SS2 BIOLOGY LESSON NOTE (FIRST TERM)

By Mr Godswill Chidiebere 09046124389

WEEK 1-2
DIGESTIVE SYSTEM

CONTENT

1. Definition of Digestive System, Digestion and Alimentary Canal

2. Types of Alimentary Tract
3. Parts of the Mammalian Alimentary Canal
4. The Human Digestive System
5. Four-Chambered Stomach

Definition of Digestive System

The digestive system is a series of connected organs whose purpose is to break down, or
digest, the food we eat. Food is made up of large, complex molecules, which the digestive
system breaks down into smaller, simple molecules that can be absorbed into the bloodstream.
The simple molecules travel through the bloodstream to all of the body’s cells, which use them
for growth, repair, and energy.

All animals have a digestive system, a feature that distinguishes them from plants. Plants
produce their own food in a process called photosynthesis, during which they use sunlight to
convert water and carbon dioxide into simple sugars. But animals, including humans, must take
in food in the form of organic matter, such as plants or other animals.

Meaning of Digestion

Digestion is the breaking down of complex food substances into simple, soluble and diffusible
form by mechanical and chemical means.

Digestion generally involves two phases: a mechanical phase and a chemical phase. In the
mechanical phase, teeth or other structures physically break down large pieces of food into
smaller pieces. In the chemical phase, digestive chemicals called enzymes break apart
individual molecules of food to yield molecules that can be absorbed and distributed throughout
the body. These enzymes are secreted (produced and released) by glands in the body.

Definition of Alimentary Canal

This is a tubular passage between the mouth and the anus, including the organs through which
food passes for digestion and elimination as waste. The alimentary canal is also called the
digestive tract or gut.

In most holozoic animals, digestion and absorption of food take place in the alimentary canal or
gut. A simple unicellular animal does not have an alimentary canal.

Types of Alimentary Tract

There are different types of alimentary tracts in animals. However, there is no definite alimentary
canal in plant. This includes:

1. Intracellular alimentary tract: This is a digestion that takes place inside the cell, within a
food vacuole e.g. unicellular organism like amoeba
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 2. Extracellular alimentary tract: This is a type of digestion that occur in multi-cellular
organisms. The mouth opens into a sac-like gut cavity where food is digested. E.g.
Hydra.
3. Simple alimentary tract for simple digestion of food. E.g. Birds.
4. Compartmentalized alimentary tract by ruminants for digestion of cellulose. E.g.
ruminants like cow.
5. Complex Human alimentary tract; a long tube stretching from the mouth to the anus.
Most of it is coiled up in the abdominal cavity. It is divided into several regions: mouth,
oesophagus, stomach, and intestines. Each region plays a role in the digestion and/or
absorption of food.

Parts of the Mammalian Alimentary Canal

A typical mammalian alimentary canal consists of the following parts, namely: mouth, pharynx,
oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, rectum and anus. All these parts can be found in most
vertebrates. However, there are modifications of the parts of the alimentary canal in various,
animals. In some animals, a structure may be reduced or enlarged, while in others, some parts
may be absent. The modifications reflect the various modes of feeding and types of diet.

Description and Functions of the Parts of the Mammalian Alimentary Canal

Mouth and Teeth

In higher animals especially in human, the incisors, canines, premolar and molar are teeth used
to masticate the food into particles which expose it to large surface area for the action of the
enzymes. Digestion starts in the mouth.

Tongue

The tongue tastes the food, helps in the movement of the food in the mouth to allow turning and
mixing of the food with saliva and in forming food into bolus to allow swallowing.

Saliva

The saliva lubricates the food, allows easy chewing or movement of food in the mouth for
swallowing, forms solvent for food, contains enzyme-ptyalin which digests cooked starch to
maltose and is slightly alkaline which is medium for action of ptyalin. The chewed food in the
mouth is then swallowed.

Pharynx

It is next to the mouth. In some animals, such as the earthworm and Planaria, it is muscular. In
man it is short and wide. The pharynx leads to the trachea and the oesophagus. It is used for
passing food materials into the oesophagus or gullet.

Oesophagus/gullet

This is a narrow, straight, long, tube passing through the thoracic region and the diaphragm into
the stomach. Digestion does not take place here. But it is used for passing food substances into
the stomach by a wave-like muscular contraction and relaxation called peristalsis. This type of
movement occurs throughout the human alimentary canal. Chewed food is passed to the
stomach by peristaltic movement of the oesophagus.

Stomach

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In some animals, the lower part of the oesophagus may be modified to form the crop as in
insects and birds. These are storage organs for the food consumed.

The stomach is primarily a storage organ. But in most mammals, it is very muscular and
digestion continues in it. In birds, insects and grasshopper and earthworm, the stomach
modified into a grinding organ called gizzard. The gizzard is normally muscular with small sharp
stones which masticate the food before it is further digested in the intestine. Hence, gizzard is
possessed by some vertebrates e.g. birds and some invertebrates e.g. insects and earthworms
which lack teeth in their mouth. Ruminants stomach are modified into four chambered or
compartments namely rumen, reticulum, psalterium and abomasums.

The stomach, located in the upper abdomen just below the diaphragm, is a saclike structure
with strong, muscular walls. The stomach can expand significantly to store all the food from a
meal for both mechanical and chemical processing. The stomach contracts about three times
per minute, churning the food and mixing it with gastric juice. This fluid, secreted by thousands
of gastric glands in the lining of the stomach, consists of water, hydrochloric acid, an enzyme
called pepsin, and mucin (the main component of mucus). Hydrochloric acid creates the acidic
environment that pepsin needs to begin breaking down proteins. It also kills microorganisms
that may have been ingested in the food. Mucin coats the stomach, protecting it from the effects
of the acid and pepsin. About four hours or less after a meal, food processed by the stomach,
called chyme, begins passing a little at a time through the pyloric sphincter into the duodenum,
the first portion of the small intestine.

In human, the wall of the stomach secretes gastric juice. This contains hydrochloric acid which
prevents the food in the stomach from being decay and two enzymes-rennin and pepsin. Rennin
curdles milk, while pepsin converts protein in the food into peptones. Food may remain in the
stomach for 3-4hours at the end it is converted to a semi-liquid paste called chyme. Note that
food is regulated into the stomach from the gullet by a muscle called cardiac sphincter, while
chyme is regulated to the small intestine by another muscle called pyloric sphincter.

The Small Intestine

Most digestion, as well as absorption of digested food, occurs in the small intestine. This
narrow, twisting tube, about 2.5 cm (1 in) in diameter, fills most of the lower abdomen, extending
about 6 m (20 ft) in length. Over a period of three to six hours, peristalsis moves chyme through
the duodenum (first section of the small intestine) into the next portion of the small intestine, the
jejunum, and finally into the ileum, the last section of the small intestine.

A watery residue of indigestible food and digestive juices remains unabsorbed. This residue
leaves the ileum of the small intestine and moves by peristalsis into the large intestine, where it
spends 12 to 24 hours. The large intestine forms an inverted U over the coils of the small
intestine. It starts on the lower right-hand side of the body and ends on the lower left-hand side.
The large intestine is 1.5 to 1.8 m (5 to 6 ft) long and about 6 cm (2.5 in) in diameter.

During this time, the liver secretes bile into the small intestine through the bile duct. Bile breaks
large fat globules into small droplets, which enzymes in the small intestine can act upon.
Pancreatic juice, secreted by the pancreas, enters the small intestine through the pancreatic
duct. Pancreatic juice contains enzymes that break down sugars and starches into simple
sugars, fats into fatty acids and glycerol, and proteins into amino acids. Glands in the intestinal
walls secrete additional enzymes that break down starches and complex sugars into nutrients
that the intestine absorbs. Structures called Brunner’s glands secrete mucus to protect the
intestinal walls from the acid effects of digestive juices.

The small intestine’s capacity for absorption is increased by millions of finger-like projections
called villi, which line the inner walls of the small intestine. Each villus is about 0.5 to 1.5 mm
(0.02 to 0.06 in) long and covered with a single layer of cells. Even tinier finger-like projections
called microvilli cover the cell surfaces. This combination of villi and microvilli increases the
surface area of the small intestine’s lining by about 150 times, multiplying its capacity for

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absorption. Beneath the villi’s single layer of cells are capillaries (tiny vessels) of the
bloodstream and the lymphatic system. These capillaries allow nutrients produced by digestion
to travel to the cells of the body. Simple sugars and amino acids pass through the capillaries to
enter the bloodstream. Fatty acids and glycerol pass through to the lymphatic system.

