Study Guide – Circulatory & Nervous Systems
 The circulatory system is made up of the heart, blood vessels, blood, &
kidneys.
 The heart’s job is to pump blood to all parts of the body.
 The heart is made up of 4 chambers.
 The heart is about the size of your fist.
 Your pulse is the number of times your heart beats.
 Your heart beats more times when you exercise than when you are at rest.
 On average, the heart beats 70 times per minute.
 Blood vessels carry the blood that the hearts pump.
 There are four types of blood: Type O, A, B, & AB.
 There are 2 kidneys that filter liquid waste from the bloodstream.
 There are 3 types of blood vessels.
1. Arteries – carry oxygen rich blood away from the heart (which means
its carrying oxygen to other parts & cells in the body).
2. Veins – carry oxygen depleted blood, or blood with carbon dioxide
waste back to the heart.
3. Capillaries – connect arteries to veins; they are extremely small
vessels.
 The capillaries have a very important job – to allow oxygen to pass through
its wall into the cells and for carbon dioxide to leave the cell back into the
capillary’s wall to be carried to the lungs to be removed when we exhale
(breath out).
 The circulatory system works with the digestive system. The digestive
system breaks down the food we eat into usable substances while the
circulatory system delivers those nutrients to all of our cells.
 The circulatory system works with the respiratory system as well. The
respiratory system is responsible for taking in oxygen from the air while the
circulatory system takes that oxygen to all of our cells.
 Cells need oxygen and nutrients to provide our body with energy that we
need to survive.
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 The nervous system is made up of the brain, spinal cord, and nerves.
 The brain is the control center for all of our body’s functions.
 The nerves carry messages (impulses) from our body parts to our brain and
to our brain to our body parts.
 The spinal cord is a series of nerves that run through the center of our
vertebrae.
 The spinal cord is connected to our brain.
 The brain has 3 main parts:
1. Cerebrum – the largest part of the brain responsible for our thoughts,
memory, emotions, our 5 senses, and imagination.
2. Cerebellum – the “little brain”; responsible for muscle coordination &
movement – when we learn to play a sport, instrument, how to walk,
how to ride a bike – this part of the brain is at work. Basically, the
cerebellum controls our muscular and skeletal systems.
3. Brain Stem – connects the spinal cord to the brain; controls
involuntary actions such as our heartbeat. It controls some of our body
systems such as digestive, respiratory, and circulatory.
 The brain uses 20% of all oxygen taken in by the body.
 The right side of the brain controls the left side of our body.
 The left side of the brain controls the right side of our body.
 The right side of our brain is usually the creative, musical center.
 The left side of our brain is the analytical, spatial, and math oriented side.
 Damage to the spinal cord can cause paralysis in parts of our body.
 A stroke is a blood clot in the brain which could affect a function controlled
by the part of the brain where the stroke occurs.