Question

What are some examples of open circulatory systems?How does the open circulatory system work?

Answer 1

The circulatory system is classified into two types that are the open circulatory system and the closed circulatory system depending on the presence or absence of blood vessels

Complete answer:
1)The open circulatory system describes a circulatory system where the blood is not circulated through blood vessels but is freely distributed in the body.

2)Since there are no arteries and veins in the open circulatory system, all the organs and tissues are dipped inside the blood due to which it becomes difficult to separate the blood and the interstitial fluid of organisms having an open circulatory system. Space through which the blood is circulated is also known as sinuses and lacunae.

3)The exchange of nutrients occurs directly between the tissues and the blood and a separate tissue fluid or capillary system is not required for nutrient exchange.

4)Due to the absence of blood vessels the flow of blood is comparatively very slow than that of a closed circulatory system and they do not show any presence of respiratory substrates and pigments in their blood or hemolymph.

Note: The open circulatory system can be mainly observed in the invertebrates. The blood in the open circulatory system is known as the hemolymph and the open circulatory system is mainly shown by organisms belonging to phylum Mollusca and phylum Arthropoda like snails, cockroaches, etc.