Organisms – B 2.

3 SL Transport

Guiding Questions

“How are multicellular organisms adapted to carry out gas exchange?”

“What are the similarities and differences in gas exchange between a flowering plant and a mammal?”

Syllabus objectives

Adaptations of capillaries for exchange Adaptations should include a large surface area due to branching and narrow
B3.2.1 of materials between blood & the diameters, thin walls, and fenestrations in some capillaries where exchange
needs to be particularly rapid.
internal or external environment
Students should be able to distinguish arteries and veins in micrographs from the
B3.2.2 Structure of arteries and veins structure of a vessel wall and its thickness relative to the diameter of the lumen.
Adaptations of arteries for the Students should understand how the layers of muscle and elastic tissue in the
B3.2.3 walls of arteries help them to withstand and maintain high blood pressures.
transport of blood away from the heart
Students should be able to determine heart rate by feeling the carotid or radial
B3.2.4 Measurement of pulse rates pulse with fingertips. Traditional methods could be compared with digital ones.

Adaptations of veins for the return of Include valves to prevent backflow and the flexibility of the wall to allow it to be
B3.2.5 compressed by muscle action.
blood to the heart
Causes and consequences of occlusion Students should be able to evaluate epidemiological data relating to the
B3.2.6 incidence of coronary heart disease.
of the coronary arteries
Students should understand that loss of water by transpiration from cell walls in
leaf cells causes water to be drawn out of xylem vessels and through walls by
Transport of water from roots to leaves
B3.2.7 capillary action, generating tension (negative pressure potentials). It is this
during transpiration tension that draws water up in the xylem. Cohesion ensures a continuous column
of water.
Include the lack of cell contents and incomplete or absent end walls for
Adaptations of xylem vessels for
B3.2.8 unimpeded flow, lignified walls to withstand tensions, and pits for entry and exit
transport of water of water.

Distribution of tissues in a transverse Students should be able to draw plan diagrams from micrographs to identify the
relative positions of vascular bundles, xylem, phloem, cortex and epidermis.
B3.2.9 section of the stem of a dicotyledonous Students should annotate the diagram with the main functions of these
plant structures.
Distribution of tissues in a transverse Students should be able to construct diagrams from microscope images to
B3.2.10 section of the root of a dicotyledonous identify vascular bundles, xylem and phloem, cortex and epidermis.
plant

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The circulatory system:

Outline the functions of the circulatory system:

Blood:

Blood is an unusual tissue in that it is made up of a liquid medium called plasma in which cells are suspended
– the red blood cells or erythrocytes, white cells or leucocytes, and the platelets. The plasma, a straw-
colored fluid, supports and transports the blood cells around. It also brings about the essential exchanges of
substances between cells, tissues and organ systems of the body.

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Describe the functions of these following 4 components of the blood:

Plasma:

Erythrocytes – red blood cells:

Leukocytes – white blood cells - Mono/Phagocytes & Lymphocytes:

Platelets:

Structure of arteries, veins and capillaries

Mammals have a double circulatory system composed of a pulmonary and systemic circuit with arteries,
capillaries, and veins form a network of connected blood vessels.

Briefly describe the pathway of blood:

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 Name the 3 types of blood vessels
of the circulatory system:

Compare and contrast the different structural features of arteries and veins:
Arteries Veins

Lumen
(space inside the vessel)

Tunica intima
smooth single layer of cells
(endothelium) forming the
lining inside the vessel

Tunica media
layer with smooth muscle
& elastic fibers made of
the protein elastin

Tunica externa
tough outer layer of
connective tissue and
collagen fibers.

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Do you recognize arteries and veins? Label the different tissue types:

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Adaptations of arteries, capillaries and veins:

Read through the information and then complete the table of comparison.

Arteries:
Arteries transport blood away from the heart at very
high pressure (ca. 120 mmHg). To resist the high
pressure, they must show specific adaptations to their
function:

Arteries have a tough outer layer of connective tissue

and strong collagen fibers. This helps to withstand the
constantly changing and intermittently high blood
pressure without bulging outwards or bursting. The
tunica media contains thick smooth muscle and elastic
fibers (elastin) which stretch and recoil in synchrony
with the pulsating blood pressure.

