ANIMAL CIRCULATION

Circulatory systems link exchange

surfaces with cells throughout the body

• Diffusion is only efficient over small distances

• In small and/or thin animals, cells can exchange
materials directly with the surrounding medium
• In most animals, cells exchange materials with the
environment via a fluid-filled circulatory system

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Gastrovascular Cavities
• Some animals lack a circulatory system
• Some cnidarians, such as jellies, have elaborate
gastrovascular cavities
• A gastrovascular cavity functions in both digestion
and distribution of substances throughout the body
• The body wall that encloses the gastrovascular
cavity is only two cells thick
• Flatworms have a gastrovascular cavity and a
large surface area to volume ratio

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Figure 42.2

Circular Mouth
canal Gastrovascular
cavity

Mouth

Pharynx
Radial canals 5 cm 2 mm

(a) The moon jelly Aurelia, a cnidarian (b) The planarian Dugesia, a flatworm
Figure 42.2a

Circular Mouth
canal

Radial canals 5 cm
(a) The moon jelly Aurelia, a cnidarian
Figure 42.2b

Gastrovascular
cavity

Mouth

Pharynx
2 mm

(b) The planarian Dugesia, a flatworm

Evolutionary Variation in Circulatory
Systems
• A circulatory system minimizes the diffusion
distance in animals with many cell layers

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General Properties of Circulatory Systems
• A circulatory system has
– A circulatory fluid
– A set of interconnecting vessels
– A muscular pump, the heart
• The circulatory system connects the fluid that
surrounds cells with the organs that exchange
gases, absorb nutrients, and dispose of wastes
• Circulatory systems can be open or closed and
vary in the number of circuits in the body

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Open and Closed Circulatory Systems
• In insects, other arthropods, and most molluscs,
blood bathes the organs directly in an open
circulatory system
• In an open circulatory system, there is no
distinction between blood and interstitial fluid, and
this general body fluid is called hemolymph

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Figure 42.3

(a) An open circulatory system (b) A closed circulatory system

Heart Heart

Interstitial fluid
Hemolymph in sinuses Blood
surrounding organs Small branch
vessels in
each organ
Pores Dorsal Auxiliary
vessel hearts
(main heart)

Tubular heart Ventral vessels

Figure 42.3a

(a) An open circulatory system

Heart

Hemolymph in sinuses
surrounding organs

Pores

Tubular heart
 • In a closed circulatory system, blood is
confined to vessels and is distinct from the
interstitial fluid
• Closed systems are more efficient at transporting
circulatory fluids to tissues and cells
• Annelids, cephalopods, and vertebrates have
closed circulatory systems

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Figure 42.3b

(b) A closed circulatory system

Heart

Interstitial fluid
Blood
Small branch
vessels in
each organ
Dorsal Auxiliary
vessel hearts
(main heart)

Ventral vessels
Organization of Vertebrate Circulatory
Systems
• Humans and other vertebrates have a closed
circulatory system called the cardiovascular
system
• The three main types of blood vessels are arteries,
veins, and capillaries
• Blood flow is one way in these vessels

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 • Arteries branch into arterioles and carry blood
away from the heart to capillaries
• Networks of capillaries called capillary beds are
the sites of chemical exchange between the blood
and interstitial fluid
• Venules converge into veins and return blood
from capillaries to the heart

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 • Arteries and veins are distinguished by the
direction of blood flow, not by O2 content
• Vertebrate hearts contain two or more chambers
• Blood enters through an atrium and is pumped
out through a ventricle

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Single Circulation
• Bony fishes, rays, and sharks have single
circulation with a two-chambered heart
• In single circulation, blood leaving the heart
passes through two capillary beds before returning

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Figure 42.4

(a) Single circulation (b) Double circulation

Pulmonary circuit

Gill Lung
capillaries capillaries
Artery

Heart:
Atrium (A) A A

Ventricle (V) V V
Right Left

Vein

Body Systemic
capillaries capillaries

Key Systemic circuit

Oxygen-rich blood
Oxygen-poor blood
Figure 42.4a
(a) Single circulation

Gill
capillaries
Artery

Heart:
Atrium (A)
Ventricle (V)

Vein

Body
capillaries
Key
Oxygen-rich blood
Oxygen-poor blood
Double Circulation
• Amphibian, reptiles, and mammals have double
circulation
• Oxygen-poor and oxygen-rich blood are pumped
separately from the right and left sides of the heart

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Figure 42.4b
(b) Double circulation

Pulmonary circuit

Lung
capillaries

A A
V V
Right Left

Systemic
capillaries

Key Systemic circuit

Oxygen-rich blood
Oxygen-poor blood
 • In reptiles and mammals, oxygen-poor blood flows
through the pulmonary circuit to pick up oxygen
through the lungs
• In amphibians, oxygen-poor blood flows through a
pulmocutaneous circuit to pick up oxygen
through the lungs and skin
• Oxygen-rich blood delivers oxygen through the
systemic circuit
• Double circulation maintains higher blood pressure
in the organs than does single circulation

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 Adaptations of Double Circulatory Systems
• Hearts vary in different vertebrate groups

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 Amphibians
• Frogs and other amphibians have a three-
chambered heart: two atria and one ventricle
• The ventricle pumps blood into a forked artery that
splits the ventricle’s output into the
pulmocutaneous circuit and the systemic circuit
• When underwater, blood flow to the lungs is nearly
shut off

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Figure 42.5a

Amphibians

Pulmocutaneous circuit

Lung
and skin
capillaries

Atrium Atrium
(A) (A)

Right Left
Ventricle (V)