The Large Intestine

The large intestine serves several important functions, namely:

1. It absorbs water: About 6 liters (1.6 gallons) daily—as well as dissolve salts from the
residue passed on by the small intestine.
2. In addition, bacteria in the large intestine promote the breakdown of undigested
materials and make several vitamins, notably vitamin K, which the body needs for blood
clotting.
3. The large intestine moves its remaining contents toward the rectum, which makes up the
final 15 to 20 cm (6 to 8 in) of the alimentary canal. The rectum stores the faeces—
waste material that consists largely of undigested food, digestive juices, bacteria, and
mucus—until elimination. Then, muscle contractions in the walls of the rectum push the
faeces toward the anus. When sphincters between the rectum and anus relax, the
faeces pass out of the body.

The Human Digestive System

The human digestive system consists of a series of organs and structures that help break down
food and absorb nutrients for use throughout the body. Food enters the digestive system
through the mouth and passes through the oesophagus, stomach, small intestine, large
intestine, and rectum. Other organs, such as the liver, further aid in the breakdown of food,
absorption of nutrients, and elimination of undigestible materials from the body.

Four-Chambered Stomach

Ruminant animals, including sheep, domestic cattle, goats, deer, and giraffes, have four-
chambered stomachs.

EVALUATION

1. Define digestive system.

2. Define digestion.
3. Explain the types of alimentary tract.
4. Describe the parts and functions of the mammalian alimentary canal.
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 Week 3
THE DIGESTIVE SYSTEM: CLASSIFICATION OF MAMMALS BASED ON THEIR DIET

1. Herbivores
2. Carnivores and
3. Omnivores

Herbivores

These refer to all the animals that feed on plants or plant-based materials. Examples include
grasshoppers, goat, cow, grass cutter etc. They are primary consumers. They all feed on low
vegetation such as grass. Giraffes and elephants feed on taller plants or shrubs. Herbivores
such as rabbits and guinea pigs use very sharp incisors to cut shoots or browse, feed on roots
and bark. Other animals like antelopes, cows and goats pull up grass using the lower front teeth
and pad on the front of the upper jaw. The pad is called Diastema. Some herbivores such as
elephants use a specialized organ (the trunk) to pull leaves, bark and branches off trees.

Carnivores

These are animals that feed majorly on flesh or bones and other animals. They are referred to
as secondary consumers. Some examples are fishes that eat aquatic insects and other fishes,
toads and reptiles (Snakes, lizards, wall gecko), cats, dogs, and lions. Mammalian carnivores
are characterized by well-developed dentition, large canines and a pair of carnassial teeth.
These are adapted to stabbing their prey, and cutting and crushing meat and bones.

Omnivores

Omnivorous animals are animals that feed on both plants and animals, cooked and uncooked
food. Some of the examples include, man, wild boar, bush and domestic pig, and the domestic
fowl.

Scavengers are animals that feed on the remains of dead animals are called scavengers e.g.
Vultures.

Feeding Habits

There is various modification among the alimentary systems of some animals so far considered,
suggest that the parts are modified according to the type of food they eat. It has also been
discovered that there is a close relationship between feeding mechanism and the diet of each
organism.

Based on the modification on the feeding habits of organisms, we have the following;

1. Filter feeding, and

2. Fluid feeding adaptations in animals
3. Saprophytic
4. Parasitic feeding in animals and plants.

1. Filter Feeders

Some aquatic organism feed on some tiny microscopic organisms (planktons) in their habitat. A
great number of them are gathered, filtered and consumed at the same time, from the surface of
the water. Typical examples of filter feeders include; water fleas, (Daphnia), mosquito larvae,
fish such as herring, and molluscs such as oyster, and mussels. Water containing suspended
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plankton enters the mouth of the animal e.g. herring. Water passes between the gill rakers to
the gills. Oysters and clams draw water into their shells and trap food particles on the muscles
covering their gills.

2. Fluid Feeders

Fluid feeders are organisms that can only feed on soluble or fluid food materials from the body
fluid of other animals or plants, or convert solid food into a liquid form before ingesting it.
Examples of fluid feeders are bees, wasps, aphids, housefly, mosquito, tsetse fly, and butter fly.
The house fly has a proboscis which is flattened its anterior end. This consists of numerous food
channels called pseudo- tracheae. Whenever the fly is prepared to feed, it extends its proboscis
and saliva is passed down salivary duct via the pseudo tracheae on to the food.

The adult female anopheles mosquito feeds on blood. It has mouth parts which are modified
into a tube like a hypodermic needle. It pierces the skin of a blood capillary; saliva containing an
anti- coagulant is passed down the hypopharynx into the capillary. This prevents the blood from
coagulating when it is sucked up by the tubular labrum.

Many other insects bite and/or chew their food. Examples are the ants, beetles, cockroach,
locust, caterpillar, termites, and weevils. Most of these are crop pests as were taught in your
Basic classes.

3. Saprophytic Feeders

These are organisms which obtain their food materials from dead or decaying food materials or
dead organic matters. They non-green plants and therefore cannot carry out photosynthesis.
Typical examples include: many fungi, e.g. mushroom, mucor or rhizopus, penicillum and yeast
as well as some bacteria. The rhizoids penetrate into the dead organic matter or substrate, and
excrete enzymes into it, and digestion occurs extracellulary. The digested food; a soluble end
product diffuses into the rhizoids and from there to the other parts of the plants.

Structure of a Fungus

Fungi are made of filamentous tubes called hyphae. In many species, perforated walls, or
septa, divide the hyphae into cells containing one or two nuclei. Protoplasm flows through the
opening in the septa to provide the cells with nutrients, which are stored in the hyphal walls as
glycogen. Hyphae elongate from the tip. The entire mass of hyphae is collectively called the
mycelium.

4. Parasitic Feeders

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In parasitic feeding, parasites are plants or animals which live and feed on or in other organisms
and harm the hosts at the end. Parasites which live outside the body or the surface of their
hosts are called ectoparasites e.g. tick, mites, lice and flaes. These live the skin, or hairs of
mammals. Those parasites which feed and live inside their hosts are called endoparasites e.g.
tapeworm, roundworm etc

Feeding in Protozoa

Amoeba proteus is an example of a protozoan. It feeds on minute microscopic organisms.

These are mainly phytoplankton, desmids and diatoms, flagellates, bacteria, and decayed parts
of plants in water. The presence of the food stimulates the formation of pseudopodia towards
the object. Soon, the pseudopodia encircle the food material. This is taken into the body with a
drop of water and a food vacuole is formed. The cytoplasm secretes digestive enzymes on to
the food and digestion occurs. Later, the digested food materials diffuse into the plasmasol. The
indigestible parts are left behind or allowed to pass out through the plasmagel. Ingestion and
egestion can occur at any time through the body surface.

Feeding in Hydra

Hydra is at tissue and considered as multicellular, aquatic organism (animal). It feeds mainly on
tiny crustaceans e.g. water fleas. The food is usually caught by the tentacles with the aid
of nematocysts which immobilize the prey. The tentacles draw the prey into the mouth and then
into the enteron (digestive cavity). The digestive enzymes in the enteron digest the
food extracellularly. The absorptive cells ingest the partially digested food materials food
material and complete digestion intracellularly. The soluble materials diffuse to various part of
the animal. The waste products are egested through the mouth.

Feeding Mechanisms

There are four modifications and mechanisms of feeding associated with some organisms. They
include

1. Absorbing mechanism
2. Biting (cutting) chewing
3. Piercing and sucking
4. Trapping and absorbing

1. Absorbing mechanism

Organisms that use these mechanisms has no mouth and alimentary canal, hence food is
digested food is absorbed through its entire body surface from the intestine of its host. E.g tape
worm, it attaches its self to its host through hooks and suckers.

2. Biting (cutting) chewing

Organisms with this mechanism have four different mouth parts adapted for biting and chewing.
These mouth parts include:

 Labrum or upper lip

 Labium or lower lip
 Mandibles
 Maxillae

Examples of such organisms are cockroach and grasshopper.

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3. Piercing and sucking

Organisms that possess this mouth parts have different modifications which enables them to
adapt to feeding on food through mechanism of sucking. E.g mosquito and butterfly possess
proboscis for piercing and sucking. For mosquito, the mouth parts altogether form a strong
Stylet. Housefly possess labella for sucking. It has the ability to convert solid food to liquid by
secretion of saliva on the solid food.

