Transport System

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In today’s Biology class, We will be learning about the Transport System the body. We hope you enjoy the class!

 

CONTENT                                               

• Transport system
• Need for a transport system
• Relating transport in lower organisms to that in higher organisms
• Transport material in animals and plant
• Diverse mechanism of transportation in some organisms
• The transport system in mammals (man)
• Functions of blood

 

Transport system

A transport system is a system moving of metabolic materials from various parts of an organism where they are produced and transported to other parts where such are used, stored or removed from the body.

 

Need For Transport System

All living organisms (plants and animals) need a transport system for the following reasons

• To obtain essential materials such as oxygen, water and nutrients.
• To remove metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide, urea, water, etc.
• For moving water and mineral salts from the soil through the roots to the various parts of a plant.
• For transfer of hormones from production site to site of action.
• For the transfer of glucose to various parts of plants.

 

 

RELATING TRANSPORT IN LOWER ORGANISMS TO THAT IN HIGHER ORGANISM

	Transport in Lower Organisms	Transport in Higher Organisms
1	Substances are moved over a small distance	Substances are moved over a greater distance
2	Transport is by simple diffusion	Transport involves diffusion and other means.
3	Diffusion is enough because the surface area to volume ratio (A/V) is great	An Effusion transport system is necessary because surface area to volume ratio (A/V) is too small
4	Cells are not isolated	Isolated groups of cells need to be connected
5	Transport materials are small in quantity.	Transport materials are large in quantity.

 

EVALUATION

1. What is the transport system?
2. State the need for a transport system.

 

 

Transport Materials In Animals

	Materials Transported	Source	Destination
1	Oxygen	Lungs	All living cells of the body
2	Carbon dioxide	Body cells	Lungs
3	Urea	Body cells	Liver
4	Excess salts	Body cells	Skin and kidney
5	Water	Body cell	Skin, lungs, liver, kidney etc
6	Amino acid	Small intestine	Body cells
7	Vitamins	Small intestine	Body cells
8	Sugar	Body cells	Body cells
9	Fatty acid and glycerol	Small intestine	Body cells
10	Mineral salt	Small intestine	Body cells
11	Hormones	Endocrine glands	Target organs of tissue
12	Antibodies	White blood cells	All body parts

 

Transport Materials in Plants

Materials Transported	Source	Destination
Manufactured food	Leaves	All body cells
Excretory Products       (C02 and water)	All living cells	Site of excretion e.g. stomata
Water (absorbed)	Soil	Leaves and other parts of the leaves

 

Other materials transported in plants are:

1. Oxygen 2.nitrogen waste products (latex) 3. amino acids 4. glucose 5. lipids 6. auxins (hormones) 7.mineral salts

 

Transport Media

Liquid or fluid is usually the medium of transportation of minerals. Generally speaking, the four major media of transportation in organisms are:

Cytoplasm: Used in lower unicellular organisms such as amoeba, Chlamydomonas, euglena, etc.

Cell sap/ Latex: A concentrated solution in the cell vacuole of plants.

Blood: Used in most animals, especially vertebrates for the conveyance of essential materials like oxygen, digested food, etc.

Lymph:  Found in higher animals. Lymph is a fluid with extra lymphocytes (W.B.C with no red blood cells present). It returns its fluid to the main vein through the opening in the subclavian (left jugular) vein below the neck. Lacteal is a lymphatic vessel transporting fatty acids and glycerol. The lymph movement is enhanced by muscular action. It moves through the lymph vessel. Some swellings exist in the gut along the lymphatic vessel, especially in the neck, groin and armpit called lymph nodes. These are where lymph passes through to be purified before entering into the bloodstream. Unlike the circulatory system, the lymphatic system ends blindly.

 

 

Evaluation

1. Mention two differences between the lymphatic system and the circulatory system.
2. List transport materials common to both plants and animals

 

Diverse Mechanisms of Transportation in Some Organisms

Unicellular Organisms

Materials are transported through continuous streaming movements. The streaming could be along the direction of movement of the organism, back to front (e.g. Amoeba) or in a circular motion (e.g. Paramecium)

 

Multicellular Organism

1. Hydra

The movement of the gut wall draws water into the gut and causes digested food and oxygen within it to circulate. Thus the cell lining the gut absorbs the materials. The whopping movement of the flagella of flagellated cells also helps in material circulation in the gut.

2. Flatworms

The large body surface area to volume ratio and extensive branching gut throughout the body makes the food and oxygen to diffuse into all the body cells. Movement of the body wall assists to transport waste products out of the body.

