Module 2: Exchange and Transport

1.2.2 Transport in Animals

(a) explain the need for transport systems in multicellular animals in terms of size,
level of activity and surface area: volume ratio

Single-celled Animals Multicellular Animals

Example Paramecium
Size Small (microscopic)
Diffusion Distances Small - few layers of cells =
oxygen and nutrients can be
supplied to all the cells in the
body
Level of Activity Less active so no need for a
specialised transport system as
there's less demands for oxygen
and nutrients
Surface Area: Large SA:V ratio so no need for
Volume Ratio a specialised transport system
Humans
Large
Large - the many layers of cells
use up the oxygen and nutrients,
that are diffusing in, meaning
they will not reach the cells
deeper within the body
More active so will need good
supplies of oxygen and nutrients
to supply the energy for
movement. A specialised
transport system will meet the
cells' needs of oxygen and
nutrients efficiently
Small SA:V ratio so there's a
need for a specialised transport
system

(b) explain the meaning of the terms:

Single Blood only flows through the heart once for each complete circuit -
only 1 circuit
Circulatory e.g. in fish, the heart pumps blood to the gills and then to the rest of
System the body in a single circuit; and insects
Double Bloods flows through the heart twice for each complete circuit - 2
circuits
Circulatory e.g. in mammals, blood goes from the heart to the body, to the
System heart, to the lungs then back to the heart

(c) explain the meaning of the terms:

Open Blood flows freely through their body cavity, carrying nutrients to
their cells. e.g. an insect
Circulatory
System
Closed Their blood flows through blood vessels (arteries, veins and
capillaries) and they have a heart to push the blood around their
Circulatory body e.g. fish, mammals
System
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(d) describe, with the aid of diagrams and photographs, the external and internal
structure of the mammalian heart

Semi -lunar
H
Valve Bicuspid
Valve

Semi -lunar
Valve

Ventricular
Septum

L eft
O
xygenated
R ight
D
(e) explain, with the aid of diagrams the differences in the thickness of the walls of
the different chambers of the heart in terms of their functions

Heart Thickness of Pressure Why?

Chamber Wall
Atria Thinnest Lowest The distance between the
atria and the ventricle is
very small so doesn't need
to travel as far
The flow is blood is helped
by gravity
Right Thin Low Low Pressure -so that the
Ventricle capillaries aren't damaged
in the lungs
The blood is going a short
distance to the lungs
Left Ventricle Thickest High The distance between the
left ventricle and the body is
very large so blood will
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need to travel further at a
higher pressure
High pressure - there is
moreresistance and
friction due to a greater
blood flow
(f) describe the cardiac cycle, with reference to the action of the valves in the
heart

Atrial Systole/ Ventricular Diastole:

1. Blood enters the atria and the pressure inside the atria increases
2. The pressure is higher in the atria than the ventricles so the atrioventricular valves
open
3. The atria contract pushing blood into the ventricles

Atrial Diastole/ Ventricular Systole:

4.Blood enters the ventricles and the pressure inside the ventricles increases
5. The pressure becomes higher in the ventricles than the atria forcing the
atrioventricular valves to close to prevent the backflow of blood
6. The pressure in the ventricles is also higher than in the major arteries (aorta and
pulmonary artery), forcing the semi-lunar valves open
7. The ventricles contract and blood is forced out into the arteries

Atrial Systole/ Ventricular Diastole:

8. The atria and ventricles are relaxed
9. The pressure is higher in the major arteries (aorta and pulmonary artery) so the semi-
lunar valves close to prevent the backflow of blood
10. The pressure is slightly higher in the atria than in the ventricles so the
atrioventricular valves open
11. Blood flows passively into ventricles from the atria

Atrial Ventricular Diastole

Systole Systole
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Calculating Heart Rate:

Heart Rate (beats per minute) = 60/Time taken for one cardiac cycle

(g) describe how heart action is coordinated with reference to the sinoatrial node
(SAN), the atrioventricular node (AVN) and the Purkyne tissue
1. The cardiac muscle is myogenic - the heart will contract and relax by itself
2. The SAN initiates a wave of excitation in the right atrium which spreads over the walls
of both atria causing atrial systole
3. The wave of excitation spreads to the AVN, found at the top of the inter-ventricular
septum, as there's a band of fibres between the atria and ventricles which stops the wave
of excitation passing to the ventricle walls.
4. The AVN delays the wave of excitation to allow time for the atria to finish contracting
and for blood to flow down the ventricles
5. The AVN directs the wave of excitation to the Purkyne tissue, which runs down the
inter-ventricular septum. The wave of excitation spreads upwards from the apex
(base) of the ventricles causing ventricular systole, pushing blood upwards towards the
arteries