The blood entering the biggest artery from the heart

(aorta) is at highest pressure. The peak pressure
reached in an artery is called the systolic pressure.
The wall of the artery is pushed outwards, widening
the lumen and stretching elastic fibres in the wall.
This action stores potential energy. When the
pressure falls at the end of a heartbeat (diastolic
pressure), the elastic fibres squeeze the blood in the
lumen. This mechanism saves energy and prevents
the minimum blood pressure from falling too low.
The blood flow stays relatively steady and continuous
that way. With increasing distance away from the
heart, the tunica media progressively contains more
smooth muscle fibers and less elastic tissue as less
stretching and recoiling occurs due to smaller
differences in blood pressure. The tunica intima is
only a thin layer of endothelial cells, sometimes with
a thin layer of elastic fibers.

Capillaries:
Capillaries have thin, permeable walls composed of endothelial cells for the exchange of materials and gases
between cells in the tissue and the blood in the capillary. They are only one cell layer thick to allow for fast
diffusion and have an inner diameter of 10µm (so just wide enough for red blood cells). This means blood
vessels are close to the capillary wall and diffusion distance is short.
They connect arteries with veins and are responsible for the
exchange of gases and materials under low pressure. Capillaries
form a wide and extensive network of branches over a large total
surface area allowing for very efficient diffusion between blood and
tissue cells.

Capillary cells are coated by a thin protein gel called the basement
membrane, which acts as a filter for smaller substances. Pores or
gaps in the membrane (fenestrations) are a further filter system,
which allows part of the plasma to leak out and form tissue fluid.
This is particularly useful in tissues where exchange needs to be very rapid.
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 The fenestrations of the capillaries allow part of the
blood plasma together with nutrients (glucose,
oxygen and all other substances in plasma) to leak
out. Blood blood cells or larger proteins, however do
not pass through the basement membrane. The
leaking fluid is called tissue fluid.

Every tissue (except lens and cornea of the eye) is

supplied with blood via capillaries.

Veins:

Veins collect blood from all organs of the

body and transport deoxygenated blood
from capillary networks back to the
heart under low pressure. Because blood
drains out continuously from the
capillaries and there is very little
pressure. This means that veins don’t
have a pulse.

The tunica media of the vein is relatively

thin, and the thickest part of a vein is the
tunica externa with elastic fibers and
smooth muscle fibers. This layer,
however, is thinner than in arteries as
there is little pressure to resist.

The lumen of veins is large in

comparison to that of a vein. This is
because the large lumen of a vein has to
reduce friction between blood cells and
the wall of the vessel, enabling the blood
to flow freely under low pressure, while
in arteries the high pressure needs to be
maintained.

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When blood pressure in veins is very low (especially in extremities), valves in veins help to prevent backflow.
Blood gets caught in the flaps of the pocket valve, which fill with blood, blocking the lumen of the vein.
When blood flows towards the heart, it pushes the flaps to the sides of the vein, opening the valves.

Blood flow in veins is assisted by

gravity and by pressures exerted by
muscles. When muscles contract,
they squeeze adjacent veins like a
pump. Walking sitting or even just
fidgeting greatly improves venous
blood flow. The thin layer of the
veins helps with being squeezed
together easily into a flatter shape.

Pressure changes along blood vessels:

Describe the changes in pressure and velocity as the blood
flows from the heart through aorta -> arteries ->
capillaries -> venules -> veins -> heart

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Arteries, Veins, Capillaries:

Complete the table:

Capillaries Arteries Veins

How are these

blood vessels
adapted to their
function?

Refer to the
structural
features to
explain how each
vessel is adapted
to its function.

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Coronary heart disease:

The aorta carries oxygen rich blood from the left side of
the heart to the body with great pressure. Directly from
the aorta two arteries branch off to the left and right of
the heart muscle.

What are coronary arteries and what is their function?

The coronary arteries can become narrowed or blocked by deposits of fat called atheroma (plaque), made of
lipids and cholesterol. A blockage is referred to as an occlusion.

