BIOL 318 Study Guide Exam 3 Circulatory,
Cardiovascular, Lymphatic & Digestive Systems
Latest Update 2026 | Exam Prep | High-Yield Review
Guide
BIOL 318 Study Guide
Exam 3: Circulatory and Cardiovascular Systems, Lymphatic System, Digestive System
This study guide is intended to provide a list of topics to guide your studying. This is not
intended to be a complete list of everything that will be one the exam. Remember, because the
exam is only 50 questions, some topics will be covered on the exam and some will not be
covered on the exam. This list is to supplement your in-class notes.
Blood - General
• Functions of Circulatory System
• Circulatory system: blood, blood vessels, and heart
• Cardiovascular system: blood vessels and heart
1. Transport
▪ Gases: oxygen, carbon dioxide
▪ Nutrients: from digestive tract
▪ Waste: from metabolism other than CO2, like lactic acid
▪ Hormones
▪ Stem cells: to other tissues, where they can differentiate if they need to
2. Protection
▪ Process of inflammation: initial immune response initialized by
components of the blood -> limit infection spread and recruit WBCs to
site of infection to prevent it
3. Regulation
▪ Fluid distribution: for blood pressure (hydrostatic pressure, pressure
exerted on the walls, and oncotic pressure)
▪ pH
▪ Temperature: feedback mechanism to maintain body’s core temperature
(dilation and constriction of blood vessels near surface of skin) dilation
for body to cool down, constriction to maintain body heat when cold
• What are the major components of blood?
• 4-6 liters: dramatic difference in how much blood someone has based on age,
weight, height, and sex for example
• Erythrocytes (RBCs)
• Leukocytes (WBCs)
▪ Neutrophils (granulocyte)
▪ Eosinophils (granulocyte)
▪ Basophils (granulocyte)
▪ Lymphocytes (agranulocyte)
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, ▪ Monocytes (agranulocyte)
• Platelets: major formed elements, more solid components helping in blood
clotting
• Plasma: 55% of whole blood
• Formed elements: make up the rest of the blood
▪ Buffy coat: leukocytes and platelets (< 1% of whole blood)
▪ Erythrocytes: 45% of whole blood
• What are major components of blood plasma?
• Liquid connective tissue matrix
• Aqueous environment: mostly water
• Contents other than water:
▪ Proteins: plasma proteins with immune functions and transportation of
hormones
▪ Nutrients: absorbed from digestive tract
▪ Electrolytes: from digestive absorption and communication and signaling
in the body. We can take them and bring them to other part of the body
that need them more.
• E.g., calcium and sodium
▪ Waste: CO2 can travel as a dissolved gas or bound to plasma proteins in
the blood plasma
▪ Hormones: hydrophobic hormones are bound to some of the plasma
proteins, hydrophilic are freely traveling
▪ Gases: O2 can travel as a dissolved gas in the blood plasma
• What specific type of proteins?
▪ Proteins: most abundant contents
▪ Clotting of blood, pathogen defense (immune system role), transport of
solutes
▪ Proteins produced by liver (except some globulins):
1. Albumin
• Transport: solutes and hormones that are hydrophobic
• Buffer pH: protein buffers can act as an amphoteric (acid or base)
and can bind to a strong acid (H+) to neutralize the acidity, OH-
ions can bind to albumin to neutralize basicity. They can also
release H+ or OH- groups at the same time as grabbing the
opposite to combat the other.
• Viscosity and osmolarity: how thick the blood it, the more
proteins (like albumin), the higher the viscosity. The concentration
of solutes and proteins in the blood, the more solutes present, the
higher the osmolarity. Water will fix the effects of the high
osmolarity by following the solutes.
2. Globulins
• Alpha, beta, and gamma: alpha and beta deal with transport and
blood clotting mechanism, while gamma globulins are
immunoglobulins that fight off infection or disease
• Transport: solutes and hormones that are hydrophobic
• Clotting of blood
• Immunity: immunoglobulin (antibodies), wrong blood typing can
cause production of immunoglobulins causing severe illness or
death
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, 3. Fibrinogen: inactive, something has to activate it into its active form of
fibrin
• Precursor of fibrin -> framework of blood clots (web-like
structure) preventing or reducing bleeding
• Viscosity
• Define: how thick a fluid is
• What increases or decreases viscosity?