(h) interpret and explain electrocardiogram (ECG) traces, with reference to normal
and abnormal heart activity
Electrocardiograms are used to monitor the electrical activity of the heart by attaching a
number of sensors to the skin. Some of the electrical activity generated passes through the
tissues next to the heart and then to the skin so that the sensors can pick up the electrical
excitation made by the heart and convert this into a trace.

Atrial Systole = P wave

Ventricular Systole = QRS

complex

Atrial Diastole = QRS

complex

(i)describe, with the aid of diagrams and photographs, the structures and functions
of arteries, veins and capillaries
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Arteries Veins Capillaries
Function Carries blood away from Carries blood to the They allow the
the heart to the rest of heart exchange of materials
the body between the blood and
cells of tissues
Transpor All arteries carry All veins carry Carries oxygenated and
ts oxygenated blood deoxygenated blood deoxygenated blood
except for the except for the
pulmonary arteries pulmonary veins which
which take take oxygenated blood
deoxygenated blood to to the heart from the
the lungs lungs
Wall Very thick to withstand Thin as blood is at low Very thin for efficient
Thicknes the high pressure pressure so a thick wall exchange of
s is not needed substances (like
glucose and oxygen)
Lumen Relatively small to Relatively large to ease Very small/narrow -
maintain high pressure the flow of blood same diameter of a red
blood cell - 7m so that
the red blood cells are
squeezed as they pass
along the capillaries to
reduce the diffusion
distance
Endothel Endothelium can be Contains a layer of The walls are just a
ium folded and unfolded endothelium cells single layer of
(single when the artery endothelium cells
layer of stretches to withstand
cells) the high pressure
Elastic Elastic fibres allows the Contains thinner layers No elastic tissue
Fibres walls to stretch and then of elastic tissue but are
recoil changing the not necessarily needed as
diameter - felt as a pulse veins are not actively
where the artery is close constricted to reduce
to the skin. The recoil blood flow
maintains the high
pressure while the
heart relaxes
Smooth Smooth muscle can Contains thinner layers No smooth muscle
Muscle contract and constrict of smooth muscle but not
the artery which narrows necessarily needed as
or widens the lumen of veins are not actively
the artery. constricted to reduce
In arterioles smooth blood flow
muscle is used to
limit blood flow to
certain organs or
tissues so that it can
be directed to other
tissues
Collagen Collagen is located in the Contains thinner layers No collagen
Fibres wall to give it strength of collagen but it's not
to withstand high necessarily needed as
pressure blood is not transported
at high pressures
Valves No valves Contains valves to help No valves
the blood flow back to
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the heart and to prevent
it flowing in the
opposite direction
because of the low
pressure
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This graph shows

changes of the blood
pressure as you get
further away from the
heart.

The graph fluctuates

because when the heart
is systole the pressure
increases and when the
heart is diastole the
pressure decreases.

As the blood moves

further away from the
heart the pressure
decreases. The

The pressure in the blood decreases as it moves away from the heart because the blood
vessel branches into more smaller vessels meaning they have a larger cross sectional
area. Also there's more friction in the capillaries therefore there is a lower pressure.

It's important that the pressure is lower by the time the blood reaches the capillaries
because they are only one cell thick so a high pressure would cause them to burst and
become damaged. Also a low pressure means a slow flow rate allowing time for
exchange. Furthermore capillaries do not have a lot of elastic tissue.

The pressure in the veins is very low so blood is returned to the heart by the muscle around it
contracting and pumping the blood with the help from valves to prevent back-flow of
blood.

