Give a brief outline of transport system in humans.
Give a brief outline of transport system in humans.
Transport system in humans
The transport system, also known as the circulatory system, is the group of organs, tissues and cells that help transport nutrients, gases, hormones and waste products throughout the body. The main components of this system are:
- Circulatory medium: Blood and lymph
- Blood vessels: Arteries, veins and capillaries
- Heart (pumping organ)
Circulatory medium
- Blood: Blood is a mobile, red, watery fluid that flows through the blood vessels. It is red due to the presence of a pigment called hemoglobin. Blood comprises 55% plasma and 45% blood cells (RBC, WBC & platelets). An average person usually has about 5.5 liters of blood in the body.
- Lymph: Lymph is a pale yellowish or colorless fluid that resembles the blood except that they lack red blood corpuscles and platelets. The composition of lymph may vary; however, about 94% of the lymph is usually water and 6% are dissolved substances like proteins, salts and a large number of white blood cells.
Blood vessels
Blood vessels are hollow tube-like structures that carry blood to and from all body parts. There are mainly three types of blood vessels:
- Arteries: These blood vessels are mainly responsible for carrying blood away from the heart. They usually carry oxygenated blood (blood with a higher oxygen saturation) only exception being the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood.
- Veins: These blood vessels are slightly thinner than arteries and carry blood to the heart. They usually carry deoxygenated blood (blood with low saturation oxygen) only exception being the pulmonary veins which carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart.
- Capillaries are fine branching blood vessels forming a network between arteries and veins.
Heart
The heart is a muscular organ of our body whose primary function is to pump blood throughout the body with the help of blood vessels. It is the main pumping organ. The human heart is of four chambers.
- There are two upper chambers called atria or auricles responsible for pumping blood into the respective ventricles.
- There are two lower chambers called ventricles. The right ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the pulmonary artery, which carries it to the lungs. The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood to the aorta, which carries it throughout the body.
The human heart is covered with a double membrane called the pericardium. The heart wall comprises three layers: Epicardium, Myocardium and Endocardium.
Transport system in humans
The transport system, also known as the circulatory system, is the group of organs, tissues and cells that help transport nutrients, gases, hormones and waste products throughout the body. The main components of this system are:
- Circulatory medium: Blood and lymph
- Blood vessels: Arteries, veins and capillaries
- Heart (pumping organ)
Circulatory medium
- Blood: Blood is a mobile, red, watery fluid that flows through the blood vessels. It is red due to the presence of a pigment called hemoglobin. Blood comprises 55% plasma and 45% blood cells (RBC, WBC & platelets). An average person usually has about 5.5 liters of blood in the body.
- Lymph: Lymph is a pale yellowish or colorless fluid that resembles the blood except that they lack red blood corpuscles and platelets. The composition of lymph may vary; however, about 94% of the lymph is usually water and 6% are dissolved substances like proteins, salts and a large number of white blood cells.
Blood vessels
Blood vessels are hollow tube-like structures that carry blood to and from all body parts. There are mainly three types of blood vessels:
- Arteries: These blood vessels are mainly responsible for carrying blood away from the heart. They usually carry oxygenated blood (blood with a higher oxygen saturation) only exception being the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood.
- Veins: These blood vessels are slightly thinner than arteries and carry blood to the heart. They usually carry deoxygenated blood (blood with low saturation oxygen) only exception being the pulmonary veins which carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart.
- Capillaries are fine branching blood vessels forming a network between arteries and veins.
Heart
The heart is a muscular organ of our body whose primary function is to pump blood throughout the body with the help of blood vessels. It is the main pumping organ. The human heart is of four chambers.
- There are two upper chambers called atria or auricles responsible for pumping blood into the respective ventricles.
- There are two lower chambers called ventricles. The right ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood to the pulmonary artery, which carries it to the lungs. The left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood to the aorta, which carries it throughout the body.
The human heart is covered with a double membrane called the pericardium. The heart wall comprises three layers: Epicardium, Myocardium and Endocardium.