4. Trapping and absorbing

This is common among plants that feed on insects. They are called insectivorous or carnivorous
plants. E.g bladderwort, sundew, Venus’s flytrap, pitcher plant.

The Pitcher Plant

Pitcher plants, found throughout the tropical and temperate regions of the world, are
insectivorous plants, using specially modified leaves to capture and consume insects. Pitcher
plants usually grow in poor soils and rely on the captured insects for added nutrition.

Venus’s Fly Trap

The two lobes of a Venus’s-flytrap leaf form a deceptively safe and attractive landing place for
insects and other animals. Less than a second after the frog trips the trigger, bristles on the
inside surface of the leaf, the lobes close enough to trap the intruder below interlocking spines.
If sensory organs determine that the prisoner contains protein, the leaf closes further, and the
plant’s digestive enzymes start to flow.

Feeding in Mammals

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Mammals feed on different types of food materials. They are often classified according to the
food they eat. Thus, we have herbivores- plant eaters; carnivores-flesh eaters and omnivores-
plant and animal eaters.

Each group of mammals has a peculiar type of dentition related to its diet even though
mammals generally have heterodont dentition. They have incisors, canines, premolars and
molars. Each tooth has a different shape and function. In human, there are two sets of teeth,
namely: temporary or milk teeth and permanent teeth. The formal is used at childhood (6months
to 6-8years) while they replaced by permanent teeth at old age

The Mammalian Teeth

The type of teeth possessed by a mammal is related to the type of food it eats. The number,
arrangement and conformation of teeth in an organism are referred to as its dentition. When all
the teeth are the same shape and size as in fishes, amphibians and reptiles it is
called homodont dentition. When they differ in shape as in dogs, man and rabbits it
is heterodont dentition.

Mammals usually have four different types of teeth namely the incisors, canines, premolars and
molars. Man has two sets of teeth during his lifetime; the milk teeth when young and the
permanent teeth when mature. There are 20 milk teeth and 32 permanent teeth.

Types of Teeth

1. Incisors – These are flattened, chisel-like with a sharp edge for cutting and holding onto
the food/prey. They are located in the front of the jaw.
2. Canines – These have sharp, pointed tips and are used for tearing flesh. They are next
to the incisors.
3. Premolars – These have broad ridged surfaces called cusps. They are used for grinding
and chewing food. They are located towards the back of the jaw.
4. Molars – These also have broad, ridged surfaces and are used for chewing and grinding
food. They are found at the extreme back of the jaws.

Section of Adult Teeth

Dental Formula

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This refers to the number, type and arrangement of teeth in one half of each jaw.

Example in;

 Man; I 2/2; C 1/1; PM 2/2; M 3/3

 Dog; I 3/3; C I/I; PM 4/4; M 2/3
 Rabbit; I 2/1; C 0/0; PM 3/2; M 3/3

Structure of a Tooth

A typical tooth has three parts; the crown, the neck and the root. The crown is the part above
the gum. The root is embedded in the jaw and the neck is the part on the same level with the
gum, it is the narrow junction between the crown and root.

The incisors and canines have one root each while the premolars and molars have two or three
roots each.

A Typical Tooth

In the centre of the tooth is a pulp cavity which contains blood vessels and nerves that make
extremely sensitive to heat, cold and pain. The dentine, a hard bone-like material, encloses the
pulp. The enamel, a white, hard material covers the dentine, protecting it and the pulp within. At
the root region a thin layer of cement covers the dentine. The cement is surrounded by the
periodontal membrane, a fibrous tissue that fixes the tooth into the jaw bone.

The tooth is not rigidly fixed but can move slightly while biting and chewing. A hole at the tip of
each root allows blood vessels and nerves of the pulp to be connected to those of bones and
gums. This ensures a continuous flow of of blood supply to the tooth and keeps the tooth alive.
However, the supply of blood is not sufficient for the tooth to grow. This type of teeth is known
as closed teeth.

Dental Care

Tooth decay caused by bacteria and fermentation of carbohydrates that get stuck in the teeth
can be prevented by;

1. Practicing regular oral hygiene

2. Eating balanced diet containing enough vitamin, phosphorus and calcium.
3. Eating hard, fibrous fruits after each meal.
4. Avoiding sweet food, very hot and very cold.
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 5. Visiting a dentist regularly.

EVALUATION

1. Explain the meaning of herbivores, carnivores and omnivores.

2. Explain feeding in protozoa and hydra.
3. List and give detailed explanations on feeding mechanisms.

Week 4
TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

CONTENT

1. Definition of Transport Systems

2. The Need for Transportation
3. Materials that are Transported in Plants and Animals
4. Media of Transportation
5. The Need for Substance to Move Over Greater Distances
6. Transport Systems in Large Organisms
7. Functions of the Blood
8. Transport Tissues in Plants and Animals

Definition of Transport Systems

Transport system is the movement of metabolic substances from various parts of the organism
where they are produced or obtained to the parts where they are either used, stored or removed
from the body.

The Need for Transportation

1. It aids in the removal of metabolic waste e.g carbon dioxide, water and urea
2. It helps to move hormones in plants and animals from where they are produced to areas
of need.
3. It helps transport essential materials in organisms for metabolic process e.g nutrients,
oxygen and water.
4. In plants, transport is necessary to move mineral salt and water from the root to the
stems and leaves.

Materials that are Transported in Animals

The materials transported in animals include:

1. Water
2. Digested foods (vitamins, amino acids, mineral salts, fatty acids, glycerol)
3. Gases (oxygen, carbon-dioxide)
4. Excretory products (urea, carbon-dioxide, excess salt)
5. Hormones (adrenalin, insulin, oestrogen etc) and other materials.
6. Antibodies

Materials that are Transported in Plants

Materials that are transported in plants include:

1. Water
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 2. Manufactured food
3. Excretory products
4. Hormones
5. Mineral salts
6. Oxygen

Media of Transportation

In all organisms, a liquid or fluid is the medium of transportation of materials. It includes blood,
lymph and tissue fluid in most animals; latex or cell sap in many plants and cytoplasmic fluid in
small organisms such as protozoan, protists and coelenterates.

Some of the media of transportation include:

1. Blood and lymph in the vertebrates.

2. Cytoplasm in unicellular organisms.
3. Cell sap or latex in most plants.
4. Body fluid in vertebrates.
5. Closed and open circulations.

The Need for Substance to Move Over Greater Distances

Following the explanation, because small organisms have large surface area to volume ratio,
the movement of materials in and out of them can be done efficiently by diffusion. In
multicellular organisms with a small body surface relative to their large volume, diffusion is
inadequate for the exchange of metabolic materials within their body and between them and
their external environment. This is because large quantities of nutrients and waste products
have to be transported over long distances to and from their numerous body cells.

In order words, as the SA/V ratio in multicellular organisms decrease with increasing sizes, the
rates at which substances diffuse into and out of their cells decreases. Hence, most multicellular
organisms have developed transport system. The transport system in animals is very similar to
the city transport or water system. There is orderliness, and everything is highly organized.

Transport Systems in Large Organisms

In large and more complex organisms, transport system is necessary because;

1. The ratio A/V diminishes, and so the rate at which nutrients and other substances diffuse
decreases. This implies that small organisms have large surface area in relation to their
volume (i.e., per unit of volume) than large organisms. This could be illustrated by
considering three cubes of 1mm, 6mm, and 10mm. Using, Ratio = SA/V. You will
discover that the ratio of the smallest cube is =6unit, followed by 1unit, and 0.6unit
respectively.
2. Substances have to move greater distances.

In plants, materials for transportation include; water, mineral salts, manufactured food and
carbon (iv) oxide.

Materials for transport in animals include; digested food, vitamins, mineral salts, oxygen, carbon
(iv) oxide, urea, salts, hormones, water and antibodies.

Functions of the Blood

There are several functions performed by the mammalian blood. These functions are grouped
into three viz:
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1. Transport

(i) It carries oxygen from the lungs to the tissues and carbon (iv) oxide from the tissues to the
lungs for excretion.

(ii) It carries digested foods from the gut to the various parts of the body.

(iii) It carries nitrogenous waste products from the tissues to the kidneys, which get rid of them.

(iv) It carries hormones and antibodies from one part of the body to another.

2. Protection

(i) It protects the body from the attacks of germs, which cause diseases, by killing germs.

(ii) It protects the body from excessive bleeding, by clotting when a body tissue is cut or
wounded

3. Regulation

(i) It helps to regulate the quantity of water in the tissues (osmoregulation).

