Circulatory System

6 th Grade
 Circulatory System
Structures

• Heart
• Blood Vessels
– Arteries
– Veins
– Capillaries
• Blood
 Circulatory System
Function

• The overall function of the circulatory system is

to transport materials throughout the body
toward and away from particular target organs
and tissues.
 Two Pathways
• Pulmonary Circulation
– Carries blood to lungs and back to the heart

• Systemic Circulation
– Carries blood to body and back to the heart
 Capillaries of head and arms

Superior vena Pulmonary artery

Aorta
cava

Pulmonary vein
Capillaries of right Capillaries of left
lung lung

Inferior vena cava

Capillaries of abdominal
organs and legs
 Your Blood Vessels:
Pathway of Circulation

 3 types of vessels
– Arteries
– Capillaries
– Veins
Artery vs. Vein
 Arteries:
carries blood Away from heart

– Large
– Thick-walled, Muscular
– Elastic
– Oxygenated blood
 Exception Pulmonary Artery
– Carried under great pressure
– Steady pulsating
Arterioles: smaller vessels, enter tissue
 Capillaries

– Smallest vessel
– Microscopic
– Walls one cell thick
– Nutrients and gases diffuse here
 Veins:
Carries blood to heart

– Carries blood that contains

waste and CO2
 Exception pulmonary vein
– Blood not under much
pressure
– Valves to prevent much
gravity pull

Venules: larger than capillaries

 Varicose Veins
Damaged Valves in Veins
 Your Heart: The Vital Pump
 At REST, the heart
pumps about 5
QUARTS of blood a
minute.
 During EXTREME
EXERTION (exercise)
it can pump 40 quarts
a minute.
 Heart:
Structure and Function

 Keeps blood moving

 Large organ
composed of Cardiac
muscle
 Structure of Heart

 Four chambers
– Two upper (Atria)
 Right Atria
 Left Atria
– Two lower
(Ventricles)
 Right Ventricle
 Left Ventricle
Bloods Path Through the Heart

 Both Atria fill at same time

– Rt atrium receives oxygen POOR blood from

body via the vena cavas

– Left atrium receives oxygen RICH blood from

lungs through four pulmonary veins

 After filled with blood atria contract,

pushing blood into ventricle
 Both ventricles contract

Right ventricle contracts and pushes

oxygen-poor blood toward lungs,
 against gravity,
 through pulmonary arteries
Bloods Path Through the Heart
(cont)

Left ventricle contracts and forces oxygen

rich blood
 out of heart through
 aorta (largest vessel)
 The Blood
 Body contains 4-6 L
 Consists of
– Water
– Red Blood Cells
– Plasma
– White blood cells and
platelets
 Erythrocytes (RBC)

 Transporters of
– Oxygen
– Carbon Dioxide
 RBC are produced in red bone
marrow of
– ribs,
– humerus,
– femur,
– sternum, and other long bones
 Leukocytes (WBC)

 WBC fight infection

– Attack foreign
substances
 Less abundant
 Large cells
 Platelets

 PLATELETS are for CLOTTING blood

 Cell fragments
 Produced in bone marrow
 Fibrin (sticky network of protein
fibers)
– Form a web trapping blood cells
Blood Clotting
Section 37-2

Break in Capillary Wall Clumping of Platelets Clot Forms

Blood vessels injured. Platelets clump at the site Thrombin converts

and release thromboplastin. fibrinogen into fibrin, which
Thromboplastin converts causes a clot. The clot
prothrombin into thrombin.. prevents further loss of
blood..
 Blood Types
 Massive loss of blood requires a transfusion
 Four Types
–A
–B
– AB
–O
 Inherited from your parents
Blood Types
What happens when you mix blood
types?
 Plasma contains proteins that
correspond to the shape of the
different antigens
 If you mix one type with the
wrong one, you get CLUMPING
 Type O is the universal donor
 Type AB is the universal acceptor
What Makes Our Blood Type?
 Blood Transfusions

Blood Type Blood Type of Recipient

of Donor
A B AB O

AB

Unsuccessful transfusion Successful transfusion

 Rh Factor
 Rhesus factor (Rh), also inherited
– Rh+ (have antigen)
– Rh- (NO antigen)
 Can cause complications in pregnancies
– mother Rh- 1st baby Rh+ : blood mixes with
mother; mother’s body makes anti-Rh+
antibodies
– 2nd Rh + body attacks baby
– Now have medicine to prevent antibody
formation
Getting to the Heart of the Matter
 ENGAGE
1. Walt Disney’s 1957 “Hemo the Magnificent”

2. Play song from St. Joseph’s Aspirin Commercial

(originally in Happy Days episode) at:

http://www.stjosephaspirin.com/page.jhtml?id=/stjoseph/include/5_2.inc
 Lyrics

• Pump, pump, pumps your Blood.

• The right atrium’s where the process begins, where the
CO2 Blood enters the heart.
• Through the tricuspid valve, to the right ventricle, the
pulmonary artery, and lungs.
• Once inside the lungs, it dumps its carbon dioxide and
picks up its oxygen supply.
• Then it’s back to the heart through the pulmonary vein,
through the atrium and left ventricle.
• Pump, pump, pumps your Blood.
 EXPLORE

• Circulatory System
Simulation
 Capillaries of head and arms

Superior vena Pulmonary artery

Aorta
cava

Pulmonary vein
Capillaries of right Capillaries of left
lung lung

Inferior vena cava

Capillaries of abdominal
organs and legs
 EXPLAIN
Circulation Coloring Activity
1. Color the path of oxygenated blood red.

2. Color the path of deoxygenated blood blue

3. Label the following structures on the above diagram:

Aorta
Left Atria Right Atria
Left Ventricle Right Ventricle
Lungs Vena Cava
Tissues of the Body Capillaries

4. Use arrows to indicate blood flow direction.

 ELABORATE

Circulation Relay

What is Blood Made of?

What is Blood Made of?
• CANDY RED HOTS 44%: Red Blood
Cells (RBCs) - carry oxygen and
carbon dioxide around body, RBCs
only live for about 3 months but are
continuously produced in the bone
marrow.
CORN SYRUP 55%: Plasma/Water -
syrupy, thick, clear, yellowish liquid
that carries dissolved food and
wastes in water.
WHITE JELLY BEANS 1/2%: White
Blood Cells (WBCs) - bigger than
RBCs, oddly-shaped cells that 'eat'
bits of old blood cells and attack
germs.
CANDY SPRINKLES 1/2%: Platelets
- bits of cells and cytoplasm that help
your blood clot.
 EVALUATE
• Given a drawing the student will label and describe the
functions of the four major parts of the circulatory system:
Heart, arteries, veins and capillaries.
• After participating the circulatory relay simulation, the
learner will travel the correct circulation pathway beginning
at the left ventricle and ending at the left atrium.
• After participating in the blood activity, the learner will list
the following four components of the blood: RBC, WBC,
Plasma and Platelets and describe the function of blood.