TRANSPORT IN HUMANS

Platinum Academy
Edexcel IGCSE Biology 2025
Dr Shakeel Jaleel
■ describe the composition of the blood: red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets and
plasma
■ understand the role of plasma in the transport of carbon dioxide, digested food, urea,
hormones and heat energy
■ understand how adaptations of red blood cells make them suitable for the transport of
oxygen, including shape, the absence of a nucleus and the presence of haemoglobin
■ understand how the immune system responds to disease using white blood cells,
illustrated by phagocytes ingesting pathogens and lymphocytes releasing antibodies
specific to the pathogen
■ understand how vaccination results in the manufacture of memory cells, which
enable future antibody production to the pathogen to occur sooner, faster and in
greater quantity
■ understand how platelets are involved in blood clotting, which prevents blood loss
and the entry of micro-organisms
■ describe the structure of the heart and how it functions
■ explain how the heart rate changes during exercise and under the influence of
adrenaline
■ understand how factors may increase the risk of developing coronary heart disease
■ understand how the structure of arteries, veins and capillaries relate to their function
■ understand the general structure of the circulation system, including the blood vessels to
and from the heart and lungs, liver and kidneys
 THE NEED FOR A TRANSPORT SYSTEM
• In unicellular organisms such as amoeba, bacteria and yeast diffusion alone is enough
for the transport of important materials as they have a very high surface area to volume
ratio
• In large multicellular organisms such as mammals, diffusion alone cannot transport
nutrients and oxygen throughout the body and thus a specialized system is required-
THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM.
■ The human circulatory system comprises:
• the heart - this is a pump
• blood vessels - these carry the blood around the body;
arteries carry blood away from the heart and towards
other organs, veins carry blood towards the heart and
away from other organs and capillaries carry blood
through organs, linking the arteries and veins
• blood - the transport medium.
The need for a specialized transport system in humans
● Humans have a small surface area to volume ratio
● They also have a high metabolic rate
● Diffusion alone will not be adequate to provide the cellular requirements
efficiently and quickly
● Having a heart ensures blood can be pumped at a high pressure and fluid
can move through mass flow through blood vessels.
● Humans have a closed, double circulatory system
Open & closed systems

• Circulatory systems are either described as being open or closed

• In a closed circulatory system, blood is pumped around the body and is always contained within a
network of blood vessels. All vertebrates and many invertebrates have closed circulatory systems

• In an open circulatory system, blood is not contained within blood vessels but is pumped directly into body
cavities. Organisms such as arthropods and molluscs have open circulatory systems.

• Humans have a closed double circulatory system: in one complete circuit of the body blood passes
through the heart (the pump) twice

• The right side of the heart pumps blood deoxygenated blood to the lungs for gas exchange; this is the
pulmonary circulatory system

• Blood then returns to the left side of the heart, so that oxygenated blood can be pumped efficiently (at high
pressure) around the body; this is the systemic circulatory system
 CIRCULATORY SYSTEM
• The circulatory system consists of the heart as a pump and blood vessels, in which
blood travels around the body, carrying nutrients and waste products.

THE FISH CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

• Fish have the simplest circulatory system which consists of a heart that
contains one atrium (collecting chamber) and one ventricle (ejection
chamber), that sends blood to the gills to be oxygenated and then sent to
the rest of the body.

• This is known as single circulation and the reason you learn this is to
understand the importance of pressure and how the lack of pressure in the
fish circulatory system makes it inefficient.
 The Human Circulatory System
• In mammals, the process of circulation is divided into 2 parts(double circulation);
1)Pulmonary Circulation
2)Systemic Circulation