(ii) It helps to regulate the quantities of the various chemical materials in the tissue
(homoeostasis).

(iii) It helps to keep the body temperature fairly constant by distributing heat evenly around the
body.

In small organisms like Amoeba, and paramecium, cytoplasm which is fluid part of the organism
is used for transportation of food and other materials in and out of the organisms.

In many plants, the medium of transportation of materials is the latex or cell sap. The cell sap is
made up primarily of water, dissolved materials like synthesized foods, growth substances and
inorganic salts. The sap is transported to all the parts of a plant through the phloem tissue.
Different plants have latex (cell sap) of different colours. For example, the latex of rubber plant
cassava (Manihot) is white. A few plants have red or colourless latex.

Structure and Function of the Blood

The mammalian blood comprises four main components;

1. Plasma
2. Red corpuscles
3. White corpuscles
4. Platelets

1. Plasma: The plasma is a pale-yellow liquid made of mainly of water (about 90%), with many
substances dissolved in it. These include digested food, mineral salts, vitamins, hormones,
dissolved oxygen and excretory products such as urea and carbon (iv) oxide. The plasma also
contains large molecules, the plasma proteins, such as fibrinogen, which assist in the clothing of
blood in damaged tissues.

2. Red corpuscles or erythrocytes: They are tiny, biconcave, disc-like cell without any nucleus in
adult mammals. They contain a red pigment-haemoglobin, a protein that contains iron. This
enables the red blood corpuscles to readily combine with oxygen in area of high oxygen
concentration (i.e., the alveoli of lungs) to form oxyhaemoglobin. This is the form in which
oxygen is carried to all body tissues. They also readily give oxygen in places where the oxygen
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concentration is low (e.g., all the tissues except those near the alveoli). Erythrocytes are
synthesized in the red bone marrows of sternum, ribs and vertebrae. There are about 51/2
million of them in a cubic centimeter of blood. They live for about 120 days and are destroyed in
the liver or spleen.

Erythrocytes

Erythrocytes, or red blood cells, are the primary carriers of oxygen to the cells and tissues of the
body. The biconcave shape of the erythrocyte is an adaptation for maximizing the surface area
across which oxygen is exchanged for carbon dioxide. Its shape and flexible plasma membrane
allow the erythrocyte to penetrate the smallest of capillaries.

3. White corpuscles or leucocytes: There are many types of white corpuscles all of which have
nuclei. They are made in the red bone marrow, the lymph node or the spleen. They live for
many months. Those that are irregular in shape, i.e., the phagocytes, are commonest. They are
large with lobed nuclei. Like the Amoeba, they have pseudopodia and are able to pass through
the walls of the capillaries into the tissue fluid. In the lymphatic system, they ingest bacteria,
virus and dead cells, and help in preventing diseases. The ingestion of materials is called
phagocytosis and hence such white corpuscles are called phagocytes. Those that produce
antibodies are called lymphocytes and are produced in the lymph glands. They produce
chemicals called antibodies, which stick to the surface of germs and kill them. White corpuscles
are fewer than the red corpuscles. There are about 5000 of them in a cubic millimeter of blood.

Lymphocyte

Internal view of a normal T lymphocyte. Lymphocytes are specialized white blood cells whose
function is to identify and destroy invading organisms such as bacteria and viruses. Some T
lymphocytes directly destroy invading organisms, whereas other T lymphocytes regulate the
immune system by directing immune responses.

4. Platelets: These are tiny, irregularly-shaped particles formed in the red bone marrow. They
lack nucleus. In damaged tissues, they break down and liberate an enzyme, which catalyzes the
first of a series of reactions, fibrinogen, a blood protein, is converted to threads of fibrin, which
form a mesh that plugs the wound. This stops the bleeding.

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 Thrombocytes and Clotting

Thrombocytes, or platelets, are the smallest cellular component of blood. They circulate
inactivated, about 250,000 per cubic mm of blood, until they come into contact with a damaged
blood vessel. At this point, the platelets form a clump, adhering to each other and to the blood
vessel wall. They secrete chemicals that alter a blood-borne protein, fibrinogen, so that it forms
a mesh of fibers at the damage site. A clot forms when platelets and red and white blood cells
become trapped in the fibers. Blood clotting begins within seconds of injury. The same process
can produce unwelcome clots in undamaged blood vessels.

Transport Tissues in Plants and Animals

Tissues used for transportation are:

1. Arteries,
2. Capillaries,
3. Veins, and
4. Vascular bundles (in plants)

Structure of Arteries

1. All Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body tissues, except pulmonary
arteries
2. These are wide vessels that generally transport blood from the heart to the limbs and
organs.
3. There is one artery to each of the organs of the body.
4. They are muscular, thick walled and elastic and are able to withstand the high pressure
caused by the heartbeat.
5. The arteries branch in the organs to form arterioles.
6. The arterioles also branch repeatedly to form a network of blood capillaries, which
permeate every living cell of the body.

Structure of Capillaries

1. These are tiny vessels with very thin walls, which are often one cell thick.
2. Their walls allow water and dissolved substances, except proteins, to pass in and out of
them.
3. The capillaries branch within the tissues.
4. Through their thin walls, dissolved food and excretory products are exchanged with the
tissues around them.
5. The capillaries network is so dense that no living cell is far from food and oxygen
supplies.
6. The capillaries rejoin to form veins.
7. Through the capillaries network, blood flows from the arterial end to the venous end.

Structure of Veins

1. All veins carry de-oxygenated blood from the body tissues to the
heart, except pulmonary vein.
2. They are wider and have thinner walls than arteries.
3. The veins branch from the organs to form venules.
4. They have valves at intervals, which allow blood to flow in one direction from other
organs towards the heart.

Structure of Vascular Bundles

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 1. Vascular bundles consist mainly of xylem and phloem tissues. But in the root and stems
of dicotyledons, a layer of cambium cells exists between the xylem and phloem tissue.
2. Xylem transports water and mineral salts while Phloem translocates manufactured food
from the leaves to where it is stored.
3. Vascular bundles are found in the roots, stems and leaves of flowering plants.
4. Vascular tissues are grouped together in bundles within the plant body.
5. The vascular tissues of plants are made up of a network of long tubes called vascular
bundles.
6. They are called veins in the leaves.

EVALUATION

1. Define transport systems.

2. State the functions of the blood.
3. Highlight the structure of the blood and functions.

Week 5
TRANSPORT SYSTEMS

CONTENT

1. Meaning of Circulatory System

2. Types of Circulation and Circulatory Systems
3. Mechanism of Transportation in Higher Animals
4. Differences between Open and Closed Circulatory Systems
5. Mechanism of Transportation in Multicellular Organisms
6. Absorption of Water and Mineral Salts in Higher Plants

Meaning of Circulatory System

Circulatory system is the continuous flow of blood around the body, involving the heart and the
blood vessels.

Types of Circulation and Circulatory Systems

Types of Circulatory Systems

1. Open circulatory system

2. Closed circulatory system

Types of Circulation

1. Single circulation
2. Double circulation
3. Systemic circulation
4. Pulmonary circulation

Mechanism of Transportation in Higher Animals

As a result of the repeated contractions of the heart, the blood circulatory system (i.e., arteries,
capillaries and veins) throughout life. All mammals have double circulation. These are the
systemic (body) circulation and pulmonary circulation.
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 1. Systemic (body) circulation in which blood is carried from the left ventricle to all body
parts except the lungs and back to the right auricle.
2. Pulmonary circulation in which blood is carried from the right ventricle to the lungs
through the pulmonary veins.

The heart like other organs has a blood supply. The coronary arteries, which branch from the
aorta near the heart, carry blood to the heart muscles. The flow of blood through these muscles
is called coronary circulation.

The heart continues to beat repeatedly throughout the life and pump blood to the two main
circulations and the coronary circulation. When the body is at rest, normal heart beats about 70
to 72 times per minute. The rate of the heart beat increases when one is very active or excited.
The liver is the only organ in the body that receives blood by the hepatic artery and hepatic
portal vein. The hepatic portal vein carries blood rich in digested food from the stomach and
small intestines into the liver. The hepatic portal vein carries blood from the liver into the inferior
vena cava.

