Questions | 5 |
Topics | Biosphere, Blood Cells, Blood Flow, Lungs, Small Intestine |
The biosphere is the global ecological system integrating all living beings and their relationships. This includes their interactions with the lithosphere (the rigid outer part of the earth, consisting of the crust and upper mantle), hydrosphere (all surface water), and atmosphere (the envelope of gases surrounding the planet).
Blood is created in bone marrow and is made up of cells suspended in liquid plasma. Red blood cells carry oxygen, white blood cells fight infection, and platelets are cell fragments that allow blood to clot.
To provide oxygen to the body, blood flows through the heart in a path formed by the right atrium → right ventricle → lungs → left atrium → left ventricle → body. When blood enters the right side of the heart it is deoxygenated. It enters the left side of the heart oxygenated after traveling to the lungs.
The trachea branches into the left and right bronchi which each lead to a lung where the bronchi subdivide into smaller tubes called bronchioles. Each bronchiole ends in a small sac called an alveolus which allows oxygen from the air to enter the bloodstream via tiny blood vessels called capillaries.
The small intestine is where most digestion takes place. As food travels along the small intestine it gets broken down completely by enzymes secreted from the walls. These enzymes are produced in the small intestine as well as in the pancreas and liver. After the enzymes break down the food, the resulting substances are then absorbed into the blood via capillaries in the small intestine walls.