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8y: ualsy Wang
Pave you ever wondered how your body manages Lo geL wasLe and nuLrlenLs
golng Lo Lhe rlghL place? ?our body does Lhls ls by uslng a group of organs LhaL
LogeLher are called Lhe clrculaLory sysLem. ln Lhls reporL, l wlll wrlLe abouL Lhe
sLrucLure, funcLlon, lnLeracLlon, dlseases and healLh of Lhls sysLem.
WhaL parLs make up Lhe clrculaLory
sysLem? 1here are Lhree maln parLs: Lhe hearL,
blood vessels and blood. LeL's sLarL wlLh Lhe
hearL flrsL. uon'L Lhlnk LhaL Lhe hearL ls [usL
some welrd shaped Lhlng LhaL lles ln your body.
1he hearL look noLhlng llke Lhe ones ln carLoons
LhaL we see every day. lL's acLually round and
looks more llke a really gross red balloon abouL
Lhe slze of your flsL. lL can be spllL lnLo four parLs
- Lhe rlghL aLrlum, lefL aLrlum, rlghL venLrlcle,
and lefL venLrlcle. now LhaL you know whaL lL's made of, you probably wanL Lo
know how lL works. 1he way lL works ls llke Lhls: blood ls senL Lo Lhe hearL by blood
vessels, where Lhe blood enLers Lhe aLrlums: oxygen rlch blood Lo Lhe lefL, oxygen
low blood Lo Lhe rlghL. 1he hearL conLracLs/squeezes and Lhe blood ls senL Lo Lhe
venLrlcles. 1hen, Lhe hearL conLracLs/squeezes agaln and Lhe blood ls senL ouL.
Speaklng of blood vessels,
do you know whaL Lhey are?.
8lood vessels are noL [usL slmple
Lubes LhaL carry blood, noL one
dlfferenL Lhan anoLher. AcLually,
blood vessels can be spllL lnLo
Lhree dlfferenL Lypes: arLerles,
veln and caplllarles. ArLerles are Lhlck red blood vessels LhaL carry oxygen rlch
blood Lo Lhe body. velns are Lhlck blue blood vessels LhaL carry oxygen low blood
from Lhe body Lo Lhe hearL. Caplllarles are Lhln blood vessels LhaL allow CC
2
Lo
escape and oxygen Lo geL ln Lhe blood. Some caplllarles are so Lhln LhaL red blood
cells have Lo go slngle flle Lhrough Lhem! Ch walL, you're Lelllng me LhaL you don'L
know whaL red blood cells are? very well, l'll explaln whaL ls blood ls Lo you.
8lood ls Lhe red sLuff LhaL flows ln your body.
lL can be dlvlded lnLo four parLs: plasma, red blood
cells, whlLe blood cells and plaLeleLs. lasma ls Lhe
llquld parL of blood, whlch acLs llke a llquld sLorage.
8ed blood cells carry oxygen Lo cells and wasLe Lo
Lhe hearL. WhlLe blood cells klll germs and oLher
bad sLuff LhaL's noL supposed Lo be ln Lhe blood,
llke a nln[a kllllng enemles. laLeleLs are Lhe sLuff
LhaL causes blood cloLs. 1hey can be useful by heallng cuLs, buL also can be harmful
because Lhey can cause blood cloLs. now LhaL you know whaL goes lnslde Lhe
clrculaLory sysLem, leL's look aL how lL works, or Lhe funcLlon.
1he maln funcLlon of Lhe clrculaLory sysLem ls Lo
move nuLrlenLs Lo cells and Lake cells wasLe away.
know you may be wonderlng 'Pow does Lhe
clrculaLory sysLem do all Lhls?' uon'L worry, l'm
geLLlng Lo LhaL rlghL now. llrsL, you breaLhe ln alr
Lhrough your nose or mouLh. nexL, Lhe alr goes down
Lhrough Lhe slnus, larynx, Lrachea, bronchl, lungs, and
aL lasL lL goes Lo Lhe bronchloles. 8ronchloles are Llny
alr sacks LhaL are ln Lhe lungs. AfLer LhaL, caplllarles
absorb Lhe oxygen from Lhe bronchloles. 1hen whaL
happens ls LhaL blood vessels Lake Lhe oxygen Lo Lhe hearL. Cnce LhaL ls done, Lhe
hearL conLracLs and arLerles Lake Lhls oxygen rlch blood Lo Lhe body. AfLerwards,
velns Lake Lhe oxygen low blood back Lo Lhe hearL. llnally, Lhe process repeaLs
lLself. never LhoughL lL was so hard, dldn'L you?
1he clrculaLory sysLem's organs work LogeLher, and Lhe clrculaLory sysLem
also as Lo work wlLh oLher sysLems Loo. lL works wlLh many sysLems, buL l wlll only
Lalk abouL lLs lnLeracLlon wlLh Lhe resplraLory sysLem here. 1he resplraLory sysLem
lnLeracLs wlLh Lhe clrculaLory sysLem by glvlng lL oxygen, and ln reLurn, Lhe
clrculaLory sysLem glves lL CC
2
Lo breaLhe ouL. klnd of llke a shop: 'Speclal deal,
one CC
2
for one oxygen!'
?ou may Lhlnk LhaL Lhe clrculaLory sysLem
doesn'L have any dlseases, buL l musL Lell you Lhe
Lerrlble news LhaL you are wrong. 1he clrculaLory
sysLem faces dlseases such as hearL aLLack, hlgh
blood pressure, sLrokes .. Lhe llsL goes on and on,
buL Loday l wlll only Lalk abouL one dlsease -
sLrokes. SLrokes are when Lhe braln doesn'L geL
blood for a few seconds or more, braln cells sLarL dylng and wlll cause permanenL
damage. lL can be cause by blood cloLs, hlgh blood pressure, and rupLure of blood
vessels. 1he effecLs are cognlLlve, movemenL, emoLlon, posslbly vlslon loss or
paralyze or worse: deaLh. Cne way Lo LreaL sLroke ls by uslng a drug called
LhrombolyLlc. 1hrombolyLlc dlssolves blood cloLs LhaL can cause sLrokes.
now don'L Lhlnk LhaL Lhere's no hope and LhaL you wlll probably geL sLroke so
on and so forLh. ?ou can prevenL Lhese dlseases by keeplng your clrculaLory
sysLem healLhy. Cne way Lo keep lL healLhy ls by exerclslng more. When you
exerclse, your muscles need more oxygen so Lhe hearL beaLs fasLer Lo glve Lhe
muscles more oxygen. When your hearL beaLs fasLer, lL sLrengLhens Lhe hearL
muscles know as cardlac muscles. When your hearL ls sLronger, you have less
chance of geLLlng dlseases. AnoLher way Lo keep your clrculaLory sysLem healLhy ls
by eaLlng low faL, low sugar, and low cholesLerol foods. laL and cholesLerol wlll
bulld up ln Lhe blood sLream and sLlck Lo blood vessels whlch wlll cause blood cloLs.
8lood cloLs can lead Lo a number of dlseases llke sLroke and hlgh blood pressure.
keep exerclslng and eaLlng healLhy and you wlll have a very healLh clrculaLory
sysLem.
now you have seen whaL makes up Lhe clrculaLory sysLem, whaL does lL do
and how does lL do lL, how lL works LogeLher wlLh oLher sysLems, whaL dlseases lL
mlghL face, and how Lo keep lL healLhy, l hope you have an all round
undersLandlng of lL. now, you can hold your head hlgh call yourself a clrculaLory
sysLem experL.