Frontal Section of the Heart

The human heart is a hollow, pear-shaped organ about the size of a fist. The heart is made of
muscle that rhythmically contracts, or beats, pumping blood throughout the body. Oxygen-poor
blood from the body enters the heart from two large blood vessels, the inferior vena cava and
the superior vena cava, and collects in the right atrium. When the atrium fills, it contracts, and
blood passes through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle. When the ventricle becomes
full, it starts to contract, and the tricuspid valve closes to prevent blood from moving back into
the atrium. As the right ventricle contracts, it forces blood into the pulmonary artery, which
carries blood to the lungs to pick up fresh oxygen. When blood exits the right ventricle, the
ventricle relaxes and the pulmonary valve shuts, preventing blood from passing back into the
ventricle. Blood returning from the lungs to the heart collects in the left atrium. When this
chamber contracts, blood flows through the mitral valve into the left ventricle. The left ventricle
fills and begins to contract, and the mitral valve between the two chambers closes. In the final
phase of blood flow through the heart, the left ventricle contracts and forces blood into the
aorta. After the blood in the left ventricle has been forced out, the ventricle begins to relax, and
the aortic valve at the opening of the aorta closes.

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 Blood Vessels

Blood vessels circulate blood through the body. The three major types of blood vessels are the
arteries, veins, and capillaries. Arteries carry blood away from the heart, while veins carry blood
toward the heart. Capillaries form at the junction between arteries and veins and they are the
only blood vessel to come into direct contact with tissue cells. Oxygen, nutrients, and other
substances transported in blood through the arteries pass through thin capillary walls into tissue
cells. Wastes and other products of cellular metabolism pass from cells back through the
capillary walls and into veins. The walls of arteries and veins are composed of three tunics
(layers) that surround a central opening called a lumen, through which blood flows. The
innermost layer is the tunica intima, composed of endothelial cells that form a slick lining that
minimizes friction as blood moves through the lumen. The middle layer is the tunica media.
Composed of smooth muscle cells and sheets of elastic tissue, this layer enables the lumen to
narrow or widen to regulate blood flow in the body. The tunica adventitia forms a protective
outer layer of the blood vessel wall and it also anchors the blood vessel to surrounding
structures.

The Circulatory System

Differences between Open and Closed Circulatory Systems

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 S/N OPEN SYSTEM CLOSED SYSTEM

It is found in some molluscs, Found in annelids, vertebrates

1
arthropods and lower animals. and some invertebrates.

No small blood vessels or

Minute blood capillaries unite
2 capillaries connecting arteries
the smaller arteries with the veins.
with veins.

Blood ends up in blood spaces Blood flows via the arteries,

3
(haemocoels) within the body. veins and capillaries.

Fluids with nutrients reach the

Blood bathes the major organs
4 body tissues from the capillaries
and tissues directly.
as tissue fluids and lymph.

5 Blood returns directly to the heart. Blood returns to via the veins.

Mechanism of Transportation in Multicellular Animals

In many multicellular animals, materials are transported from one part of the body to another in
a circulatory system. There are two main circulatory systems in animals, namely open and
closed systems. In the open circulatory system, the blood vessels leave the heart but end up in
blood spaces called haemocoels within the body. The blood comes in contact with the body
cells after which it is sent back to the heart; example is found in arthropods and in some
molluscs.

In the closed circulatory system, blood is restricted to branching blood vessels. Through them,
blood is pumped to the body by one or more hearts. This is found in the annelids and
vertebrates. In unicellular organisms, such as spirogyra, nutrients, gasses and metabolic wastes
move in and out of their body by diffusion. In a few other unicellular organisms, such as
paramecium, food substances in food vacuoles are carried along a specific route by a process
called cyclosis.

In vascular plants (pteridophytes, gymnosperms and angiosperms), there is a circulatory system

in which materials are carried to and from all body parts. The circulatory system consists of
vascular tissues, which is a system of narrow tubes. Plants that have vascular tissues are called
vascular plants. The vascular tissue consists of compact strands called vascular bundles. Each
bundle consists of the xylem near the stem centre and the phloem towards the outer surface of
the stem. The cambium is usually found in between the xylem and the phloem in the
dicotyledonous roots and stems, and monocotyledonous plants do not have cambium. Plants
also make use other mechanisms of transportation such as root pressure, transpiration stream,
and protoplasmic streaming which occur in both plants and animals.

Absorption of Water and Mineral Salts in Higher Plants

Plants need sufficient quantities of many materials, which are transported in them. These
include water, mineral salts and manufactured foods. In aquatic, unicellular and simple
multicellular plants, gases enter and leave their cells by diffusion. Water enters the cells of these
plants by osmosis, whereas manufactured foods and wastes are transported by diffusion. In
flowering plants, the gases are absorbed mainly through stomata in the leaves and lenticels in
the stems, whereas mineral salts are absorbed through the roots system.

Inside the plants, gases move by diffusion. They are always dissolved in water of the moist cell
walls before entering the cells. Water, mineral salts and soluble foods are transported in
vascular tissues.

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Definition of Diffusion

Diffusion is the movement of molecule from the region of higher concentration to the region of
lower concentration. It can occur in liquid, but it is faster in gaseous medium.

Examples of Diffusion in Living Membranes (Needs for Diffusion)

Some examples of diffusion in living membrane are:

1. Absorption of nutrients, e.g. mineral salts uptake in roots.

2. Exchange of gases in the cells or tissue e.g. Oxygen and Carbon (iv) oxide exchange
through the stomata.
3. Materials transport within the cells
4. Excretion of waste product e.g. diffusion of carbon (iv) oxide into the alveoli.

The Principle of Diffusion

Graham’s law of diffusion states that the rate of diffusion of a gas is inversely proportional to the
square root of the density.

Hence, lighter gases can diffuse through heavier gases, e.g. hydrogen sulphide has diffused
through air.

Significance of Diffusion

When molecules are unevenly distributed in the cell, diffusion tends to equalize the distribution.

Definition Of Osmosis

Osmosis on the hand is directly opposite diffusion. It is defined as the movement of solvent
molecules (usually water) from a solution of lower concentration to a more concentrated solution
through a differentially permeable or semi-permeable membrane in order to maintain an ionic
equilibrium. Osmosis is therefore a special form of diffusion.

Thus osmosis may be defined as the net movement of water from area of low D.PD. or higher
water concentration through an area of high D.P.D. or low water concentration through a semi-
permeable membrane.

D.P.D.: Diffusion pressure deficit, this may be defined as difference in water potential on both
sides of the semi-permeable membrane.

Examples of Osmosis in Living Membranes (Living Cells)

Some examples of osmosis in living membrane (living cells) are:

1. Absorption of nutrients or uptake of nutrients or water.

2. Plasmolysis of cells or shrinking of cells in hypertonic solution.
3. Turgidity of cells.
4. Haemolysis of red blood cells/bursting of animal cells in hypotonic solutions.

In osmosis, water moves into a stronger solution (the sugar solution in (E) through a living
material which acts as a semi-permeable membrane.

Examples of Osmosis in Plants: Need for Osmosis

1. Water absorption by the roots.

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 2. Plasmolysis of plant cells.
3. Movement of water from one cell to another in plants.
4. Maintenance of turgor pressure in plant cells.
5. Opening and closing of stomata.

Examples of Osmosis in Animals

1. Re-absorption of water by kidney tubules.

2. Haemolysis and crenation of red blood cells.
3. Osmo-regulation in Amoeba and Paramecium.
4. Maintenance of shape of mammalian cells in the surrounding tissue fluid.

Significance Of Osmosis

Osmosis is concerned with the transport of materials between cells.

EVALUATION

1. Define circulatory system.

2. List and explain the types of circulatory systems.
3. Differentiate between open and closed circulatory systems.
4. Define diffusion and osmosis.

WEEK 6
RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS: TYPES OF RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS

CONTENT

1. Types of Respiratory Systems

Types of Respiratory Systems

Note That respiration is one of the characteristics of living things we discussed in our basic
classes, in this process, oxygen is taken in while carbon iv oxide is given out. The two basic
types of respiration are; aerobic and anaerobic respiration.

Respiratory system refers to all the parts or organs and cells responsible for respiration process
that take place in the organism.

Respiration is simply a biochemical process in which energy is liberated from food substances
(mainly simple sugars) in the mitochondria of living cells with the aid of enzymes in the absence
or presence of oxygen.

The production of water, carbon iv oxide, alcohol or other organic substances is just incidental
to the basic process. Respiration is achieved through the mouth, nose, trachea, lungs and
diaphragm. The system functions to obtain oxygen for use by the body and to eliminate the
carbon iv oxide. It works in conjunction with the circulatory system.

