Question

Explain how the separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood is useful in humans.

Answer 1

Hint: Mammals require more oxygen for more cellular respiration so that they can produce more energy to maintain their body temperature. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the whole body, while carrying metabolic waste such as carbon dioxide to the lungs.

Complete Answer:
- The heart is a muscular organ which pumps the blood through blood vessels of the circulatory system. The pumped blood then carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while carrying metabolic waste such as $CO_2$ to the lungs.
- Humans have a four chambered heart which consists of two atria and two ventricles. The left side and right side of the heart are completely separated to prevent the oxygenated blood from mixing with deoxygenated blood.
- It is beneficial to the human beings to separate oxygenated blood from the deoxygenated blood because warm-blooded animals such as mammals can maintain a constant body temperature. They can do it by cooling themselves when they are in a hotter environment and by warming their bodies when they are in a cooler environment.
- Such a separation allows a highly efficient supply of oxygen to the body cells which is necessary for producing a large amount of energy. Thus, it is necessary to separate oxygenated blood from deoxygenated blood, so that their circulatory system can become more efficient and also can maintain the constant body temperature.

Note: All the animals having four chambered hearts have double circulation in which the blood passes through the heart 'twice' in one complete cycle of the body. This ensures the separation of oxygenated blood from deoxygenated blood.