PULMONARY CIRCULATION SYSTEMIC CIRCULATION

The circulation of blood from The circulation of blood throughout

the heart to the lungs via the the body, deoxygenated blood
pulmonary artery for travels from the rest of the body to
oxygenation and back to the the heart via the vena cava and
heart from the lungs via the the aorta carries oxygenated blood
pulmonary vein to the rest of the body from the
heart
 ANATOMY OF
THE HEART
• The heart is divided into two halves, the right and left side
by a muscular wall known as the septum. Each side consist
of 2 chambers (atrium and ventricle)
• The heart contains valves that prevent the backflow of
blood in order to ensure blood flows efficiently in one
direction.
• The four main blood vessels (Aorta, Vena Cava, Pulmonary
artery and veins) emerge from each chamber
• It is easier to understand the physiology of the heart and its
components by understanding the movement of blood
throughout the system.
Anatomy of the heart- glossary

• The atria (plural of atrium) are where the blood collects when it enters the heart.
• The ventricles pump the blood out of the heart to the lungs or around the body.
• The septum separates the right-hand and left-hand side of the heart.
• The tricuspid valve is located between the right atrium and right ventricle and opens
due to a build-up of pressure in the right atrium.
• The bicuspid valve is located between the left atrium and left ventricle and likewise
opens due to a build-up of pressure, this time in the left atrium.
• The semilunar valves stop the back flow of blood into the heart. There is a semilunar
valve where the aorta leaves the left ventricle and another where the pulmonary artery
leaves the right ventricle.
 Functioning of the heart (physiology)
• Blood circulation
1. Blood enters the Right atrium and is pumped into the right ventricle.
2. Blood in the right ventricle (RV) is pumped to the lungs via the pulmonary artery
3. Blood from the lungs flows back into the left atrium (LA) via pulmonary vein and then into
the left ventricle (LV).
4. Blood in the LV is pumped through the body via the aorta (except for the lungs)
5. Blood returns to the heart where it enters the right atrium via the vena cava (RA).

•Muscular contraction

The heart is made of a special type of muscle called cardiac muscle which contracts
and relaxes regularly, throughout life.

The heart’s muscle is constantly active, so it needs its own blood supply, through
the coronary artery, to provide it with oxygen and glucose.

•Working of the valves

Valves in the heart prevent blood from being pushed backwards up into the
atria when the heart ‘beats’. This ensures one way flow of blood
 Blood Vessels
Blood is carried through three different types of blood vessels in the body:

1. Arteries
2. Veins
3. Capillaries

1) Arteries

• Carry blood at high pressure away from the heart

• Carry oxygenated blood (other than the pulmonary artery)
• Have thick muscular walls containing elastic fibres
• Have a narrow lumen
• Speed of flow is fast
 2) Veins

• Carry blood at low pressure towards the heart

• Carry deoxygenated blood (other than the pulmonary vein)
• Have thin walls
• Have a large lumen
• Contain valves
• Speed of flow is slow

3) Capillaries

• Carry blood at low pressure within tissues

• Carry both oxygenated and deoxygenated blood
• Have walls that are one cell thick
• Have ‘leaky’ walls
• Speed of flow is slow
Comparing arteries and veins
Structure of a capillary
 How Structure of Blood Vessels is Adapted to
their Function
Arteries
• Have thick muscular walls containing elastic fibres to withstand high pressure of blood and
maintain the blood pressure as it recoils after the blood has passed through
• Have a narrow lumen to maintain high pressure
Veins
• Have a large lumen as blood pressure is low
• Contain valves to prevent the backflow of blood as it is under low pressure
Capillaries
• Have walls that are one cell thick so that substances can easily diffuse in and out of them
• Have ‘leaky’ walls so that blood plasma can leak out and form tissue fluid surrounding cells
Arterioles & Venules
• As arteries divide more as they get further away from the heart, they get narrower
• The narrow vessels that connect arteries to capillaries are called arterioles
• Veins also get narrower the further away they are from the heart
• The narrow vessels that connect capillaries to veins are called venules

The blood Vessel network

Circulation Around the Body & Important
Blood Vessels
• Blood is carried away from the heart and towards organs in arteries
• These narrow to arterioles and then capillaries as they pass through the organ
• The capillaries widen to venules and finally veins as they move away from the organs
• Veins carry blood back towards the heart
The Circulatory system
Important blood vessels:
Coronary Heart Disease

Coronary heart disease is the build up of fatty deposits

in the artery that carries blood to the heart as the heart
muscles also require blood to obtain oxygen and
nutrients for energy to contract.