3. Insects and molluscs

Both have an open circulatory system i.e. the heart pumps blood out into a blood vessel with branches open into spaces in the body cavity known as Haemocoels. Blood from these spaces eventually flows into the vessels leading into the heart. Blood flows in unidirectional and blood distribution is poorly controlled.

 

TRANSPORT SYSTEM IN MAMMALS (MAN)

The media of transportation in man include the blood and lymph.

 

COMPOSITION AND STRUCTURE OF BLOOD

The blood is a tissue in a fluid form. It is about 5-6 litres in the body. Blood is made of two major components.The blood cells (corpuscles); which are solid.The plasma which; is liquid.

 

 

 

BLOOD CELLS

There are three types

• Red blood cells (erythrocyte)
• White blood cells (leucocytes)
• Blood platelets (thrombocytes)

 

Blood Cells	Description	Function
RBC	1.    Small, round and disc-like in shape 2.    Has no nucleus. 3.    One cubic litre of blood has about 5.5million of red blood cells. 4.    Has a life span about 120 days	Helps to transport oxygen from lungs to the body cells through its pigment (haemoglobin). Haemoglobin combines readily with oxygen to form oxyhaemoglobin in the lungs
WBC	1.    Irregular (i.e. amoeboid in shaped) 2.    Relatively large and colourless (larger than RBC but fewer) 3.    Contain nucleus- about 5,000-10,000 per pinhead of blood (cubic millilitre of blood)	Help to defend the body against diseases by engulfing and intruding pathogens (bacteria and virus) or by secreting antibodies.

RBC- Red Blood Cell                               WBC- White Blood Cell

 

White blood cells are of two types;

Phagocytes- found in the lymphatic system which ingest bacteria, viruses and dead cells to prevent diseases in a process called phagocytosis.

Lymphocytes– made in lymph glands and they produce antibodies i.e. chemicals which stick to the surface of germs to kill them.

Blood cell	Description	Function
Platelets	1.    Tiny, Irregular all fragments 2.    Have no nucleus 3.    Fewer in number and smaller in size than RBC. 4.     About 250,000 – 400,000 per cubic ml of blood. 5.    Produced in the red bone marrow.	Aids in blood clotting
Blood plasma (transport liquid)	1.    The liquid component of blood 2.    A pale yellow liquid made up mainly of water (about 90% water) together with other dissolved substances like plasma proteins antibodies, hormones, enzymes, gases, digested food, salts and other waste products	Transport the dissolved substances and the blood cells.
Lymph	1.    A colourless liquid in the lymphatic system that has a similar composition to the tissue fluid but contains extra lymphocytes. 2.    Has no red cell	·         Body defence by producing white blood cells. Disease-causing microorganisms found in the lymph are pushed out in the lymph node and engulfed by phagocytes. ·         Absorption of fatty acid and glycerol

 

FUNCTIONS OF BLOOD

1. Oxygen is transported through haemoglobin.
2. Temperature regulation by evenly distributing heat produced in the liver and the muscles throughout the body.
3. Transportation of digested food (glucose, amino acid, fatty acids and glycerol) from the villi to all body cells and tissues for use or storage.
4. Transportation of excretory products (C02, water, urea) from the site of production to excretory organs like skin, lungs, liver and kidney for removal
5. Transfer of hormones from production site to target organs.
6. Transportation of water (90% of the blood content) to various cells for metabolic activities.
7. Defence against infection through the action of WBC
8. Blood clotting initiated by the platelets when injury is sustained
9. Production of antibodies by the WBC for destroying pathogens and their harmful product.

 

Reading Assignment

College Biology, Chapter 7, Page 147 – 156

 

WEEKEND ASSIGNMENT

SECTION A

1. The following are true except the ______ A. substances are removed over greater distance B. transport is by simple diffusion C. diffusion is enough for transport D. substances are moved over a short distance
2. The following metabolic materials are transported from body cells to the skin and kidney. A.sugar B. hormones C. excess salt D. protein

3. The transport medium which plays active roles in the defence and metabolism of lipids is … A. cytoplasm B. lymph C. blood D. platelets
4. The following animals except one has an open circulatory system A. goat B. house flies C. snail D. grasshopper.
5. One of the following has a nucleus A. red blood cell B. white blood cells C. platelets D. hydra

 

SECTION B

1. (a) Why is blood a tissue?

(b) Differentiate between blood and lymph.

2. Describe the transport system in a named mollusc.

 

 

We have come to the end of this class. We do hope you enjoyed the class?

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In our next class, we will be learning about the Circulatory System. We are very much eager to meet you there.

 

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