▪ Viscosity disorders:
• RBC or protein deficiency -> higher blood flow (thinner blood):
can result in heart issues
• Too many RBCs or proteins -> slower blood flow (thicker blood):
moves slower, making the heart work on overtime which can
result in more fatal types of heart disease and disorders
• What is the effect of increased or decreased viscosity?
▪ Results: strain on heart, heart disease, heart defects, heart attacks
• Osmolarity
• Define: solute concentration
• What increases or decreases osmolarity?
▪ Increased osmolarity: increased sodium (electrolytes), proteins, amino
acids, and glucose
• High osmolarity: high water absorption, which elevates BP
causing a high BP
▪ Decreased osmolarity: decreased sodium (electrolytes), proteins, amino
acids, and glucose
• Low osmolarity: low water absorption, which lowers BP causing a
low BP
• What is the effect of increased or decreased osmolarity?
▪ Results: high or low blood pressure due to high or low water absorption
because of solute presence
• What are hemopoietic tissues? Where are they found?
• Hemopoietic tissues: tissues forming elements of our blood
▪ Liver: produce plasma proteins, except immunoglobulins, and can aid in
blood production
▪ Spleen: responsible for regulating RBCs that are dying. Internal
framework of sponge, blood is being filtered through the spleen and RBCs
have to squeeze to get through the passageways. If they are old RBCs,
they will break signaling they need to be remade.
• Severe anemia: can cause the spleen to revert to producing new
RBCs
▪ Thymus: important site for maturation of WBCs (T cells)
▪ Bone marrow: more active in developing children, mostly where RBCs are
made in adults and where WBCs are made in children
Erythrocyte Properties
• What are functions of RBCs? Gas exchange and blood typing
• What are distinguishing properties of RBCs?
o Lose nucleus and no organelles
▪ Anaerobic fermentation for energy: to generate ATP, due to lack of
mitochondria, have a cytoplasm for glycolysis to take place
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, ▪ No aerobic respiration: helps conserve oxygen for delivery
o Cytoplasm
▪ Hemoglobin: concentration can differ from person to person
▪ Carbonic anhydrase: enzyme helping catalyze the CO2 + H2O -> H2CO3-
-> CO3- + H+ pathway
o Glycolipids (antigens) on surface -> blood typing: certain sugar component is
what names the blood type as A, B, AB, or O
• How do RBCs transport oxygen most efficiently? What allows for that?
o RBCs go through anaerobic fermentation for energy: generating ATP, due to
lack of mitochondria, have a cytoplasm for glycolysis to take place
o No aerobic respiration: help conserve oxygen for delivery to important tissues
• Explain the basis of blood typing
o How is blood type determined? Glycolipids (antigens) on the surface of RBCs, the
certain sugar component is what names the blood type as A, B, AB, or O
o How is transfusion compatibility determined? The Rh +/- factor/group
• Clinical testing – explain…
o Hematocrit
▪ % Of blood that is RBCs (not exact number), other tests are needed to
support the diagnosis (hemoglobin concentration tests)
▪ Spinning down blood and looking at the fraction of the blood that is
consisting of erythrocytes
▪ Too few RBCs: anemia
▪ Too many RBCs: polycythemia
• Signs to test for hematocrit: shortness of breath, blue colored
limbs, if they don’t have anemia, we could also test for low
hemoglobin
o Hemoglobin concentration
▪ Test to see if there is an adequate amount of hemoglobin in the blood
o RBC count
▪ Counting the number of RBCs on a histology slide, and use an equation to
equate the relative amount of RBCs
o How do these values differ between sexes and why?
▪ Androgens stimulate RBC production: testosterone has a higher
concentration in men
▪ Periodic menstrual RBC loss in females
▪ Number of RBCs inversely proportional to fat: males have less fat than
females, the higher the fat, the less RBCs
▪ Evolutionary adaptation? Competition for resources, mates, and other
things are done mostly by males rather than females. The male sex of a
lot of these organisms is thought to go through more competition,
resulting in more blood loss, which is why values of RBCs and hemoglobin
are higher in males than females
• What mechanisms control RBC production?
o Negative feedback mechanism
o Low count RBCs: caused by hypoxemia, or low levels of oxygen leading to low
count of RBCs
o Kidneys detect hypoxemia -> increase EPO output from bone marrow ->
increased RBC production
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Cardiovascular, Lymphatic & Digestive Systems
Latest Update 2026 | Exam Prep | High-Yield Review
Guide
BIOL 318 Study Guide
Exam 3: Circulatory and Cardiovascular Systems, Lymphatic System, Digestive System
This study guide is intended to provide a list of topics to guide your studying. This is not
intended to be a complete list of everything that will be one the exam. Remember, because the
exam is only 50 questions, some topics will be covered on the exam and some will not be
covered on the exam. This list is to supplement your in-class notes.
