NAME

At one time, the ability to transplant a heart from one person to another was considered a medical
impossibility. However, that milestone was reached in South Africa in 1967, when the first adult heart
transplant was performed. Currently, about 3,500 heart transplants are conducted worldwide each year.
Due to advances in bioengineering, new technologies like the "heart in a box" allow more effective
transplants, so even more lives can be saved.
Historically, a major challenge facing doctors was the fact that a heart destined for transplant could only
survive outside the human body for a short period. Scientists, doctors, and engineers collaborated to
develop a machine to overcome this problem. In 2007, the "heart in a box" machine provided a support
system to keep hearts beating for hours on their own after being removed from donors.
Inside the portable machine, the donor's own blood is pumped through a series of tubes that mimic
systemic blood flow. The system maintains the appropriate humidity and temperature, and oxygenates the
blood using an internal gas supply system. A heart sustained in one of these machines can remain viable
for over 24 hours, far longer than the previous method of preservation-placing the organ on ice, which is
effective for about 6 hours. This extended viability means that healthy hearts now can reach recipients
significantly farther away. When developing the "heart in a box" machine, the inventors had to consider
many factors. They had to understand the anatomy and physiology of the heart and the circulatory
system, as well as the homeostatic conditions necessary to keep the heart healthy while it was without a
body.

Connections Questions

1. To keep blood flowing through the four-chambered heart shown in the following illustration, where will
the blood enter the heart and where would it leave the heart?

---- pulmonary artery

pulmonary veins

inferior
vena cava

2. What factors do you think the inventors of the "heart in a box" machine had to consider, in terms of
keeping a heart healthy and viable for transplant?

3. How does the "heart in a box" technology improve the success of heart transplants?
into the blood, where it binds to red blood cells This oxygenated blood returns to the heart through the
pulmonary veins. This constitutes the pulmonary circuit.
The pulmonary veins empty blood into the left atrium. The left atrium contracts at the same time as the
right atrium. Blood from the left atrium is forced into the left ventricle. As both ventricles contract, blood
in the left ventricle is forced into the aorta. The aorta conveys blood to arteries that branch to transport
the oxygen-rich blood throughout the body. This pathway of blood flow constitutes the systemic circuit.
To keep blood flowing in one direction, four important valves work together to prevent the backflow of
fluid. The valves between the atria and ventricles are called the atrioventricular valves. These valves are
cusps of connective tissue anchored by strong fibers, known as chordae tendineae, that prevent the valve
cusps from turning inside out. Papillary muscles found in the walls of the ventricles anchor the chordae
tendineae. The bicuspid mitral valve connects the left atrium with the left ventricle. The tricuspid valve
connects the right atrium with the right ventricle. The other two valves are the semilunar valves. When
blood is forced from the ventricles, it passes through the semilunar valves. One semilunar valve, the aortic
valve, is located where the aorta leaves the left ventricle; the other semilunar valve, the pulmonary valve,
can be found where the pulmonary trunk leaves the right ventricle. Once the ventricles have relaxed, the
semilunar valves keep blood from moving back into the ventricles.

Materials
pieces of tubing tubing clamp
2 bellows pipets cup of colored solution
4 Y-connectors scissors
3 check valves absorbent lab pad or paper towels

Figure 2. Materials available for model building

 Activity
Use the provided materials to complete Challenge Level 1. When your model is complete, fluid should
pump through a closed system. As one pipet bellows is squeezed, the other bellows expands.
Tip: Hold the pipets at different angles to the tubing, and note how this affects the flow of fluid. Try
pumping at various speeds and observe how the flow changes.

Design Activity
Objectives

During this activity you will model blood flow through a closed system. Using the materials provided, your
group will design and build working models that meet the specifications of Levels 2 through 5. Using your
final model, you will draw comparisons between your design and the circulatory system with a
two-chambered heart. You have already completed Level 1 with your teacher.
Level 1: Fluid flows through a closed system. As one pi pet bellow is squeezed, another one expands. Use as
few materials as possible to meet the objective.
Level 2: Fluid flows through a closed loop system. As one pipet bellow is squeezed, another one expands.
Use as few materials as possible to meet the objective.
Level 3: Fluid flows through a closed loop system in only one direction. As one pipet bellow is squeezed,
another one expands. Use as few materials as possible to meet the objective.
Level 4: Model vessel branching. One vessel splits into two vessels, which then come back together. Fluid
flows through a loop system in only one direction. As one pipet bellow is squeezed, another one expands.
Use as few materials as possible to meet the objective.
Level 5: Model vessel branching and arterial sclerosis. One route of flow is narrowed and another route is
favored. Fluid flows through a loop system in only one direction. As one pipet bellow is squeezed, another
one expands. Use as few materials as possible to meet the objective.

Procedure

1. Look at the materials that are available to your group. Handle the materials and consider how you might
use them in your model.
2. Follow your design proposal and build your Level 2 model. Test the model and, if necessary (and if time
permits), redesign and improve it.
3. Take an image of your model.

4. Repeat the preceding steps for the Level 3, Level 4, and Level 5 challenges.
 Student Guide

NAME

DATE

Carolina STEM Challenge™

Circulatory System
Questions
1. Describe the designs you used for the Level 2, Level 3, and Level 4 challenges. Include images to support
your description.

2. Compare your Level 5 model to a circulatory system possessing a four chambered heart.
a. First, draw a simple diagram of a circulatory system with a two-chambered heart. Identify the ventricle,
atrium, pulmonary circulation, and systemic circulation.
b. Second, draw a simple diagram of a circulatory system with a four-chambered heart. Identify the
ventricles, atria, pulmonary circulation, and systemic circulation.