Download Use the words below to label the diagram of the human heart. One

Circulatory System
The circulatory system works with other body systems.
 The circulatory system transports digested materials from the digestive
system to cells of the body. It also transports oxygen to cells of the body and
removes carbon dioxide and other wastes through the blood.
 The circulatory system can be considered as two smaller systems:
pulmonary-moves blood to the lungs and the systemic system-moves blood
to the rest of the body
Structures in the circulatory system function together.
 The human heart is divided into four chambers. It pumps oxygen-poor blood
from the right ventricle to the lungs. Oxygen-rich blood is pumped from the
left ventricle to the rest of the body. The left atrium receives oxygen-rich
blood from the lungs, and the right atrium receives oxygen-poor blood from
the rest of the body.
 Blood is a tissue made up of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and
platelets. Red blood cells carry oxygen to other cells of the body. White blood
cells help your body fight infection. Platelets help to form blood clots when a
blood vessel is injured. A scab that forms around a cut or scrape is made of
clotted blood.
 Blood vessels include arteries, veins, and capillaries. Most arteries carry
blood away from the heart, and most veins carry blood towards the heart.
Exchanges of gases and other materials take place in capillaries.
Blood exerts pressure on blood vessels.
o Blood pressure is the force that blood exerts on the arteries, veins,
and capillaries. High or low pressure can cause serious medical
conditions.
o A sphygmomanometer is a device that measure blood pressure.
There are four different types of blood.
o A, B, AB, and O are determined by antigens and red blood cells.
o If you have A antigens then you have type A blood. If you have both A
and B antigens, then you have AB blood. If you do not have antigens,
then you have Type O blood.
Name _______________________
Use the words below to label the diagram of the human heart. One word will
be used twice.
Answers: 1.valve 2.right atrium 3.valves 4.right ventricle
7.valve 8. left ventricle 9. septum
5.aorta
6. left atrium
(Attachment 2)
adapted from Frank Schaffer
Publications, Inc
Red Gold
What Is Blood Made Of?
Blood is a mixture of cells and a watery liquid, called plasma, that the cells float in. It also contains
other things like nutrients (such as sugar), hormones, clotting agents, and waste products to be
flushed out of the body.
There are three kinds of cells in the blood: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Red
blood cells carry oxygen from the lungs throughout the body, white blood cells help fight infection,
and platelets help in clotting.
Red blood cells (also called erythrocytes) are the most numerous, making up 40-45 percent of one's
blood, and they give blood its characteristic color. Red blood cells are shaped like tiny doughnuts,
with an indentation in the center instead of a hole. They contain a special molecule called
hemoglobin, which carries the oxygen. In the lungs, where there is a lot of oxygen, the hemoglobin
molecules loosely bind with oxygen. Each molecule of hemoglobin contains four iron atoms, and
each iron atom can bind with one molecule of oxygen, allowing each hemoglobin molecule to carry
four molecules of oxygen. In the capillaries, where there is little oxygen, the hemoglobin readily
sheds the oxygen it is carrying and allows it to be absorbed by the body's cells. The iron in
hemoglobin is what makes blood red.
White blood cells (leukocytes) are the body's mobile warriors in the battle against infection and
invasion. There are three types of white blood cell: granulocytes, lymphocytes, and monocytes.
There are, in turn, three kinds of granulocyte: neutrophils, eosinophils, and basophils.
(Granulocytes are called that because they contain granules that hold digestive enzymes.)
Neutrophils kill invading bacteria by ingesting and then digesting them. Eosinophils kill parasites,
and are involved in allergic reactions. Basophils also function in allergic reactions, but are not well
understood. Lymphocytes are key parts of the body's immune system. There are two kinds of
lymphocyte: T cells and B lymphocytes. T cells direct the activity of the immune system. B
lymphocytes produce antibodies, which destroy foreign bodies. Monocytes, the largest kind of white
blood cells, enter the tissues of the body and turn into even larger cells called macrophages. These
eat foreign bacteria and destroy damaged, old, and dead cells of the body itself.
The blood cells called platelets (thrombocytes) help blood to clot, in several different ways. When
bleeding occurs, platelets clump together to help form a clot. Also, when they are exposed to air (as
they would be by a wound), platelets start breaking down and release a substance into the
bloodstream. This substance starts a chain of chemical events that eventually causes a protein in
the blood, fibrinogen, to turn into a different substance, fibrin, which forms long threads. These
threads tangle up red blood cells to help form a clot, or scab, over the wound.
In their "resting" state, platelets look like two plates stuck together (hence the name). When
"activated" and helping to form a clot, they change shape and look like tiny roundish blobs with
tentacles. At only two to three microns, they are the smallest kind of blood cell. Plasma is a clear,
straw-colored liquid that carries the blood cells and various hormones, nutrients, and so on through
the body. It makes up a little more than half of the total blood volume.
Plasma is about 90 percent water. Much of the other ten percent comprises various kinds of protein
molecules, including enzymes, clotting agents, immunoglobulins (part of the immune system), and
proteins that carry hormones, vitamins, cholesterol, and other things the body needs. Plasma also
contains sugar (glucose) and electrolytes like sodium, potassium, and calcium, as well as other
things like the aforementioned hormones, vitamins, and cholesterol.
-- Sue Wilson
PBS