A muscular pump, which ensures blood
keeps flowing through the blood vessels.
Blood Vessels
Arteries
Function: Transports oxygenated blood away from the heart.
Exception: Pulmonary Artery - carries
de-oxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs
Structure: Thick, elastic muscular walls to
withstand blood from the heart, which is at higher
pressure
Lumen: Smaller lumen relative to diameter
Valves: Semi-lunar valves are present
Veins
Function: Transports de-oxygenated blood towards the heart
Exception: Pulmonary Vein - carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart
Structure: Thin, slightly muscular walls as flow
of blood is slower and lower in pressure
Lumen: Larger lumen relative to diameter
Valves: Semi-lunar valves are present
Capillary
Function: Capillaries connects arteries to veins
Allows exchange of materials between blood and
tissues
Structure: Have one-cell thick walls that enable exchange
of substances to occur rapidly via diffusion
Lumen: No lumen
Valves: Semi-lunar valves are absent
Blood
Blood flows through the blood vessels,
carrying materials around the body
Components of Blood
Plasma
55% of blood
A pale yellowish liquid
90% of plasma is water
10% includes proteins, mineral salts and dissolved food
Function: Soluble proteins which play a part in clotting of blood
Red Blood Cells
About 5 million red blood cells in 1mm (cube) of blood
Function: Transports oxygen from lungs to all parts of the body
White Blood Cells
Function: Involved in phagocytosis (engulfing of foreign particles)
Function: Production of antibodies
About 5000 - 10000 white blood cells in 1mm (cube) of blood
Irregular in shape
Nucleus is present
Haemoglobin is absent
Types of White Blood Cells
Phagocytes
Produced by bone marrow
A lobed nucleus
Involved in the ingestion of foreign
particles like bacteria and digesting
them
Lymphocytes
Produced by lymph glands or lymph nodes
A large and round nucleus
Involved in the production of antibodies
which neutralises toxins produced by the
bacteria
Role of Blood in Transport and Defence
Blood performs many important functions
It acts as a transport medium for various useful substances from one part of the body to
another (e.g. transport of oxygen by RBC), metabolic wastes (e,g. transport of CO2 by
plasma), as well as disease-causing microbes like viruses and bacteria
Substances Transported
Oxygen (in RBC) from lungs to all parts of the body
Digested food (glucose, etc.) from small intestine to other parts of the body
Metabolic waste products (urea, CO2) from all parts of the
body to kidneys
Hormones from glands to target organs
Heat from respiring blood tissues to all parts of the body (maintain temperature)
Protecting the body against disease-carrying organisms by:
i) Ingesting and digesting disease-causing organisms such as bacteria
ii) Producing antibodies that protect us by neutralising the toxins produced by bacteria
iii) Blood clotting at wounds. Blood clot by the platelets seals the wound and prevent entry of bacteria
and further loss of blood
Blood Donation
Components of blood that donated blood can be separated into:
Platelet
Plasma
Red blood cell
Uses of separated components
Plasma: replace clotting factors which may be depleted in bleeding or infection
Red blood cell: Replace loss of RBC in accidents, surgeries, etc.
Platelets: Treatment of dengue, leukaemia and cancer patients
Blood Diseases that require regular blood transfusion
aplastic anemia
thalassaemia
myelofibrosis
Growing need for blood donation in Singapore
As the need for blood in Singapore is growing, with
demand expected to rise by 3 to 5 per cent yearly in
tandem with the ageing population.
Valves
Function: Valves close to prevent a backflow of blood.
Only present in veins where blood pressure is lower
Need for Transport System
Unicellular Organisms
No part of cell is too far from external environment
Exchange of substances occurs by diffusion
Oxygen and nutrients diffuse through cell surface membrane and easily reach all parts of the cell.
Metabolic waster products such as carbon dioxide can be rapidly removed from cell by diffusion
Unicellular organisms do not need transport system
Multicellular Organisms
Cells are situated deep in the body, far from external environment
Diffusion alone is too slow to bring enough oxygen and nutrients to cells or
remove metabolic waste products from cells fast enough
Transport system in humans is needed to carry substances from one part of the body to another
Diffusion and Osmosis in Transport System
In the cells of living organisms, the cell membrane is partially permeable. It controls the movement of substances in and out of
the cell. The following are examples of diffusion and osmosis occurring in the transport system of living organisms
a) In unicellular organisms, oxygen and nutrients can diffuse through cell surface membrane and easily reach all parts of the cell.
Metabolic waste products such as CO2 can also diffuse out and be removed from the cell rapidly
b) In the human transport system, substances are transferred between capillaries and tissue cells via diffusion. Oxygen and dissolved food
substances diffuse from blood capillaries in tissue fluids and cells. Metabolic waste products diffuse from the cells into tissue fluid and then into
blood capillaries
c) The cells in our body must be surrounded by fluid in relatively constant water potential. For example, a red blood cell will:
1) swell if it is in a solution of higher water potential than its cytoplasm and will burst if left at long periods
2) shrink if it is in a solution of lower water potential than the cytoplasm. Little spikes will appear on the cell surface membrane. This process is
called crenation. The cell will become dehydrated and eventually die
Diffusion: Diffusion is the net movement of particles from a region of
higher concentration to a region of lower concentration
Osmosis: Osmosis is the net movement of water molecules from a solution of higher water potential to a
solution of lower water potential through a partially-permeable membrane
Transport-related Technology & Techniques
Cardio-Pulmonary Resuscitation (CPR)
In Singapore, about 2400 people develop an acute heart attack annually, with 1000 people suffering from sudden cardiac arrest in an
out-of-hospital environment also known as "sudden death". The chances of survival drops by 7% to 10% every minute.
What happens to victims during cardiac arrest?
Victim loses consciousness; heart stops beating and breathing stops
Blood circulation ceases
Organ death begins to occur
Most sensitive organ is the brain. If circulation to the brain is not restarted within 4 to 6 minutes, permanent and
irresversible damage can occur
When mouth-to-mouth ventilation is done during CPR, there is just sufficient oxygen in the exhaled air to keep the
victim alive. Chest compression squeezes the heart between the breastbone and the spine and helps to circulate
the blood and deliver this oxygen to the vital organs, especially the brain, heart and kidneys
If CPR is performed promptly and correctly...
1) heart function may be restored
2) circulation may be maintained until other life support measures are available
Automated External Defibrillator (AED)
The AED is a device that delivers electrical shock to restart the pumping action of the heart. It
can increase the survival rate of victims suffering from sudden cardiac arrest
Heart Transplants
The National Heart Center, Singapore (NHCS) set up the heart transplant
program in 1990. It is the only healthcare institution in Singapore that
carries out heart transplantations
Heart transplants are for patients suffering from end-stage heart failure
A key factor in heart transplant is organ availability
A heart transplant involves the replacement of a patient's diseased heart
with a healthy heart from a donor who has suffered brain death
The Human Organ Transplant Act (HOTA) allows for the kidneys, liver, heart and corneas to be
recovered in the event of death from any cause for the purpose of transplantation. Singapore
Citizens and Permanent Residents above 21 years of age and of sound mind are included under
HOTA unless they have opted out