the
blood is coming from two directions at once, mixing
together and causing turbulence and your doctor can
hear it.
This type of heart murmur may be a problem. It depends
on how much blood is going in the wrong direction.
There may need to be an operation to block off the hole
as the blood may not be able to pick up enough oxygen
from the lungs to take it all around the body.
This can mean that kids get tired easily and may not be
able to do sport or exercise. It can also sometimes mean
that the body cannot grow tall and strong.
If you have a heart murmur and the doctor doesn't think
that there is a problem then don't worry about it.
It shouldn't stop you from doing anything.
So, get out there and start joining in. Your heart needs
exercise.
heart.
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The heart and double circulation
The human circulatory system is a double circulatory
system. It has two separate circuits and blood passes
through the heart twice.
The heart is really doing two separate pumps joined
together.
One pump pushes the blood into the lungs, in the lungs,
oxygen diffuses into the blood through the thin capillary
walls and carbon dioxide diffuses out of the blood. The
oxygenated blood is pumped from the Lungs to the left
side of the heart
The other pump takes the oxygenated blood and pumps
it, under pressure, to the other parts of the body through
the arteries.
All arteries carry oxygenated blood to the body organs
except for the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery
carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs
where the blood is oxygenated.
Heart Diseases
You know how important your heart is, so it's no wonder
people worry when they hear someone has heart
problems.
Heart disease, also called cardiovascular (say: kar-dee-
oh-VAS-kyoo-lur) disease, mainly affects older people and
means that there are problems with the heart and blood
vessels.
You might know someone who has cardiovascular
disease.
This disease includes a variety of problems, including
-high blood pressure,
-hardening of the arteries,
-chest pain,
- heart attacks, and
-strokes.
• Arteriosclerosis; also called hardening of the arteries,
arteriosclerosis means the arteries become thickened and
are no longer as flexible.
• Atherosclerosis; is also a buildup of cholesterol and fat
that makes the arteries narrower so less blood can flow
through. Those buildups are called plaque.
• Angina (say: an-JY-nuh): people with angina feel a pain
in the chest that means the heart isn't getting enough
blood.
Blood
Blood
What is blood?
Blood is a read liquid that flows around the body in blood
vessels. Blood is made up of liquid (plasma) and various
different types of cells. An average-sized man has about
5-6 liters of blood in his body; a woman has slightly less.
Blood has many different functions.
Facts about the human heart
A human heart is roughly the size of a large fist.
The heart weighs between about 10 to 12 ounces (280 to
340 grams) in men and 8 to 10 ounces (230 to 280
grams) in women.
The heart beats about 100,000 times per day (about 3
billion beats in a lifetime).
An adult heart beats about 60 to 80 times per minute.
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Heart beat and pulse
The adult human heart beats about 70x/minute at rest.
The number of beats can be higher or lower than this
figure depending on factors like age, fitness and how
active they are.
If we feel anxious or scared, our heart beats faster. Each
time the heart beats, the heart muscle contracts and
relaxes. The pulse is different to the heart beat when the
ventricles contract, the blood is forced into the arteries.
This makes the arteries expand. This makes the arteries
expand a little as the blood is pushed into them.
The elastic wall of arteries then contracts until the next
heart beat forces more blood into them. When you take
your pulse, you are feeling the expansion of your arteries
walls, followed by its contraction. This occurs every
heartbeat. The easiest place to feel your pulse is your
wrist.
We can use a person’s pulse rate as an indicator of how
fit they are. The lower the pulse at rest and after
exercise, the fitter the person is.
Circulatory systems of other animals
Many vertebrates have a similar circulatory system to
ours. (look on page 6 of your learners book).
Fish, frog, and birds
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The respairatory system
The respiratory system is the network of organs and
tissues that help you breathe. It includes your airways,
lungs and blood vessels. The muscles that power your
lungs are also part of the respiratory system. These parts
work together to move oxygen throughout the body and
clean out waste gases like carbon dioxide.
What does the respiratory system do?