This fatty deposit (cholesterol) builds up due to:

• Excessive saturated fats in the diet
• Cigarette smoking
• Stress
Heart Disease & Exercise
• Heart activity can be monitored by using an ECG, measuring pulse rate or listening to the
sounds of valves closing using a stethoscope
• Heart rate (and pulse rate) is measured in beats per minute (bpm)
• To investigate the effects of exercise on heart rate, record the pulse rate at rest for a minute
• Immediately after they do some exercise, record the pulse rate every minute until it returns to
the resting rate
• This experiment will show that during exercise the heart rate increases and may take several
minutes to return to normal
 Why does Heart Rate Increase during
Exercise?
• So that sufficient blood is taken to the working muscles to provide them with enough nutrients
and oxygen for increased respiration
• An increase in heart rate also allows for waste products to be removed at a faster rate
• Following exercise, the heart continues to beat faster for a while to ensure that all excess
waste products are removed from muscle cells
• It is also likely that muscle cells have been respiring anaerobically during exercise and so have
built up an oxygen debt
• This needs to be ‘repaid’ following exercise and so the heart continues to beat faster to ensure
that extra oxygen is still being delivered to muscle cells
• The extra oxygen is used to break down the lactic acid that has been built up in cells as a result
of anaerobic respiration
1. When we sleep, our heart rate decreases as all our organs are working more slowly. They need
to release less energy and so need less oxygen.
2. These changes in the heart rate are controlled by nerve impulses from a part of the brain called
the medulla.
The Coronary arteries
The Coronary arteries (Cont..)
• The heart is made of muscle cells that need their own supply of blood to deliver oxygen,
glucose and other nutrients and remove carbon dioxide and other waste products
• The blood is supplied by the coronary arteries
• If a coronary artery becomes partially or completely blocked by fatty deposits called
‘plaques’ (mainly formed from cholesterol), the arteries are not as elastic as they should be
and therefore cannot stretch to accommodate the blood which is being forced through them –
leading to coronary heart disease
• Partial blockage of the coronary arteries creates a restricted blood flow to the cardiac muscle
cells and results in severe chest pains called angina
• Complete blockage means cells in that area of the heart will not be able to respire and can no
longer contract, leading to a heart attack
Build up of plaque in the coronary arteries
Effect of narrowing of arteries
Risk Factors for Coronary Heart Disease
Reducing the risks of developing coronary
heart disease
• Quit smoking
• Reduce animal fats in diet and eat more fruits and vegetables – this will reduce cholesterol
levels in the blood and help with weight loss if overweight.
• Exercise regularly – again, this will help with weight loss, decrease blood pressure and
cholesterol levels and help reduce stress
Treatment of coronary heart disease
■ Aspirin can be taken daily to reduce the risk of blood clots forming in arteries
■ Surgical treatments include:

1) Angioplasty
– A narrow catheter (tube) is threaded through the groin up to the blocked vessel
– A tiny balloon inserted into the catheter is pushed up to the blocked vessel and then
inflated
– This flattens the plaque against the wall of the artery, clearing the blockage
– To keep the artery clear, a stent (piece of metal / plastic mesh) is also inserted which
pushes against the wall of the artery
– Sometimes the stent is coated with a drug that slowly releases medication to prevent
further build-up of plaque
Inserting a stent into a blocked artery
 Coronary by pass surgery
■ Surgical treatments include:

2) Coronary bypass surgery

– A piece of blood vessel is taken from the patient’s leg, arm, or chest and used to create
a new passage for the flow of blood to the cardiac muscle, bypassing the blocked area
– The number of bypass grafts gives rise to the name of the surgery, so a ‘triple heart
bypass’ would mean three new bypass grafts being
 Blood and it’s components
The main function of blood is to transport nutrients and oxygen to the cells of the body.
Blood is made up of four components:
1. red blood cells – these transport oxygen around the body
2. white blood cells - these fight infection
3. plasma - this is the liquid part of blood
4. platelets - these clot to prevent blood loss during injury

1) Red Blood Cells (RBC)

• Contains haemoglobin that oxygen binds to, allowing it to be

transported to body cells.

