(MOS) Circulation Lesson

Circulation Lesson

Have you ever noticed that the librarian at your school or local library sits at the circulation desk? That is where you go to check out and return books, videos, and audiotapes. You can enter the library without a book and exit the library with a book.

Your circulatory system works in a similar way.

The following classic 1970s Schoolhouse Rock animated short video, Do the Circulation, uses a catchy tune to explain the circulatory system.

 

While watching the short video, take notes as you think about how the heart helps circulate oxygenated blood throughout your body.

 

The circulatory system, also known as the cardiovascular system, consists of a group of organs that work together to transport nutrients and remove waste from every cell in your body. The cardiovascular system is similar to a highway. If you are in Atlanta, you can take I-20 east to get to Augusta, GA.  You can also get back to Atlanta by traveling on I-20 west. Blood can travel in three types of blood vessels: arteries, veins, and capillaries. The arteries in your body lead away from your heart whereas the veins lead towards your heart. The arteries carry oxygenated blood away from the heart. Veins carry poorly oxygenated blood to the heart. Carbon dioxide is a waste product produced by the breakdown of glucose to make energy for the cell. Blood transports carbon dioxide to the lungs where it can be exhaled. Therefore, blood plays a very important role in this transportation system within your body.

 

Blood, a key part of the circulator system, performs many necessary functions within the body including:

  • supplying oxygen to the tissue
  • supplying nutrients (such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids) to cels
  • removing waste such as carbon dioxide, urea, and lactic acid
  • circulating white blood cells that help provide us immunity
  • coagulating (blood clotting after an open wound in order to stop bleeding) part of the body's self-repair strategies
  • regulating body temperature

 

 

The following chart, based upon information from the American Red Cross Blood Components webpage, is a visual repsternum. The heart has two sides that are separated by the septum. Each side has two basic chambers for a total of four chambers within the heart. The upper chambers are called the atria, plural for atrium. The right atrium receives oxygen poor blood from veins in the body. The right ventricle receives this blood from the right atrium and pumps it to the lungs so that it can become packed with oxygen. The left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs. The lower chambers are called ventricles. The left ventricle sends oxygenated enriched blood to all parts of the body.

 

Learn more by clicking on each component of human blood to learn more about it's characteristics:

 

[CC BY 4.0] UNLESS OTHERWISE NOTED | IMAGES: LICENSED AND USED ACCORDING TO TERMS OF SUBSCRIPTION