Consequences of an occlusion:
• Restricted blood flow to the heart muscle
• Pain in the chest (angina and shortness of breath (especially during exercise).
• If calcium salts deposit in the atheroma the artery hardens and increases the risk of a blood clot
(thrombosis.)
• Blood clots can entirely block the flow of blood to the heart muscle, depriving it of oxygen and
preventing normal contractions resulting in a heartattack.

Watch the video clip & note down causes of coronary heart disease:

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Measurement of pulse rates:

Ventricular contractions of the heart force a wave of blood through the arteries. The expansion of the arteries
can be felt as a pulse, particularly where the artery is near the skin surface and passes over a bone.

The wrist (radial

artery) or neck
(carotid artery) is
typically used to
take the pulse.
Using two fingers to
compress the
artery, the number
of beats in a minute
can be counted.

Other methods to measure the pulse include

digital devices like pulse oximeters or heart
rate monitors which measure heart rate by
shining light from an LED through the skin
and measuring how it scatters off blood
vessels.

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Transport of water from roots to leaves during transpiration:

Water is transported in
specialized plant tissue
(xylem). Water is
absorbed by the roots
and lost from the
mesophyll cells in
leaves in a process
called transpiration.

Look at the diagram at the top and discuss. Look at the diagram on the left. Which factors enable the
movement of water to cause transpiration?

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Xylem vessels are filled
by xylem sap, which is
mostly water with low
concentrations of ions
(K+, Cl- ).

Water diffuses out of

mesophyll cells into air
spaces through the
nearest vein and leaves
through stomata.

Water moves into the root hair cells into the cortex. What are root hair cells?

How do root hair cells help with the uptake of water?

Once the water has passed through the epidermis of root cells, water can continue to travel through the
cortex of the root via three ways. Outline the three different pathways:

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• The apoplast pathway is the mass flow of water
through interconnecting free spaces between
cellulose fibres of the plant cell wall avoiding the
living content of the cell). Most efficient pathway.

• The symplast pathway (diffusion through

cytoplasm of cells and small openings in the cell
wall called plasmodesmata). Not very significant,
since the organelles cause resistance to the flow
of water.

• From vacuole to vacuole by osmosis driven by a

gradient in osmotic pressure caused by active
uptake of mineral ions from the soil.

The casparian strip:

A waxy impermeable layer of cells close to

the center of the root (endodermis), called
the casparian strip, prevents the soil
solution from continuing the diffusion
through the apoplast pathway. Dissolved
ions are now selectively transported into
the center of the root.

Water is forced to pass through the endodermis symplastically after an increase in osmotic pressure by
active transport of ions into the cells at the centre of the root.

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Adaptations of xylem vessels

Once the water has passed from the root hair

cells of the epidermis into the cortex of the root,
it finally reaches the xylem. Xylem vessel cells are
specialized cells for the transport of water in
plants.

Which two types of xylem vessels are there?

Look at the structures of the xylem cells. What are

some of the adaptations which enable efficient
water transport?

Long, continuous tubes:

Pits:

Cell walls, plasma membrane and cell contents removed to form hollow tubes:

Hydrophobic lignin thickening of cell walls:

Xylem begins as cells with cellulose walls and living

contents, but during cell development cell walls and cell
contents dissolve away rendering mature xylem into long
(dead) hollow tubes, strengthed and rigidified by lignin.

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Distribution of tissues in a transverse section of the stem

The xylem tissue can easily be

visualized in cross-sections of
plants. Plants can be categorized
into two types, based on the
number of embryonic leaves they
have in their seeds.
Monocotyledons have one
embryonic leaf, dicotyledons have
two seed leaves. Additional
characteristics between these two
classes of plants can be used to
distinguish them also as adult
plants.

Dicotyledon stem tissues:

Can you draw the transverse section of a dicotyledon stem and annotate the different tissues (You will have
to research a little bit to find out what their functions are):

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Distribution of tissues in a transverse section of the root

In the roots tissues are

distributed differently
when compared with
stems. The arrangement
of tissues is also
different when
comparing
monocotyledons and
dicotyledons.

In non-woody
dicotyledon plants the
vascular bundles are
inside a cylinder in the
center of the cross
section.

Dicotyledon root tissues:

Can you draw the transverse section of a dicotyledon root and annotate the different tissues?

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