In animals, the structures associated with respiration include the following organs:

1. Body surface (amoeba, paramecium,earthworm,).

2. Lung books (spider,)
3. Gills (tadpole, molluscs, fish).
4. Trachea (man, insects,)
5. Lungs (reptiles, man, birds, goat and other mammals etc)

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In plants, the stomata and Lenticels are the main respiratory structures for gas exchange by
diffusion. Gas exchange in animals depends on their respiratory medium (whether it is air or
water) and the nature of their respiratory surfaces. For aquatic animals, the respiratory medium
is water, as for terrestrial animals, the medium is air. Amphibians and some fishes use both air
and water as their media of exchange.

The exchange of gases with the respiratory medium by animals is called breathing. The
respiratory surface provides a boundary between the body and respiratory medium. The cells in
this surface are epithelial in nature (have thin wall) and have large surface area. This enhances
diffusion.

Body Surface Respiration

This is the simplest type of respiration found mainly in unicellular organisms and some multi-
cellular organisms such as Annelids (earthworms), platyhelminthes (flatworms), sponges, toads
and frogs. Respiration occurs by diffusion. In unicellular organisms, exchange of gases takes
place at the respiratory surfaces. Gases are dissolved in water before they are diffused across
the cell membrane. Organisms that respire through their body surface possess moist skin. As
for breathing, it is a visible, mechanical, muscular action, which enables an animal to quicken
the rate of gas exchange between itself and its environment.

Gills

The gill is found in large aquatic organisms such as tadpole, aquatic snails and fishes. Gills are
highly branched and vascularised, i.e., they are richly supplied with blood capillaries. Gills may
be external or enclosed. External gills may be sea slugs and amphibian larvae, whereas in
enclosed gills are found in water snails and crustaceans.

How Fish Breathe

A fish breathes by absorbing oxygen from the water it drinks. Water flows into the mouth,
through the gills, and out of the body through gill slits. As water flows through the gills, the
oxygen it contains passes into blood circulating through gill structures called filaments and
lamellae. At the same time, carbon dioxide in the fish’s bloodstream passes into the water and
is carried out of the body.

Tracheal System

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Tracheal System is common in insects and many other arthropods. It ends up in tiny holes in
the cuticle called spiracles. The spiracles open and close by muscular action. The tracheae
branch repeatedly into fine branches called tracheoles, which are equivalent to the air sacs in
the lungs. The tracheoles contain fluid in which oxygen dissolves before actually getting to the
individual cells of the body.

Anatomy of a Grasshopper

This illustration of a grasshopper depicts the tiny circular openings called spiracles through
which most insects obtain oxygen. From the spiracles, tubes called tracheae reach deep within
the body to supply oxygen to every cell.

Lungs

In developed organisms (animals), lungs is the main respiratory organ e.g., in terrestrial
vertebrates like mammals. Lungs are closely linked with the circulatory system. Lungs are found
in amphibians, birds, and mammals. The mammalian respiratory system consists of the nostrils,
pharynx, larynx, lungs and diaphragm.

Characteristics of Respiratory Surface

The following characteristics have been identified in exchange of gases in respiratory surfaces:

1. Epithelia in nature
2. Have very thin walls which shorten the diffusion distance and increase diffusion rate.
3. Mostly moist because gases diffuse in solution through them.
4. Possess delicate cells.
5. Have a large surface area to volume ratio, which ensures exchange of large quantities of
gases.

Mechanisms of Respiratory System

In plants and animals, respiration is through basic gas exchange facilitated by organs such as
stomata, gills, lungs, and skin.

However, in lower animals’ diffusion occurs through the membranes. In higher animals the
internal organs are kept away from the environment. In vertebrate animals, exchange of gases
takes place by inhalation and exhalation. This is referred to the breathing in and breathing out.

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 Alveoli

A view of tiny sacs known as alveoli within a section of human lung tissue. Human beings have
a thin layer of about 700 million alveoli within their lungs. This layer is crucial in the process
called respiration, exchanging oxygen and carbon dioxide with the surrounding blood
capillaries.

Week 7
RESPIRATORY SYSTEMS

CONTENT

1. Respiration in Higher Animals

2. Respiration in Lower Animals
3. Gaseous Exchange in Plants

Respiration in Higher Animals

This type of respiration takes place through the lungs. All mammals have a pair of lungs. lungs
adaptations that allow animals to invade the terrestrial environment. Some fishes, and
amphibians, reptiles, birds, and mammals, all have their lungs located internally. Mammals
breathing system comprises the air passages (nostrils, pharynx, larynx, and trachea), lungs and
diaphragm. Oxygen enters the nasal passage through the nostrils into the nasal cavity where it
is moistened and kept warm. The nasal cavity has lining cells, which secretes mucus that traps
most of the dust and microorganisms present in the air before it diffuses into the lungs.

Nasal cavity leads into the pharynx, the to the trachea (wind pipe), which divides into two
bronchi before it enters into the lungs; the cartilages support the wall of the trachea and
bronchus to prevent them from collapsing when the air pressure in them is reduced. Within each
lung, the bronchus divides repeatedly and becomes progressively narrower forming numerous
tiny tubules called bronchioles, which end in pockets of the air sacs called alveoli. Alveoli are
surrounded by a dense network of capillaries, which enhances gas exchange.

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 Breathing in Humans

As the diaphragm contracts and moves downward, the pectoralis minor and intercostal muscles
pull the rib cage outward. The chest cavity expands, and air rushes into the lungs through the
trachea to fill the resulting vacuum. When the diaphragm relaxes to its normal, upwardly curving
position, the lungs contract, and air is forced out.

The alveoli give the lungs a very large surface area for gas exchange. The lungs are located in
the thorax or thoracic cavity, which comprises the breast bone or sternum in front, and the back
bone (vertebrae) at the back. At the sides are twelve (12) pairs of ribs and intercostals muscles,
which are attached to the spine and the sternum, thereby, forming a bony cage. The diaphragm
is a sheet of muscle at the floor of the thorax.

The Human Lungs

In humans the lungs occupy a large portion of the chest cavity from the collarbone down to the
diaphragm. The right lung is divided into three sections, or lobes. The left lung, with a cleft to
accommodate the heart, has only two lobes. The two branches of the trachea, called bronchi,
subdivide within the lobes into smaller and smaller air vessels known as bronchioles.
Bronchioles terminate in alveoli, tiny air sacs surrounded by capillaries. When the alveoli inflate
with inhaled air, oxygen diffuses into the blood in the capillaries to be pumped by the heart to
the tissues of the body. At the same time carbon dioxide diffuses out of the blood into the lungs,
where it is exhaled.
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Mechanism of Breathing in Mammals

Inhalation

1. The intercostals muscles contract, while the ribs move upward and outwards.
2. The diaphragm contracts and flattens out.
3. The thoracic cavity volume increases, while its air pressure decreases.
4. Air is then forced from outside into the lungs through the air passage.

Exhalation

1. The intercostals muscles relax, while the ribs cage is lowered.

2. The diaphragm relaxes and returns to its original dome-shaped position.
3. The thoracic cavity volume decreases, while the lungs shrink.
4. The lung air pressure increases, and a lot of air is expelled from the lungs through the air
passage.

Respiration in Lower Animals

Respiration in Insects

The mechanism of breathing in insects is as follows:

1. An insect breathes through a trachea system. An insect has an impermeable cuticle but,
at intervals along the sides of its body, are about ten tiny openings called spiracles,
through which air enters and leaves the trachea.
2. These lead into air-filled tubes called tracheae which end in very hair-like, tiny structures
in tissues called tracheoles. Hence, no body cell is far from a tracheole which contains
certain fluids.
3. As the body wall of an insect contracts and expands, oxygen in the air diffuses through
the spiracle into the trachea and tracheole. It then diffuses into the body cells where it is
used for aerobic respiration.
4. Carbon (iv) oxide and water (water vapour) produced, diffuse out of the body through the
spiracles.
5. The spiracles have valves and they are opened only when the carbon (iv) oxide
concentration in the tissues is above a specific level.
6. The spiracles are closed for most of the time when an insect is inactive to reduce water
loss.

Mechanism of Breathing in Fish

1. Gaseous exchange or breathing in fishes occurs across the gill surfaces. All the gills
possess a very high surface area-to-volume ratio.
2. The fish opens its mouth, and water passes over the gill surface inside the opercula
which are then closed.
3. As water flows over the gills, the dissolved oxygen in the water diffuses into the thin-
walled blood capillaries of the gills. At the same time, carbon (iv) oxide in the blood
diffuses into the water.
4. The alternate opening and closing of the mouth and operculum allow a constant flow of
water over the gills.
5. Oxygen is transported by the blood into every living cell where it is used for aerobic
respiration. Hence, the gills are used for gas exchange (breathing) and not just for
respiration.

