CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

The main parts of the circulatory system

1, Heart – the pump that enables blood to circulate around the
body
2. Blood- carries the nutrients and oxygen to all the body cells and
takes away the waste products
3. Blood Vessels- tubes through which blood passes from the
heart to the different parts of the body and back to the heart

The blood transports the following materials:

1. Oxygen from the lungs to the tissues
2. Food substances from the digestive tract to the tissues
3. Carbon dioxide from tissues to the lungs
4. Wastes and excess water from the tissues to the kidneys

A. HEART
- Cone shaped and about the size of a fist
- Enclosed in a sac called pericardium
- Made up of muscle called myocardium which has a
definite cycle of contraction and relaxation ( heartbeats)
- Has two upper chambers, the right atrium and the left
atrium
- Has two lower chambers , the right ventricle and the left
ventricle
 - The right atrium receives impure blood containing
waste materials from the body cells
- The left atrium receives pure blood rich in oxygen
- The right ventricle pumps impure blood to the lungs
while the left ventricle pumps pure blood to all parts of
the body

Made up of:
B. Plasma BLOOD
1. – a clear yellow fluid which
carries wastes from the cells of
the body to the lungs, liver and
kidneys
- It is about 90% water and the rest
is proteins, dissolved electrolytes,
nutrients and waste products
- Proteins in plasma:
a. Albumin- keep blood pressure
normal by regulating the amount
of water in the plasma
 b. Globalin- contains antibodies
which light diseases
c. Fibrinogen – works with
platelets in the clotting process
2. Tiny particles/ blood cells
-red corpuscles
a. they are produced in the red
marrow of bones
b. they contain an iron compound
called haemoglobin
c .they carry oxygen to the body
cells and return carbon dioxide to
the lungs
d. They make the blood red
- White corpuscles
a.they are produced in the bone
marrow, the lymph nodes and the
spleen
b. they destroy disease carrying organisms in the body
 c. they fight germs that enter the body

-platelets
a. they produce blood clots with vitamin K and Calcium
b. they stop bleeding

C. BLOOD VESSELS

1. Arteries – carry blood that contains nutrients and

oxygen from the heart to the different parts of the body
2. Capillaries – tiny blood vessels that transfer oxygen and
nutrients from the blood to the cell and wastes from the
cell to the blood by diffusion
3. . Veins – carry blood back to the heart