(j) explain the differences between blood, tissue fluid and lymph

Blood The body's transport medium and is held in the heart and blood vessels.
The liquid part of the blood is called plasma which contains many dissolved
substances, including oxygen, carbon dioxide, glucose, hormones, plasma
proteins etc.
Tissue The fluid that surrounds cells in tissues - bathes the cells of the individual
tissues. It's similar to blood but doesn't contain most of the cells found in the
Fluid blood and it doesn't contain plasma proteins.
Lymph Tissue fluid that has drained into the lymphatic system. Lymph contains
lymphocytes that are produced in the lymph nodes. Lymph nodes are swellings
found at intervals along the lymphatic system. They filter any bacteria and
foreign material from the lymph fluid. The phagocytes can then engulf and
destroy these bacteria and foreign particles.
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Feature Blood Tissue Fluid Lymph

Cells Erythrocytes, Some phagocytic white Lymphocytes
leucocytes and blood cells
platelets
Proteins Hormones and plasma Some hormones, Some proteins
proteins proteins secreted by
body cells
Fats Some transported as None More than in blood
lipoproteins (absorbed from lacteals
in intestine)
Glucose 80-120mg per 100cm3 Less (absorbed by Less
body cells)
Amino acids More Less (absorbed by Less
body cells)
Oxygen More Less (absorbed by Less
body cells)
Carbon Little More (released by body More
cells)
Dioxide

(k) describe how tissue fluid is formed from plasma

At the arterial end of a capillary, the hydrostatic pressure is high, therefore plasma
moves out of the capillaries because the pressure is higher in the capillaries than
outside, moving down the pressure gradient.
In the capillaries because the plasma proteins are too large to pass through, they
stay in the plasma, making the water potential lower than that in the tissue fluid so
tissue fluid moves back into the capillaries at the venous end.

(l) describe the role of haemoglobin in carrying oxygen and carbon dioxide

Oxygen Carbon Dioxide

Haemoglobin has an affinity for
oxygen. They can combine with 4
oxygen molecules, because
haemoglobin only has 4 Haem
groups, forming
oxyhaemoglobin.
In the lungs - Hb + 4O2
HbO8 (loading)
In the body - HbO8
Hb + 4O2 (unloading)
Carbon dioxide can be transported in the form of
hydrogencarbonate ions. Carbon dioxide diffuses into
blood and some of it enters in the red blood cells. It
combines with water to form a weak carbonic acid
(H2CO3) which is catalysed by the enzyme carbonic
anhydrase.
CO2 + H2O H2CO3
The carbonic acid (H2CO3) dissociates to release
hydrogen ions (H+) and hydrogencarbonate ions
(HCO3-).
H2CO3HCO3- + H+
The hydrogencarbonate ions diffuse out of the red
blood cell into the plasma.
The charge of the red blood cell is maintained by the
movement of chloride ions (Cl-) from the plasma into
the red blood cell. This is called chloride shift.
The hydrogen ions combine with haemoglobin to
produce haemoglobinic acid (HHb). The hydrogen
ions displace the oxygen in haemoglobin, releasing
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more oxygen to the tissues.

(m) describe and explain the significance of the dissociation curves of adult
oxyhaemoglobin at different carbon dioxide levels (the Bohr effect)

When carbon dioxide levels

increase, the dissociation curve
'shifts' downwards and to the
right, showing that more oxygen
is released from the blood
(because of the lower saturation
of haemoglobin with oxygen,
the more oxygen is released). This

Oxygen Dissociation Curve:

The first oxygen does not attach easily to the haem
groups, due to it being in the centre of the haemoglobin
molecule
The concentration of oxygen rises making it easier
to oxygen to associate with the heam groups.
Once one oxygen molecule binds with a haem group, it
causes a conformational change in shape of the haemoglobin molecule -
this makes it easier for oxygen molecule to reach the haem group and
associate with it
The next two oxygen molecules attach easily to the haem
groups
The fourth oxygen molecule finds it difficult to associate with the last haem group. This
means that 100% oxygen saturation is difficult even at high pO2 forming a sigmoid
curve.

(n) explain the significance of the different affinities of fetal haemoglobin and
adult haemoglobin for oxygen
Fetal haemoglobin has a higher affinity for oxygen
than adult haemoglobin. This is because the fetal
haemoglobin must be able to 'pick up' oxygen from the
haemoglobin from its mother.
Placenta has low partial pressure of oxygen
At low partial pressure of oxygen, in the placenta, adult
haemoglobin will dissociate
Fetal haemoglobin takes up oxygen in lower partial pressure of
oxygen
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