Basics
What is the circulatory system?
The circulatory system links all organs in these systems together, because it carries blood (life) to all of the organs.
What are the three main kinds of blood vessels?
(1) Arteries
(2) Veins
(3) Capillaries
Draw the vasculature from the arteries to the veins.
See picture on slide 7.
Name the 4 main components of blood.
(1) Red Blood Cells (RBCs),
(2) White Blood Cells (WBCs),
(3) Platelets,
(4) Plasma
(1) What is the shape of a red blood cell?
(2) What is the special proteins red blood cells carry that allows them to carry oxygen?
(1) Like an inner tube
(2) Hemoglobin.
From where does the "circula" in "circulatory system" come?
From the fact that the circulatory system is a circuit, a circular route throughout the body.
Which blood vessels carry blood from the heart, and which blood vessels carry blood to the heart?
Arteries carry blood from the heart (think: Artery, Away), and veins carry blood to the heart.
We call blood in arteries that is carrying oxygen to the cells ____________ blood, which has a _______ color, and blood in veins that gave up its oxygen, and is probably carrying a lot of carbon dioxide, ___________ blood, which has a _______ color.
blood in arteries that is carrying oxygen to the cells is oxygenated blood, which is red, whereas blood in veins that gives up its oxygen is deoxygenated blood, which is blue.
What do WBCs do?
White blood cells protect the body against infection. They are like defensive tanks going throughout the body, looking for foreign invaders and eliminating them.
What are macrophages, and what do they do?
Macrophages are white blood cells that roam all around your body, looking for harmful cells. When they find these harmful cells, they destroy them by eating them.
What is the thing in the blood that gives life to the body?
Oxygen.
Of the 3 main blood vessels, which are the smallest ad most abundant in the body?
Capillaries. They are 1 cell thick and are found all over the body near tissues.
(1) Mechanically, how does the blood move from the heart to the body tissues?
(2) How does blood move from the body tissues back to the heart?
(1) Blood moves from the heart to the body tissues by the strong, pumping action of the heart.
(2) Blood moves back to the heart from the tissues by the skeletal muscles, which squeeze the walls of the veins, pumping the blood back to the heart and lungs.
What do platelets do?
Platelets repair damaged blood vessels. They do this, in part, by clotting damaged areas in blood vessels, which helps prevent excessive blood loss.
Where are red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets made?
Bone marrow (specifically, red bone marrow).
(1) Explain how our regular, frequent need to breathe in oxygen (life) is a parable of our dependency on God.
(2) Explain how we, in God's image, image God's life-giving power to the rest of his creation (specifically, plants and vegetation).
(1) life does not come from within ourselves, but outside of ourselves, and especially, from God. God directly provided life (air) to the first man when he breathed in his nostrils the breathe of life, and indirectly provides for him in the way he has made oxygen abundant in the air.
(2) Man images God in providing life in the form of carbon dioxide, which he breathes out and is used by trees, plants, etc.
Fill in the blank:
Heart --> _______ --> _________ --> capillaries --> __________ --> ___________ --> Heart
Heart --> Arteries --> Arterioles --> Capillaries --> Venules --> Veins --> Heart
How does capillary exchange happen?
Diffusion across the cell membrane.
What do hormones do?
Hormones are messengers sent throughout the body, which signal the body to do different things.
Explain what blood transfusions are, and why, when people began giving and receiving blood, in many cases, it resulted in harm for the person receiving blood.
Blood transfusions are when one person gives blood to another. These happen by injection into a vein.
The reason why blood transfusions, in the beginning, were largely unsuccessful, is because everyone has a specific blood type. Our blood cells have antigens on their surface, which signal what kind of blood cell they are (A, B, AB). If someone receives incompatible blood from someone else (the wrong kind of antigen), then the body will treat that received blood like a foreign invader and attack it, causing all kinds of damage in the body.
Name the 4 major functions of blood. Explain each using 1–2 sentences.
(1) Transport (oxygen, nutrients, etc)
(2) Protection (white blood cells, platelets)
(3) Message (hormones)
(4) Thermostat
(1) Which are thicker, arteries or veins?
(2) Why?
Arteries have much thicker walls due to the fact that they receive blood from the strong, pumping action of the heart. This blood pressure requires vessels that are durable enough to handle without being damaged.
What is capillary exchange? What is exchanged.
Capillary exchange is the exchange of gases, nutrients, and waste across the capillary membrane. Oxygen and nutrients are exchanged from the capillaries to the tissues, whereas waste and carbon dioxide is exchanged from the tissues to the capillaries.
(1) What's another name for a red blood cell?
(2) What's another name for a white blood cell?
(1) Erythrocyte
(2) Leukocyte.
Give a thorough explanation of the four blood types, as well as what the Rhesus factor is. Explain who can give blood to who, and who can receive blood from who.
See PPP slides 50–55.