Blood - General
• Functions of Circulatory System
• Circulatory system: blood, blood vessels, and heart
• Cardiovascular system: blood vessels and heart
1. Transport
▪ Gases: oxygen, carbon dioxide
▪ Nutrients: from digestive tract
▪ Waste: from metabolism other than CO2, like lactic acid
▪ Hormones
▪ Stem cells: to other tissues, where they can differentiate if they need to
2. Protection
▪ Process of inflammation: initial immune response initialized by
components of the blood -> limit infection spread and recruit WBCs to
site of infection to prevent it
3. Regulation
▪ Fluid distribution: for blood pressure (hydrostatic pressure, pressure
exerted on the walls, and oncotic pressure)
▪ pH
▪ Temperature: feedback mechanism to maintain body’s core temperature
(dilation and constriction of blood vessels near surface of skin) dilation
for body to cool down, constriction to maintain body heat when cold
• What are the major components of blood?
• 4-6 liters: dramatic difference in how much blood someone has based on age,
weight, height, and sex for example
• Erythrocytes (RBCs)
• Leukocytes (WBCs)
▪ Neutrophils (granulocyte)
▪ Eosinophils (granulocyte)
▪ Basophils (granulocyte)
▪ Lymphocytes (agranulocyte)
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, ▪ Monocytes (agranulocyte)
• Platelets: major formed elements, more solid components helping in blood
clotting
• Plasma: 55% of whole blood
• Formed elements: make up the rest of the blood
▪ Buffy coat: leukocytes and platelets (< 1% of whole blood)
▪ Erythrocytes: 45% of whole blood
• What are major components of blood plasma?
• Liquid connective tissue matrix
• Aqueous environment: mostly water
• Contents other than water:
▪ Proteins: plasma proteins with immune functions and transportation of
hormones
▪ Nutrients: absorbed from digestive tract
▪ Electrolytes: from digestive absorption and communication and signaling
in the body. We can take them and bring them to other part of the body
that need them more.
• E.g., calcium and sodium
▪ Waste: CO2 can travel as a dissolved gas or bound to plasma proteins in
the blood plasma
▪ Hormones: hydrophobic hormones are bound to some of the plasma
proteins, hydrophilic are freely traveling
▪ Gases: O2 can travel as a dissolved gas in the blood plasma
• What specific type of proteins?
▪ Proteins: most abundant contents
▪ Clotting of blood, pathogen defense (immune system role), transport of
solutes
▪ Proteins produced by liver (except some globulins):
1. Albumin
• Transport: solutes and hormones that are hydrophobic
• Buffer pH: protein buffers can act as an amphoteric (acid or base)
and can bind to a strong acid (H+) to neutralize the acidity, OH-
ions can bind to albumin to neutralize basicity. They can also
release H+ or OH- groups at the same time as grabbing the
opposite to combat the other.
• Viscosity and osmolarity: how thick the blood it, the more
proteins (like albumin), the higher the viscosity. The concentration
of solutes and proteins in the blood, the more solutes present, the
higher the osmolarity. Water will fix the effects of the high
osmolarity by following the solutes.
2. Globulins
• Alpha, beta, and gamma: alpha and beta deal with transport and
blood clotting mechanism, while gamma globulins are
immunoglobulins that fight off infection or disease
• Transport: solutes and hormones that are hydrophobic
• Clotting of blood
• Immunity: immunoglobulin (antibodies), wrong blood typing can
cause production of immunoglobulins causing severe illness or
death
messages.downloaded_by
, 3. Fibrinogen: inactive, something has to activate it into its active form of
fibrin
• Precursor of fibrin -> framework of blood clots (web-like
structure) preventing or reducing bleeding
• Viscosity
• Define: how thick a fluid is
• What increases or decreases viscosity?
