Topic: Circulatory System
Aim: Describe the structure and function of the different types of blood vessels using textual
evidence from the reading.
Directions: Read the passage below. Answer questions 1 – 3 the table below using textual evidence.
The movement of blood around your body is called circulation. Blood is carried around your body through a
network of blood vessels called arteries, veins and capillaries. Think of them as a road system for your blood! Even
though all three types of blood vessels serve to carry blood throughout the body, they are very different from each
other. Arteries carry blood away from your heart, and have thicker walls as the blood flows faster. The pressure in
arteries is high and it is in arteries that a pulse can be felt. All arteries except the pulmonary artery (the artery
sending blood from the heart to the lungs) carry blood with oxygen. Veins carry blood back to the heart, and unlike
arteries, veins have thin walls. The pressure in veins is very low, and no pulse can be felt. Veins also have valves to
stop the blood from flowing backwards. Also, unlike arteries, all veins except the pulmonary vein (the vein bringing
blood back to the heart from the lungs) carry blood without oxygen. Capillaries are the tiny blood vessels that
connect the arteries to the veins. The walls of capillaries are very thin. In fact, the walls are only one cell layer thick!
This is because things like oxygen and nutrients need to be able to get out of the blood and into the body cells. It is
also in the capillaries where carbon dioxide and other waste products move from the body cells back into the blood.
1. List 6 characteristics of arteries in the table below.
2. List 6 characteristics of veins in the table below.
3. List 6 characteristics of capillaries in the table below.
ARTERIES
VEINS
CAPILLARIES
Draw a picture of an artery, capillary and vein to demonstrate the difference in structure and size
between these three blood vessels.
Topic: Circulatory System
Aim: Explain the function and structure of the circulatory system.
Watch the short video about the circulatory system to answer the questions below.
1. Describe the function of the circulatory system.
2. How is the heart divided? ______________________________________________________________________________________________
3. Identify the different chambers. _________________________________________________________________________________________
4. What kind of blood is found on the right side of the heart? ___________________________________________________________
5. Identify the blood vessel that transports blood into the right atrium. _______________________________________________
6. Identify the blood vessel that blood from the right ventricle enters. ________________________________________________
7. Identify the organ that the pulmonary artery transports blood to. ___________________________________________________
8. What happens to the blood in the lungs? _______________________________________________________________________________
9. Which side of the heart does oxygenated blood from the lungs travel to? __________________________________________
10. Identify the blood vessel that carries oxygenated blood back to the heart. _________________________________________
11. Identify the largest artery in the body that transports oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. _________________
FUNCTION OF THE HEART:
TYOE IF MUSCLE FOUND IN THE HEART: ______________________________________________________________________
PARTS OF THE HEART
BLOOD FLOW IN THE HEART
BLOOD VESSELS ATTACHED TO THE HEART

________________________________________________________: carry DEOXYGENATED blood from the rest of
the body back to the right side of the heart

________________________________________________________: carry DEOXYGENATED blood from the right
side of the heart to the lungs

________________________________________________________: carry OXYGENATED blood from the lungs to the
left side of the heart.

________________________________________________________: largest artery in the body
-
Carries OXYGENATED blood from the left side of the heart to the rest of the body
BLOOD FLOW THROUGH THE BODY
Label the numbered structures in the diagram below.