Chapter 6: Transport in Humans Flashcards
(122 cards)
What does the circulatory system consist of?
- Blood vessels
- Blood
- Heart
What is the function of blood?
It transports substances around the human body and defends it against diseases.
What does plasma contain?
- Water (mostly)
- Substances: Glucose, proteins, amino acids, fats, salts, vitamins, hormones and excretory products.
- Red blood cells
- White blood cells
What do the different adaptations of RBC do? (Haemoglobin)
- RBC contains haemoglobin that can combine reversibly with oxygen.
- In the lungs where oxygen concentration is high, haemoglobin binds to oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin, which is bright red.
- In tissues where oxygen concentration is low, oxyhaemoglobin releases its oxygen to the tissue cells, and it becomes haemoglobin (purplish-red)
What are the components of blood?
- Plasma
- Red blood cells
- White blood cells
- Platelets
What is plasma?
It is the yellowish liquid in blood.
What is the red blood cell’s main function?
To transport oxygen from the lungs to the other parts of the body.
What do the different adaptations of RBC do? (Circular, biconcave shape)
It increases the surface area-to-volume ratio, increasing the rate of absorption and release of oxygen.
What does plasma transport?
- Blood cells to all parts of the body.
- Nutrients from the small intestine to other parts of the body.
- Excretory products from organs where they are produced to excretory organs for removal.
- Hormones from endocrine
- Glands to target organs
What are the features of a red blood cell?
- Circular, biconcave in shape.
- No nucleus
- Contains haemoglobin
- Flexible
What do the different adaptations of RBC do? (No nucleus)
It allows the RBC to have more space to store more haemoglobin, so that it can bind to more oxygen, thus being able to transport more oxygen around the body.
What do the different adaptations of RBC do? (Flexible)
- Since they are flexible, they are able to change into a bell-shaped structure.
- This allows them to flow easily through narrow blood capillaries.
What are the 2 main types of white blood cells?
- Phagocytes
- Lymphocytes
What is the function of phagocytes?
To perform phagocytosis.
What are the features of white blood cells?
- They are irregular in shape
- They each contain a nucleus.
What is phagocytosis?
It is the process where a white blood cell engulfs and destroys foreign particles such as bacteria.
What do lymphocytes produce?
Antibodies.
What kind of antibodies do lymphocytes produce?
- Antibodies that recognise foreign particles.
- Antibodies that destroy disease-causing organisms such as bacteria and viruses.
- Antibodies that cause bacteria to clump together for easy ingestion by phagocytes.
- Antibodies that neutralise the toxins produced by bacteria.
What are platelets?
They are fragments of cytoplasm.
What do platelets contain?
They contain an enzyme that catalyses the conversion of fibrinogen to fibrin threads.
What do fibrin threads do?
These threads form a network that entangles red blood cells to form a clot, preventing excessive blood loss and entry of harmful organisms into the bloodstream.
What happens to blood exposed to air?
It will soon coagulate.
What is the benefit of blood coagulating when exposed to air?
- The clot it forms seals the wound, preventing excessive loss of blood.
- It also prevents foreign particles from entering the bloodstream.