The respiratory system has many functions. Besides
helping you inhale (breathe in) and exhale (breathe out),
it:
Allows you to talk and to smell.
Warms air to match your body temperature and
moisturizes it to the humidity level your body needs.
Delivers oxygen to the cells in your body.
Removes waste gases, including carbon dioxide, from the
body when you exhale.
Protects your airways from harmful substances and
irritants.
What are the parts of the respiratory system?
The respiratory system has many different parts that
work together to help you breathe. Each group of parts
has many separate components.
Your airways deliver air to your lungs. Your airways are a
complicated system that includes your:
Mouth and nose: Openings that pull air from outside
your body into your respiratory system.
Sinuses: Hollow areas between the bones in your head
that help regulate the temperature and humidity of the
air you inhale.
Pharynx (throat): Tube that delivers air from your mouth
and nose to the trachea (windpipe).
Trachea: Passage connecting your throat and lungs.
Bronchial tubes: Tubes at the bottom of your windpipe
that connect into each lung.
Lungs: Two organs that remove oxygen from the air and
pass it into your blood.
From your lungs, your bloodstream delivers oxygen to all
your organs and other tissues.
Muscles and bones help move the air you inhale into and
out of your lungs. Some of the bones and muscles in the
respiratory system include your:
Diaphragm: Muscle that helps your lungs pull in air and
push it out.
Ribs: Bones that surround and protect your lungs and
heart.
When you breathe out, your blood carries carbon dioxide
and other waste out of the body. Other components that
work with the lungs and blood vessels include:
Alveoli: Tiny air sacs in the lungs where the exchange of
oxygen and carbon dioxide takes place.
Bronchioles: Small branches of the bronchial tubes that
lead to the alveoli.
Capillaries: Blood vessels in the alveoli walls that move
oxygen and carbon dioxide.
Lung lobes: Sections of the lungs — three lobes in the
right lung and two in the left lung.
Pleura: Thin sacs that surround each lung lobe and
separate your lungs from the chest wall.
Some of the other components of your respiratory system
include:
Cilia: Tiny hairs that move in a wave-like motion to filter
dust and other irritants out of your airways.
Epiglottis: Tissue flap at the entrance to the trachea that
closes when you swallow to keep food and liquids out of
your airway.
Larynx (voice box): Hollow organ that allows you to talk
and make sounds when air moves in and out.
What conditions affect the respiratory system?
Many conditions can affect the organs and tissues that
make up the respiratory system. Some develop due to
irritants you breathe in from the air, including viruses or
bacteria that cause infection. Others occur as a result of
disease or getting older.
Conditions that can cause inflammation (swelling,
irritation and pain) or otherwise affect the respiratory
system include:
Allergies: Inhaling proteins, such as dust, mold, and
pollen, can cause respiratory allergies in some people.
These proteins can cause inflammation in your airways.
Asthma: A chronic (long-term) disorder, asthma causes
inflammation in the airways that can make breathing
difficult.
Infection: Infections can lead to pneumonia
(inflammation of the lungs) or bronchitis (inflammation of
the bronchial tubes). Common respiratory infections
include the flu (influenza) or a cold.
Disease: Respiratory disorders include lung cancer and
chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD). These
illnesses can harm the respiratory system’s ability to
deliver oxygen throughout the body and filter out waste
gases.
Aging: Lung capacity decreases as you get older.
Damage: Damage to the respiratory system can cause
breathing problems.
How can I keep my respiratory system healthy?
Being able to clear mucus out of the lungs and airways is
important for respiratory health.
To keep your respiratory system healthy, you should:
Avoid pollutants that can damage your airways,
including second hand smoke, chemicals and radon (a
radioactive gas that can cause cancer). Wear a mask if
you are exposed to fumes, dust or other types of
pollutants for any reason.
Don't smoke.
Eat a healthy diet with lots of fruits and vegetables and
drink water to stay hydrated
Exercise regularly to keep your lungs healthy.
Prevent infections by washing your hands often and
getting a flu vaccine each year.
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