▪ Viscosity disorders:
• RBC or protein deficiency -> higher blood flow (thinner blood):
can result in heart issues
• Too many RBCs or proteins -> slower blood flow (thicker blood):
moves slower, making the heart work on overtime which can
result in more fatal types of heart disease and disorders
• What is the effect of increased or decreased viscosity?
▪ Results: strain on heart, heart disease, heart defects, heart attacks
• Osmolarity
• Define: solute concentration
• What increases or decreases osmolarity?
▪ Increased osmolarity: increased sodium (electrolytes), proteins, amino
acids, and glucose
• High osmolarity: high water absorption, which elevates BP
causing a high BP
▪ Decreased osmolarity: decreased sodium (electrolytes), proteins, amino
acids, and glucose
• Low osmolarity: low water absorption, which lowers BP causing a
low BP
• What is the effect of increased or decreased osmolarity?
▪ Results: high or low blood pressure due to high or low water absorption
because of solute presence
• What are hemopoietic tissues? Where are they found?
• Hemopoietic tissues: tissues forming elements of our blood
▪ Liver: produce plasma proteins, except immunoglobulins, and can aid in
blood production
▪ Spleen: responsible for regulating RBCs that are dying. Internal
framework of sponge, blood is being filtered through the spleen and RBCs
have to squeeze to get through the passageways. If they are old RBCs,
they will break signaling they need to be remade.
• Severe anemia: can cause the spleen to revert to producing new
RBCs
▪ Thymus: important site for maturation of WBCs (T cells)
▪ Bone marrow: more active in developing children, mostly where RBCs are
made in adults and where WBCs are made in children
Erythrocyte Properties
• What are functions of RBCs? Gas exchange and blood typing
• What are distinguishing properties of RBCs?
o Lose nucleus and no organelles
▪ Anaerobic fermentation for energy: to generate ATP, due to lack of
mitochondria, have a cytoplasm for glycolysis to take place
messages.downloaded_by
, ▪ No aerobic respiration: helps conserve oxygen for delivery
o Cytoplasm
▪ Hemoglobin: concentration can differ from person to person
▪ Carbonic anhydrase: enzyme helping catalyze the CO2 + H2O -> H2CO3-
-> CO3- + H+ pathway
o Glycolipids (antigens) on surface -> blood typing: certain sugar component is
what names the blood type as A, B, AB, or O
• How do RBCs transport oxygen most efficiently? What allows for that?
o RBCs go through anaerobic fermentation for energy: generating ATP, due to
lack of mitochondria, have a cytoplasm for glycolysis to take place
o No aerobic respiration: help conserve oxygen for delivery to important tissues
• Explain the basis of blood typing
o How is blood type determined? Glycolipids (antigens) on the surface of RBCs, the
certain sugar component is what names the blood type as A, B, AB, or O
o How is transfusion compatibility determined? The Rh +/- factor/group
• Clinical testing – explain…
o Hematocrit
▪ % Of blood that is RBCs (not exact number), other tests are needed to
support the diagnosis (hemoglobin concentration tests)
▪ Spinning down blood and looking at the fraction of the blood that is
consisting of erythrocytes
▪ Too few RBCs: anemia
▪ Too many RBCs: polycythemia
• Signs to test for hematocrit: shortness of breath, blue colored
limbs, if they don’t have anemia, we could also test for low
hemoglobin
o Hemoglobin concentration
▪ Test to see if there is an adequate amount of hemoglobin in the blood
o RBC count
▪ Counting the number of RBCs on a histology slide, and use an equation to
equate the relative amount of RBCs
o How do these values differ between sexes and why?
▪ Androgens stimulate RBC production: testosterone has a higher
concentration in men
▪ Periodic menstrual RBC loss in females
▪ Number of RBCs inversely proportional to fat: males have less fat than
females, the higher the fat, the less RBCs
▪ Evolutionary adaptation? Competition for resources, mates, and other
things are done mostly by males rather than females. The male sex of a
lot of these organisms is thought to go through more competition,
resulting in more blood loss, which is why values of RBCs and hemoglobin
are higher in males than females
• What mechanisms control RBC production?
o Negative feedback mechanism
o Low count RBCs: caused by hypoxemia, or low levels of oxygen leading to low
count of RBCs
o Kidneys detect hypoxemia -> increase EPO output from bone marrow ->
increased RBC production
messages.downloaded_by