Gaseous Exchange in Plants

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As you learnt earlier, plants do not breathe like mammals, but like animals, they exchange
gases because they do not have thorax and lungs like mammals, we cannot see their breathing
movements which are the visible signs of gas exchange. Completely submerged aquatic plants
(e.g. algae) or those floating on water surface (e.g. lettuce) exchange gases by diffusion all over
their body surface or through the stomata in their leaves, lenticels in their stem, and through the
roots (i.e.from the air spaces in the soil particles around the roots).

Anatomy of a Leaf

The leaf provides food for the rest of the plant through the process of photosynthesis. The
outermost layer of the leaf is the epidermis, which is protected by the waxy coating of the
cuticle. Guard cells implanted in the epidermis form pores, known as stomata, through which
water, oxygen, and carbon dioxide pass. Embedded in the inner tissues of the leaf are
chloroplasts, where photosynthesis occurs. The plant veins consist of two specialized tissues.
Xylem conducts water from the plant to the leaf, while phloem carries food from the leaf to the
plant.

They also occur in the stems of young herbaceous plants. A stoma (stomata-plural) is a tiny
pore or opening enclosed by two bean-shaped guard cells. Unlike other epidermal cells, guard
cells have chloroplasts. Each guard cell has a thick, relatively inelastic wall around the pore and
a thin, elastic outer wall. The mechanism of the opening and closing of stomata is believed to be
associated with light intensity and the osmotic pressure within the guard cells. When the
osmotic pressure in the guard cells is high, they become turgid as a result of which the pore or
stoma opens. When the pressure is low, the guard cells become flaccid and the stoma is
closed. In general, the movement of gases and water vapour into and out of leaves is controlled
by the opening and closing of the stomata.

The Effect of Light on Gas Exchange in the Leaf

Respiration occurs at all times in living things. During sunlight, the rate of photosynthesis is
usually greater than that of respiration in green plants. Oxygen given out during photosynthesis
in the day is captured by animals and man for respiration. Also, the carbon (iv) oxide produced
by respiring cells is used in photosynthesis, while a lot of carbon (iv) oxide diffuses into the leaf
mesophyll cells from outside. The diffusion from the inside of the leaf to the outside is short.
Hence, gaseous molecules diffuse rapidly in and out of the leaf through the stomata.

However, at night, photosynthesis stops just as the sun stops shining, but respiration continues
because animals must live. Then, some oxygen diffuses into the leaf from outside through the
stomata and lenticels. The oxygen is used up in the respiring cells, while the carbon (iv) oxide
diffuses out of the leaf and lenticels.

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It is worthy to note that the vein of leaves contain vascular tissue. Water and mineral salts and
some dissolved gases are distributed to the leaf parts through the xylem. Also, the
manufactured food in the leaves is conducted through the phloem in the veins to all parts of the
leaves and other plant parts.

EVALUATION

1. Describe the mechanism of breathing in mammals.

2. Describe the mechanism of breathing in insects.
3. Describe the mechanism of breathing in fish.

Week 8
EXCRETORY SYSTEMS

CONTENT

1. Definition of Excretory Systems

2. The Need for Excretion
3. Contractile Vacuoles
4. Flame Cells in Flatworm
5. Malpighian Tubules in Insects
6. Kidneys in Vertebrates
7. Other Excretory Organs in Mammals
8. Stomata and Lenticels

Definition of Excretory Systems

Excretory systems refer to all the cells and organs of any living organism which enables it to
eliminate harmful substances away from the body.

Excretion is therefore the removal of toxic wastes of metabolism from the body of living
organisms.

The Need for Excretion

Waste products produced in the body by excretion must not be allowed to remain in the
because of the following reasons:

1. Waste products when not removed can interfere with normal metabolic activities of the
body.
2. Excretion helps to maintain salt and water balance i.e. homeostasis in the body.
3. Some products are poisonous and must never be allowed to accumulate within the body.
4. The excretory products are harmful to the body and so must be removed.
5. All animals are heterotrophic and may eat some materials as food which is not needed
by their bodies. These substances and unwanted products of the chemical activities of
the body is excretion.
6. Proteins are used for growth and repair but any excess cannot be stored. The initial
waste products of the biochemical processes involving protein is ammonia gas. This
compound is very poisonous and must be excreted quickly.

Contractile Vacuoles

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Contractile vacuole is an organelle or a device found in Amoeba and other unicellular organisms
or protozoans. It is a simple device, a small sac lined with a membrane lying freely in the
cytoplasm. The cell membrane surrounding the amoeba is a semi permeable to water and
because the osmotic pressure inside the animal is greater than outside the animal, water enters
the cell by osmosis. To counter this, water is secreted into the contractile vacuole as fast as it
enters the body. As this happens, the contractile vacuole expands and bursts, thus discharging
its contents to the exterior through a small pore in the cell membrane after which the whole
process is repeated. The energy required by the contractile vacuole is produced by the
mitochondria found near the vacuole. The contents of the contractile vacuole are; water, carbon
(iv) oxide and nitrogenous wastes.

Paramecium

The paramecium is a single-celled organism that propels itself by minute, hairlike projections
called cilia. Cilia also create currents that sweep food particles toward the paramecium’s gullet
for ingestion. The paramecium gets rid of excess water with the help of a contractile vacuole,
which pumps water out of the cell.

Flame Cells in Flatworm

These are two longitudinal excretory canals, which open onto the dorsal surface of the flat worm
by a number of minute pores. The main canals give off numerous branches, which ramify
among the parenchyma cells. The final branches end in flame cells. These are cells, which have
intracellular cavities and ducts, with numerous cytoplasmic branches penetrating between the
parenchyma cells. Projecting into the cavity of the cell is a bundle of long cilia which arise from
basal granules in the cytoplasm. These cilia are characterised by their flickering movement
which give use to the name ‘flame cells’.

Malpighian Tubules in Insects

Generally, insects are very successful group of animals because of their ability to conserve
water, wings to fly, metamorphosis, and small body structure. On the other hand, they have an
extremely efficient excretory system. The malpighian tubules are the excretory organs. They are
found between the midgut and the rectum. One end of each tubule opens into the gut, while the
other free end floats in the haemoloel of insects. They are long and extremely slender and
penetrate among the visera over. The greater part of the horux and abdomen. In the cockroach
for example, they are in six groups with about twelve tubules in each group.

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 Generalized Anatomy of an Insect

All adult insects have three main body parts—the head, which holds an insect’s primary sense
organs; the thorax, which is the attachment site for the legs and wings; and the abdomen, which
contains the organs for digestion and reproduction. All of the insect’s soft inner body parts are
protected by an external skeleton, or exoskeleton, made of semirigid plates and tubes.

Kidneys in Vertebrates

All vertebrates have a pair of kidneys, which form a part of the excretory system. In mammals,
the kidneys are bean-shaped, dark red in colour and surrounded by fat. The right kidney is
slightly lower in the body than the left. If a kidney is cut longitudinally into two, it will be seen to
consist of two main regions: an outer dark coloured cortex and an inner lighter coloured
medulla. When viewed under a microscope, a kidney consists of blood vessels, kidney tubules
or nephrons and connective tissues. Each nephron begins in the cortex as a tiny cup-shaped
structure known as Bowman’s capsule, which surrounds capillaries called the glomerulus. The
Bowman’s capsule leads into a coiled tube called the proximal tubule. This goes down to form a
U-shaped structure, the Henle’s loop. Finally, it coils again to form the distal tubul, which twists
and empties into a collecting duct. Renal artery, which branches from the products and
oxygenated blood to the kidney so that nitrogenous wastes products (urea) can be removed.

Section of the Kidney

Approximately one million nephrons (right) compose each bean-shaped kidney (left). The
filtration unit of the nephron, called the glomerulus, regulates the concentration within the body
of important substances such as potassium, calcium, and hydrogen, and removes substances
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not produced by the body such as drugs and food additives. The filtrate, urine, leaves the
nephron through the long renal tubule. Chemical signals triggered by the body’s need for water
and salt cause the walls of the tubule to become more or less permeable to these substances,
which are reabsorbed accordingly from the urine.

The blood that leaves the kidney is deoxygenated and is carried away by renal vein to the
inferior (posterior) vena cava. The urine formed passes from each kidney into a ureter. The left
and right ureters lead to a muscular sac called the bladder in which urine is stored temporarily.
The bladder opens to a short tube, urethra, which leads to the exterior.