Systemic Key
capillaries
Oxygen-rich blood
Systemic circuit Oxygen-poor blood
 Reptiles (Except Birds)
• Turtles, snakes, and lizards have a three-
chambered heart: two atria and one ventricle
• In alligators, caimans, and other crocodilians a
septum divides the ventricle
• Reptiles have double circulation, with a pulmonary
circuit (lungs) and a systemic circuit

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Figure 42.5b

Reptiles (Except Birds)

Pulmonary circuit

Lung
capillaries

Right
Left
systemic
systemic
aorta
aorta
Atrium A
(A) V Incomplete
Ventricle septum
Right Left
(V)

Systemic Key
capillaries
Oxygen-rich blood
Systemic circuit Oxygen-poor blood
 Mammals and Birds
• Mammals and birds have a four-chambered heart
with two atria and two ventricles
• The left side of the heart pumps and receives only
oxygen-rich blood, while the right side receives
and pumps only oxygen-poor blood
• Mammals and birds are endotherms and require
more O2 than ectotherms

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Figure 42.5c

Mammals and Birds

Pulmonary circuit

Lung
capillaries

Atrium A
(A) V
Ventricle Right Left
(V)

Systemic Key
capillaries
Oxygen-rich blood
Systemic circuit Oxygen-poor blood
Figure 42.5

Amphibians Reptiles (Except Birds) Mammals and Birds

Pulmocutaneous circuit Pulmonary circuit Pulmonary circuit

Lung Lung Lung

and skin capillaries capillaries
capillaries
Right Left
Atrium Atrium systemic systemic
(A) (A) aorta aorta
A A A A
V V Incomplete
V V
septum
Right Left Right Left Right Left
Ventricle (V)

Systemic Systemic Systemic

capillaries capillaries capillaries
Systemic circuit Systemic circuit Systemic circuit

Key

Oxygen-rich blood
Oxygen-poor blood
Concept 42.2: Coordinated cycles of heart
contraction drive double circulation in
mammals
• The mammalian cardiovascular system meets the
body’s continuous demand for O2

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Mammalian Circulation
• Blood begins its flow with the right ventricle
pumping blood to the lungs
• In the lungs, the blood loads O2 and unloads CO2
• Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs enters the heart
at the left atrium and is pumped through the aorta
to the body tissues by the left ventricle
• The aorta provides blood to the heart through the
coronary arteries

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 • Blood returns to the heart through the superior
vena cava (blood from head, neck, and forelimbs)
and inferior vena cava (blood from trunk and hind
limbs)
• The superior vena cava and inferior vena cava
flow into the right atrium

Animation: Path of Blood Flow in Mammals

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Figure 42.6
Superior vena cava Capillaries of
head and forelimbs

Pulmonary Pulmonary
artery artery
Capillaries Aorta Capillaries
of right lung of left lung

Pulmonary Pulmonary vein

vein
Left atrium
Right atrium
Left ventricle
Right ventricle
Aorta
Inferior
vena cava
Capillaries of
abdominal organs
and hind limbs
The Mammalian Heart: A Closer Look
• A closer look at the mammalian heart provides a
better understanding of double circulation

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Figure 42.7
Pulmonary artery Aorta

Pulmonary
artery
Right
atrium Left
atrium

Semilunar Semilunar
valve valve

Atrioventricular Atrioventricular
valve valve

Right Left
ventricle ventricle
 • The heart contracts and relaxes in a rhythmic
cycle called the cardiac cycle
• The contraction, or pumping, phase is called
systole
• The relaxation, or filling, phase is called diastole

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Figure 42.8-1

1 Atrial and
ventricular diastole

0.4
sec
Figure 42.8-2
2 Atrial systole and ventricular
diastole

1 Atrial and
ventricular diastole

0.1
sec

0.4
sec
Figure 42.8-3
2 Atrial systole and ventricular
diastole

1 Atrial and
ventricular diastole

0.1
sec

0.3 sec
0.4
sec

3 Ventricular systole and atrial

diastole
 • The heart rate, also called the pulse, is the
number of beats per minute
• The stroke volume is the amount of blood
pumped in a single contraction
• The cardiac output is the volume of blood
pumped into the systemic circulation per minute
and depends on both the heart rate and stroke
volume

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 • Four valves prevent backflow of blood in the heart
• The atrioventricular (AV) valves separate each
atrium and ventricle
• The semilunar valves control blood flow to the
aorta and the pulmonary artery

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 • The “lub-dup” sound of a heart beat is caused by
the recoil of blood against the AV valves (lub) then
against the semilunar (dup) valves
• Backflow of blood through a defective valve
causes a heart murmur

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Maintaining the Heart’s Rhythmic Beat
• Some cardiac muscle cells are self-excitable,
meaning they contract without any signal from the
nervous system
• The sinoatrial (SA) node, or pacemaker, sets the
rate and timing at which cardiac muscle cells
contract
• Impulses that travel during the cardiac cycle can
be recorded as an electrocardiogram (ECG or
EKG)

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Figure 42.9-1

SA node
(pacemaker)

ECG
Figure 42.9-2

1 2

SA node AV
(pacemaker) node

ECG
Figure 42.9-3

1 2 3

SA node AV
(pacemaker) node Bundle
branches Heart
apex

ECG
Figure 42.9-4

1 2 3 4

SA node AV
(pacemaker) node Bundle Purkinje
branches Heart fibers
apex

ECG
 • Impulses from the SA node travel to the
atrioventricular (AV) node
• At the AV node, the impulses are delayed and
then travel to the Purkinje fibers that make the
ventricles contract

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