A Look
Inside the
Circulatory
System
By Brittany and Katie
Your Introduction to the
Circulatory System
We’re here to introduce the
circulatory system. The circulatory
system is made up of two major
pieces. Without these pieces you
couldn’t live because you need the
heart to pump the blood around the
body and you need your blood
vessels to guide the blood to
different places like the brain.
What’s in the System
and How Each Piece
Works
There are two major pieces, the
heart and the blood vessels.
The heart pumps the blood and
the blood goes through the
blood vessels around the body.
You need both to live.
How to
Take Care
of the
Circulatory
System
Taking care of the circulatory system is very important.
If you smoke your blood is thinner so you get less
oxygen. If you get a shortage of oxygen you won’t live
very long because your body needs a lot of oxygen. You
will also need a monthly check-up at the doctor’s office.
Fun & Amazing
Facts about the
Circulatory
System
• The heart beats 70 times a
minute in an adult and even
faster in a child
• Extra blood goes to the skin
and muscles when we’re hot or
working hard
• The heart beats more than 2
1/2 billion times without ever
pausing to rest
• People once thought illnesses
were caused by too much blood,
so doctors used leeches to suck
out the “extra” blood
More Facts about the Circulatory
System
Did you know...
• Over half of you blood is a liquid plasma, the rest is
made cells, the plasma is mostly water.
• Anger and excitement make the heart beat faster than
normal so does eating.
• Mammals and birds have hearts with 4 chambers, frog
hearts have 3, and fish have only 2.
• People living in high places with thinner air have more
red blood cells. Their red blood cells carry less oxygen.
• The right side of the heart pumps blood to the lungs to
deliver oxygen.
Lots More Facts about the
Circulatory System
Did you know...
• A heart attack stops blood taking oxygen to the brain
• The heart is positioned behind the ribcage and
between the lungs
• Red blood cells live about 4 months
• There are about 5 million red blood cells in a droplet
of blood
• All the chambers in the heart have valves that control
the blood flow
Bibliography
Bruun,Ruth. The Human Body. Random House,of Canada Limited,
Toronto, 1982.
Amazing Human Body CD-ROM. New York: DK Interactive Learning,
1997.
Discovery Communications Inc. "Your Gross & Cool Body." The
Yuckiest Site on the Internet, 2000. On-line. Internet. June 15, 2001.
Available: http://yucky.kids.discovery.com/flash/body/
McGann, Andrew. “The Skeletal System.” A Look Inside the Human
Body. On-line. Internet. June 15, 2001.
Available: http://bart.northnet.com.au/~amcgann/body/index.html
Scholastic. The Magic School Bus Explores the Human Body CD-ROM.
Microsoft Corporation, 1995.