• Adaptations- RBC’s have a biconcave disc structure and lack a

nucleus that allows maximum surface area for oxygen uptake as well
as maximum storage of oxygen. It is also very thin to reduce
diffusion distance of oxygen and these properties allow the RCB to
fit through the narrowest of capillaries
2) White Blood Cells (WBC)
• Have a nucleus, often large and lobed.
• Can move around and squeeze out through the walls of blood capillaries into all parts
of the body.
• There are many kinds of white blood cells. They all have the function of fighting
pathogens (disease-causing bacteria and viruses) and to clear up any dead body
cells in your body:

3) Plasma

The liquid in blood vessels which contains blood

cells, ions, soluble nutrients, hormones and
carbon dioxide
Platelets and their role in blood clotting
• Platelets are fragments of cells which are involved in blood clotting and forming scabs where
skin has been cut or punctured
• Blood clotting prevents continued / significant blood loss from wounds
• Scab formation seals the wound with an insoluble patch that prevents entry of
microorganisms that could cause infection
• It remains in place until new skin has grown underneath it, sealing the skin again
• When the skin is broken (i.e. there is a wound) platelets arrive to stop the bleeding
• A series of reactions occur within the blood plasma
• Platelets release chemicals that cause soluble fibrinogen proteins to convert into insoluble
fibrin and form an insoluble mesh across the wound, trapping red blood cells and therefore
forming a clot
• The clot eventually dries and develops into a scab to protect the wound from bacteria entering
How the blood clots
Composition of human blood
Blood micrograph
Types of White Blood Cell
• White blood cells are part of the body’s immune system, defending against infection by
pathogenic microorganisms
• There are two main types, phagocytes and lymphocytes
1. Phagocytes
– Carry out phagocytosis by engulfing and digesting pathogens
– Phagocytes have a sensitive cell surface membrane that can detect chemicals produced by
pathogenic cells
– Once they encounter the pathogenic cell, they will engulf it and release digestive enzymes to
digest it
– They can be easily recognised under the microscope by their multi-lobed nucleus and their
granular cytoplasmis.
Phagocytosis
Types of White Blood Cell (Cont..)

2. Lymphocytes
– Produce antibodies to destroy pathogenic cells and antitoxins to neutralise toxins
released by pathogens
– They can easily be recognised under the microscope by their large round nucleus which
takes up nearly the whole cell and their clear, non-granular cytoplasm
■ The importance of vaccination
■ Vaccines not only protect the vaccinated individuals, they also reduce the likelihood that an
infected individual will spread the pathogen to others
– If a large proportion of the population is vaccinated, it is unlikely that an unvaccinated
individual will become infected with the pathogen (this concept is referred to as herd
immunity)
– This can prevent the spread of the disease
■ Vaccines have reduced the cases of certain diseases drastically or even eradicated many
diseases worldwide
– This includes smallpox, measles, mumps and tetanus amongst many others
■ There are hopes for the future eradication of several other diseases through vaccination programs
– This includes polio, HIV, malaria and of course COVID-19
■ Disadvantages of vaccinations
■ There are some disadvantages to vaccinations that reduce how effective vaccination programs can
be
– Mutations in the pathogen’s DNA/RNA can result in significant changes to the antigen of the
pathogen meaning that lymphocytes no longer recognise the pathogen
– Side-effects of vaccinations can reduce the uptake in the population