Transport in Animals for WJEC EDUQAS A-Level Biology

Mammalian Double Circulatory System

Think of your heart as having two separate jobs running simultaneously. The pulmonary circuit sends deoxygenated blood to your lungs via the pulmonary artery, whilst the systemic circuit pumps oxygenated blood around your entire body through the aorta. This double system is brilliant because it maintains high pressure for rapid oxygen delivery - exactly what active mammals like us need.

Your heart's plumbing system includes some key players you need to know. The pulmonary veins bring oxygenated blood back from the lungs (confusingly, these veins carry oxygenated blood!), whilst the vena cava returns deoxygenated blood from your body tissues.

The heart's valves work like one-way gates. The tricuspid valve (3 flaps) sits between the right atrium and ventricle, the bicuspid valve (2 flaps) separates the left chambers, and semilunar valves prevent blood flowing backwards from arteries into ventricles.

💡 Remember: The cardiac cycle has three stages - diastole (everything relaxed), atrial systole (atria contract), and ventricular systole (ventricles contract). The sino-atrial node (SAN) acts as your heart's natural pacemaker, starting each heartbeat.

Heart Conduction and Blood Pressure

Your heart's electrical system is remarkably clever. The sino-atrial node (SAN) fires electrical impulses that spread across both atria simultaneously, making them contract together. However, connective tissue prevents this signal reaching the ventricles directly - instead, it travels through the atrioventricular node (AVN) and down the Bundle of His to Purkinje fibres.

This delay system ensures your atria finish emptying before your ventricles start pumping. It's like a perfectly timed relay race that happens roughly 70 times per minute throughout your entire life.

Blood pressure tells a story of physics in action. Pressure is highest leaving your heart through the aorta, then drops progressively due to friction. Arterioles create a massive pressure drop because of their large total surface area, whilst capillaries slow blood flow right down for efficient exchange.

Your blood contains about 55% plasma and 45% cells. Plasma is your body's delivery service, transporting glucose, amino acids, hormones like adrenaline, proteins, and even distributing heat around your body.

💡 Key insight: Blood pressure decreases as distance from the heart increases, but venous return is helped by muscle contractions that massage blood back towards your heart.

Blood Cells and Transport

Your white blood cells (leucocytes) come in two main varieties that you should recognise. Granulocytes have granular, bumpy-looking cytoplasm and lobed nuclei - these are your body's pac-man cells that engulf bacteria. Agranulocytes have clear cytoplasm and round nuclei, and they're your antibody factories.

Red blood cells (erythrocytes) are engineering marvels. Their biconcave disc shape maximises surface area for gas exchange whilst staying flexible enough to squeeze through tiny capillaries. They've ditched their nucleus entirely to pack in more haemoglobin, which can carry 12 times more oxygen than plasma alone.

This nuclear sacrifice is a fascinating trade-off. Without a nucleus, red blood cells can carry maximum oxygen, change shape easily, and provide shorter diffusion distances. However, they can't repair themselves, make new proteins, or reproduce, giving them a lifespan of only about 120 days.

💡 Remember: The biconcave shape isn't just for looks - it's a perfect compromise between maximum surface area and flexibility for navigating your body's narrowest blood vessels.