THE LAZY RIVER: On this ride, you will start up in the heart. When it pumps, the ride will begin. You will move very slowly through the entire body in a boat around a series of veins, until you are back at the heart.
THE VEIN HANGER: This ride is similiar to the Lazy River, except instead of flowing in the vein, you will be sitting in a car that is hooked on to the vein at the top of it; so that the car will be dangling. The car will move about 60 miles per hour around the majority of the circulatory system.
THE RED BEAST:This ride is also similiar to the Lazy River, but instead of being in a boat, you will just ride it like a water slide. There will also be three different slides that you can choose from, one will go down to the legs and back, while another will go to the arms and back, and yet another will go up towards the brain and back.
There is really only one hot spot in the circulatory system, and that is the heart.
Diagram of the circulatory system in action
Diagram of the arteries and veins in the heart
1. The function of the circulatory system is to collect chemicals and wastes from the blood cells of the body, give a steady supply of food and oxygen to each part of the body, and to carry nutrients and hormones to each part in the human body.
2. A drop of blood goes into the venae cavae, then the drop of blood is emptied into the right atrium. After that the atrium is filled up with blood (this happens when the heart relaxes). Then, when the heart contracts, the blood gets squeezed into the right ventricle. The right ventricle is surrounded by tissue that does not allow blood to go back into the right atrium. Then, when the heart contracts again the blood enters blood vessels and is sent to the lungs. Next, the oxygen rich blood leaves the lungs and goes back into the heart in blood vessles. The blood then enters the left atrium, and passes through the bicuspid valve into the left ventricle. Finally, powerful contractions force the blood into the aorta, which carries the blood to every part of the body.
4. There are four components of blood which each play an important role in the circulatory system.
Red Blood Cells: A red blood cell normally does not have a nucleus; it is a very small, circular disk with both faces concave, and contains hemoglobin, which carries oxygen to the body tissues, these cells are also the most common.
White Blood Cells: White Blood Cells are small colorless nucleated cells in the blood, lymph, and tissues, which are important in the body's defenses against infection.
Platelets: A platelet is a round or oval, nonnucleated disks, smaller than a red blood cell, and containing no hemoglobin, it is needed for blood clotting.
Plasma: Is a straw colored fluid portion of blood which contains blood cells, platelets, hormones, and nutrients.
5. There are two different types of circulation, which are described below:
Systemic circulation: Is when the blood that is high on oxygen leaves the heart passes through the aorta into a lot of arteries that supply blood to every part of the body.
Pulmonary circulation: Is when the blood that is low on oxygen is pumped out of the right ventricle of the heart into the lungs through pulmonary arteries. Then the blood is pumped back into the heart through pulmonary veins.
6. Although the heart is a single muscle, it does not contract in one motion. The contraction is spread out all over the heart (like a wave). This wave is started in a small bundle of cells that are embedded in the right atrium. This structure starts the heartbeat and sets a pace for the heart, this structure is called a pacemaker. The pacemaker through the cardiac muscle cells in the left and right atria causes both atria to contract simultaneously. When the impusle reaches the walls of the left and right ventricles, they also contract simultaneously. As the impuse travels through the heart, it makes the cardiac muscles contract at the same time, this causes the heart to beat.
7. Blood pressure is the pressure exerted by the blood against the inner walls of the blood vessels; blood pressure varies with health, age, emotional tension, etc.
8. One disease is atherosclerosis. This disease can develp when the arteries become narrowed by the deposits of cholesterol building up on the sides of the artery. Another disease of the heart is hypertension. Hypertension is high blood pressure. When someone's blood pressure is high, their heart has to work harder. This strain on their heart causes the heart to weaken. People with high blood pressure are also more likely to develop problems in their arteries outside of their heart. The arteries are more likely to develop leaks.
WATCH OUT FOR WHITE BLOOD CELLS, THEY CAN NOT TELL A HUMAN FROM BACTERIA.
The circulatory system imports oxygen from the lungs, so that it can export this oxygen to other parts of the human body. The circulatory system also imports white blood cells from the bone marrow.
The circulatory system exports oxygen to the entire body. The circulatory system also exports a lot of blood.