Other Excretory Organs in Mammals

1. The skin excretes water, salts and urea. Skin excretes wastes by means of sweat
glands, which consists of coiled tubes, opening exteriorly as pores. Sweat is composed
of 95% water and 3% dissolved salts (e.g. sodium chloride).
2. Lungs excrete carbon (iv) oxide and water. Carbon (iv) oxide can be harmful if it
accumulates too much as it forms carbonic acid is capable of upsetting the delicate acid
base balance of the body fluids.
3. Liver, in addition to manufacturing chemicals, the liver helps clear toxic substances, such
as drugs and alcohol, from the bloodstream. It does this by absorbing the harmful
substances, chemically altering them, and then excreting them in the bile

Structure of the Skin

Humans and other vertebrates are covered with a multilayered tissue called skin. The skin
consists of an outer, protective layer (epidermis) and an inner, living layer (dermis). The top
layer of the epidermis is composed of dead cells containing keratin, the horny scleroprotein that
also makes up hair and nails.

Stomata and Lenticels

In general, plants are much less active than animals and produce waste products at a much
slower rate. Hence, they have no need for specialized excretory organs. The main excretory
products, which are water, oxygen and carbon (iv) oxide, are got rid of by diffusion through the
stomata and lenticels.

Excretion in Stomata

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Stomata are pores in the epidermis bounded by specialized epidermal cells known as guard
cells. In conjunction with the guard cells, other adjacent and distinctive epidermal cells may exist
in opening and closing of the pore. These are known as accessory cells. Stomata are usually
found at the aerial parts of the stems and leaves and flower parts. Underground rhizomes and
some aquatic plants may possess them. They may be irregularly scattered or arranged in
parallel rows. The guard cells are bean shaped and fit together with the pore between them.
The size of the pore ulters according to how turgid the guard cells are. This in turns depends on
the osmotic pressure within the guard cells. When the pressure is low, the guard cells are flabby
and the stoma is closed. When it is high, the guard cells are turgid and the stoma opens.

Excretion in Lenticels

They are structurally differentiated parts of the periderm, which stand out because of the very
loose cell arrangement and lack of suberization. They vary greatly in size according to species
but can be seen as protrusions of loose substance through cracks in the periderm. In a stem
undergoing secondary thickening, the first lenticels usually arise beneath the stoma in the
epidermis. The cells below the stomata lose their chlorophyll and divide repeatedly to form a
losses mass. Gradually, the region of division penetrates deeper into the cortex, and the place
of the division of the cells becomes regularly parallel to the surface so that a lenticels phellogen
is formed. This proceeds to cut off more and more loose cells towards the exterior and
eventually the epidermis is ruptured.

Prominent plants excretory products are water, carbon (iv) oxide and oxygen. They are excreted
through the stomata and lenticels. Green plants like tomato and potato have glands that
secretes water, a process called guttation. This is seen at the apex and margin. Other waste
products produced by plants are tannins, poisonous nitrogenous alkaloids and anthocyanins,
which give colour to the petals of many flowers. In order not to interfere with plants activities,
these waste products are converted to harmless insoluble compounds and stored within the
plant body, e.g., some plant cells contain calcium oxide, glucose and alkaloid compounds.

EVALUATION

1. Define excretory systems.

2. State five (5) importance of excretion in living organisms.
3. Write short notes of the following: (i) Contractile Vacuoles (ii) Flame Cells in Flatworm
(iii) Malpighian Tubules in Insects (iv) Kidneys in Vertebrates

Week 9
EXCRETORY SYSTEMS AND MECHANISMS

CONTENT

1. Excretory Mechanism in Earthworm

2. Excretory System in Insects
3. Excretory Mechanism in Mammals

Excretory Mechanism in Earthworm

The nephridia is the excretory organ of earthworm. Each segment of the nephridia contains a
pair of tubes. Each nephridium is a long-coiled tube derived by the growth of ectoderm, and
opens into the coelomic fluid of the segment anterior to the nephridiophore. The first part is
called the nepridiopore, and it has a minute flattered funnel with the upper lip large than the
lower lip. The upper lip is formed mainly of a large central cell which is thickly ciliated on the
inner surface of the funnel. The lower lip on the other hand consists of a thickened cluster of
small cells which are not ciliated. All the cilia beat into the lumen of the tube. The nephrostome

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leads into an intracellular duct which bears two rows of lateral cilia. Beyond the septum, the tube
is narrower and ciliated. It goes into several loops and then becomes the wider brown, ciliated
tube which terminates at the nephridiophore. The opening of this pore is regulated by a
sphincter. The nephridia of the earthworm are generally supplied with many fine capillaries
which ramify among the coils.

Generalized Anatomy of an Earthworm

The earthworm shows the well-developed segmentation that is characteristic of all animals in
the phylum Annelida. Although the major nervous, circulatory, and digestive organs are located
near the head, more posterior segments contain peripheral structures for all of these systems.
These posterior segments are virtually identical to each other. Earthworms are hermaphroditic,
possessing both male and female internal reproductive organs.

Excretory System in Insects

Tissues in insects produce nitrogenous waste in the form of soluble potassium urate, which is
liberated into the blood and taken up by the cells lining the Malpighian tubules. The tubules are
muscular and their writhing movements facilitate the absorption of urate by stirring up the blood.
In the cells of the tubule, the potassium urate reacts with water and carbon (iv) oxide (from
respiration) to form potassium trioxocarbonate (iv) and uric acid. The former is reabsorbed into
the blood to such an extent that the proximal end of the Malpighian tubule becomes filled with
solid crystals of uric acid. Water is further reabsorbed by the folded walls of the rectal glands so
that by the time urine leaves the body, it is very much more concentrated than the blood.

The remarkable ability of insects to conserve water has contributed towards their success as a
group. This is largely due to the action of their Malpighian tubules and rectal glands. Insects
conserve water more effectively than any other group of animals because they do not drink
water. They pass out semisolid waste (uric acid), which contains very little quantity of water.

Excretory Mechanism in Mammals

We shall focus our attention on the formation of urine. The kidneys of mammals accomplish this
task by purifying the blood. Some toxic substances such as nitrogenous salt, sodium salt,
potassium salt, calcium salt, and urea are removed from the body through this means.

In urine formation, three processes take place:

1. Ultra filtration

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 2. Selective re-absorption, and
3. Tubular secretion.

Now, as the blood circulates round the glomerulus, ultra filtration occurs. Small molecules such
as water, urea, mineral salts, sugar, and plasma solutes pass through the one-cell thick walls of
the capillaries and the Bowman’s capsule into the capsular space. Bigger molecules like
plasma, protein and the blood cells cannot pass through the barrier which thus acts as a filter. A
high pressure in the glomerulus is essential for the filtration process. This is brought about in the
following ways:

1. The blood entering the kidney is already at high pressure because the renal artery
branches off from the dorsal aorta at only a short distance from the heart.
2. The blood vessel leaving each glomerulus is narrower than the one entering it, thereby
increasing the pressure of the blood in the glomerulus further.

The fluid that filters into the Bowman’s capsule is known as glomerular filtrate. It flows down the
tubule, and as it passes down the proximal part of the tubule and the Henle’s loop, selective
reabsorption take place. In this process, water and useful substances like sugar, amino acid and
salts are reabsorbed into the surrounding blood capillaries. The filtrate then moves into the
distal part of the tubule. Here, large waste molecules like creatinine are secreted into the
tubules. If necessary, ions (hydrogen, potassium and hydrogen carbonate) are secreted into the
tubules to keep the osmotic concentration of the blood constant. The fluid that eventually
remains in the tubules is concentrated and is known as urine.

An average of 1.5 liters of urine is produced daily. The amount of urea excreted will depend on
the protein content of the daily diet. The filtered blood leaving the kidney by the renal vein
contains:

1. Less oxygen and glucose, and more carbon (iv) oxide, as a result of cellular respiration
and
2. Less nitrogenous wastes, salt and water as a result of excretion.

The urine formed trickles down the ureter and collects in the bladder. When the bladder is full, it
contracts discharging the urine out of the body through the urethra.

The mechanism used in urine formation includes the following:

1. Active transports
2. Varying permeability of tubules and
3. Passive diffusion and osmosis.

The Excretory System

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EVALUATION

1. Describe the excretory mechanism of an earthworm.

2. Describe the excretory system of insects.
3. Describe the process of urine formation in the excretory mechanism of mammals.

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