Circulatory System

Objective: To understand and observed blood components and circulation in fish

Introduction: Most animals are complex multicellular organisms that require a mechanism for

transporting nutrients throughout their bodies and removing waste products. The circulatory

system has evolved over time from simple diffusion through cells in the early evolution of

animals to a complex network of blood vessels that reach all parts of the human body. This

extensive network supplies the cells, tissues, and organs with oxygen and nutrients, and removes

carbon dioxide and waste, which are byproducts of respiration. At the core of the human

circulatory system is the heart. The size of a clenched fist, the human heart is protected beneath

the rib cage. Made of specialized and unique cardiac muscle, it pumps blood throughout the body

and to the heart itself. Heart contractions are driven by intrinsic electrical impulses that the brain

and endocrine hormones help to regulate. Understanding the heart’s basic anatomy and function

is important to understanding the body’s circulatory and respiratory systems. Gas exchange is

one essential function of the circulatory system. A circulatory system is not needed in organisms

with no specialized respiratory organs because oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse directly

between their body tissues and the external environment. However, in organisms that possess

lungs and gills, oxygen must be transported from these specialized respiratory organs to the body

tissues via a circulatory system. Therefore,circulatory systems have had to evolve to

accommodate the great diversity of body sizes and body types present among animals.
Materials: Light or dissecting microscope,Live fish(common carp),Clean slides or petri

dish,Cotton,Fish net and Aquarium

Procedure: A net was used to The fish was wraped The tail was let to
catch a fish on an gently in cotton protrude from the
aquarium in the lab soaked in water from cotton
the aquarium

The fish was The fish was placed in

returned gently to The moving
a clean slide and was
the aquarium blood was noted
examined the tail with
the light microscope

Discussion: The experiment of observing fish under a light microscope.This was probably to

observe the blood component and circulation in fish because it has simple circulatory system

unlike human which is two chambered heart,blood and blood vessels.However in this

experiment,the circulation of blood in fish was observed in their tail using the power lens of

4x,10x and 40x.This can be explained where the blood in the arteries is coming from the anterior

end of the fish,where the heart is in relation to the tail.

Conclusion: In most animals, the circulatory system is used to transport blood through the body.

Some primitive animals use diffusion for the exchange of water, nutrients, and gases. However,

complex organisms use the circulatory system to carry gases, nutrients, and waste through the

body. Circulatory systems may be open (mixed with the interstitial fluid) or closed (separated

from the interstitial fluid). Closed circulatory systems are a characteristic of vertebrates;

however, there are significant differences in the structure of the heart and the circulation of blood

between the different vertebrate groups due to adaptions during evolution and associated

differences in anatomy. Fish have a two-chambered heart with unidirectional circulation.

Amphibians have a three-chambered heart, which has some mixing of the blood, and they have

double circulation. Most non-avian reptiles have a three-chambered heart, but have little mixing

of the blood; they have double circulation. Mammals and birds have a four-chambered heart with

no mixing of the blood and double circulation.

References:

https://opentextbc.ca/biology/chapter/21-1-overview-of-the-circulatory-system/

(5 April 2019,9.50pm)

https://unilearning.uow.edu.au/report/2bvi1.html (5 April 2019,10.00pm)

https://courses.lumenlearning.com/suny-mcc-biology2/chapter/589/ (5 April 2019,9.30pm)

Questions:

1) Is the blood moving at a steady and in the same direction?

The blood is not steady and not in the same direction.

2) What does this tell you?

This tells that one flow is deoxygenated blood from tail to heart another flow is blood of

nutrients and oxygenated blood away from heart to all parts of body

3) Are you looking at an artery,vein or capillary?

We are looking at artery and vein

4) How do you know?

The artery appear to be full of moving blood cells, all moving at a rapid pace, caused by the

pressure of the artery being closer to the heart.The veinwill be full of blood cells, moving at a

much slower rate.

Blood
Blood is a type of connective tissue. About 55% of blood is a straw-coloured fluid called

plasma. Suspended in plasma are cells, the most abundant of which are red blood cells or

erythrocytes. There are about 250 000 erythrocytes in a drop of blood. Answer all the

questions below.

1) What is in plasma?

In plasma has contains water, salts, enzymes, antibodies and other proteins.

2) What is the function of plasma?

To transport nutrients, hormones, and proteins to the parts of the body that need it.

3) How many different types of blood cells and what are they?

Type of blood cells are plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

4) What is the function of each kind of blood cell?

Plasma is to transport blood cells throughout your body along with nutrients, waste products,

antibodies, clotting proteins, chemical messengers such as hormones, and proteins that help

maintain the body's fluid balance.

Hemoglobin is the protein inside red blood cells that carries oxygen. Red blood cells also remove

carbon dioxide from your body, transporting it to the lungs for you to exhale.

White blood cells (also called leukocytes or leucocytes and abbreviated as WBCs) are the cells

of the immune system that are involved in protecting the body against both infectious disease

and foreign invaders.

Platelets is to prevent bleeding.

5) What is the approximate ratio of red blood cells to white blood cells in human blood?

Red blood cell: 95%

White blood cell: 1%

6) What are some diseases of blood? What are the symptoms of these diseases?

Anemia,Leukemia,Lymphoma

Symptoms

Anemia: Easy fatigue and loss of energy,Dizziness,Pale skin, Leg cramps,Insomnia.

Leukemia: Fever or chills, Easy bleeding or bruising,Swollen lymph nodes,Losing weight

without trying.

Lymphoma: Fever,Shortness of breath,Night sweats,Persistent fatigue