THE JOURNEY OF BOO

By Robyn Elms

 Hello my name is Boo. (NO, NOT THE ADORABLE POMERANIAN!) And I am a small blood cell. I will tell you the story about my complicated and simple life, which mainly consists of transport. So here goes

Boo the Dog Boo the Blood Cell (me)

 Once upon a time Boo was born. It was a Saturday at 9pm. She was a beautiful red baby. Her proud mother, was not an English mother, she was a stem cell mother. Her name was Bone Marrow. And she lived at 24 Arm Street, Human Body Lane, BL0 0OD, UK.

 Almost immediately Boo had to leave her mum and go to Heart Central Station. The reason she had to leave was because she lacked oxygen and her life dream was to be an oxygen carrier. SO SHE NEEDED OXYGEN. The only way to do this was to enter the right side of Heart Central.

 She reached Heart Central, by going through the Superior Vena Cava. Boo wanted to stop to greet the Right Atrium as she hadnt seen it before. However before she could say Hello she was shot out of the Right Atrium and into the Right Ventricle, as the Atrioventricular valves had opened.
Superior Vena Cava

 She was informed by her fellow cells that she had been forced out of the Right Atrium and into the Right Ventricle as the Heart Central had contracted. According to Bob her new friend, the Right Atrium did this by shortening its tissues, which had forced poor Boo and Bob out. Bob was clearly an expert and Boo made sure she stayed close to him as he guided the way

Bob
Atrioventricular Valves

Boo^

Boo started to relax as the Atrioventricular valves closed. But suddenly they were both thrust into the Pulmonary Artery in 2 seconds flat. What a strong Heart Central, Boo said. Bob replied: You think this side is strong, you wait til we get on the other side of the heart, that is the fastest roller coaster you will ever be on, it is so powerfully strong! Boo asked a clever question next: Has the Right Ventricle just contracted like the Right Atrium did?. Yes Bob said, You are a quick learner.

Atrioventricular Valves

 Then both Boo, Bob and the other Blood Cells were sent to the Lungs. Boo was excited as she had never been there before. This was where she really started her life long dream as an oxygen carrier. But first she had to get close enough in the capillary endothelial walls to the epithelial alveolar cells to reach for some oxygen. As soon as she got some oxygen she went from being deoxygenated (blue) to being magically oxygenated (red). Boo was thrilled, she felt full of life and raced back to the Heart Central through the Pulmonary vein with a little help from the contraction of the next lot of blood in the Right Ventricle.

 Back at Heart Station, Boo and Bob felt high tension in the Pulmonary Vein that shot them into the Left Atrium. Once again the semilunar valves shut on them, making Boo feel claustrophobic. Soon the Left Atrium contracted making Boo fly into the Left Ventricle like a bat out of hell. It was here that the Atrio-ventricular Valves closed. Then the Ventricle contracted so hard in a split second that it squashed Boo and Bob so much they almost burst from the pressure.

 Phew the semilunar valves finally opened, propelling Boo and Bob out of the Aorta and around all areas of the body at the speed of light. Boo was impressed by the force she had felt from the Left Ventricle, actually the whole left side of the Heart Central in general. Bob was right it was stronger and seemed to take up a much larger volume of the Heart Central. Boo thought: I guess it has to be as it does the hardest job at the Heart Central-to pump all the oxygenated blood around the body, not just to one place, like the Pulmonary Artery. So off Boo went to the cell that said needed oxygen-it turned out it was a cell from the arm, near the bone marrow where she was born. So she dropped off her oxygen- she was now a real oxygen carrier. Thank you the arm cell said, I really needed that! Its alright, all in a days work Boo replied. Though she hadnt realised it, in reality this story of her full journey around the circulatory system had only lasted about 30 seconds.

Buddy^
Oh no where is Bob? Boo thought. I probably wont see him again it is such a big world in here

To the left, Boo saw a little baby blood cell coming out of the bone marrow. Hi, Im Buddy, Im new to all this and I dont know where I am meant to go. Do you think you could show me around?
Sure, follow mejust keep swimming, just keep swimming thats what we do we swim, Boo said like Dory out of Finding Nemo. It wasnt long before she was back at the Right Atrium again via the Vena Cava, ready to start her journey/cycle around the body and Heart Central again and again with her new friend Buddy and Bob if they get reunited (they do 5 minutes later-have to have a good ending). Keep up the good work Boo, Bob and Buddy. Without you and all the other blood cells we wouldnt be alive. THE END