Cardiovascular

System

Mr. Sitali
 The Blood Vessels

■ The cardiovascular system has

three types of blood vessels:
■ Arteries (and arterioles) – carry

blood away from the heart

■ Capillaries – where nutrient and

gas exchange occur

■ Veins (and venules) – carry blood

toward the heart.

 The
■ Arteries
Arteries
and arterioles take
blood away from the heart.
■ The largest artery is the

aorta.
■ The middle layer of an artery

wall consists of smooth muscle

that can constrict to regulate
blood flow and blood
pressure.
 The
Veins
■ Venules drain blood from
capillaries, then join to form
veins that take blood to the
heart.
■ Veins have much less smooth
muscle and connective tissue
than arteries.
■ Veins often have valves that
prevent the backward flow of
blood when closed.
■ Veins carry about 70% of the
 The Capillaries
■ Capillaries have walls only one cell
thick to allow exchange of gases
and nutrients with tissue fluid.
■ Capillary beds are present in all

regions of the body but not all

capillary beds are open at the same
time.
■ Contraction of a sphincter muscle

closes off a bed and blood can flow

through an arteriovenous shunt that
bypasses the capillary bed.
Blood
vessels
Anatomy of a capillary
bed
 The
Heart
■ The heart is a cone-shaped,
muscular organ located between
the lungs behind the sternum.
■ The heart muscle forms the
myocardium, with tightly
interconnect cells of cardiac
muscle tissue.
■ The pericardium is the outer
■ Theheart has four chambers: two
upper, thin-walled atria, and two
lower, thick- walled ventricles.
■ The septum is a wall dividing the
right and left sides.
■ Atrioventricular valves occur between

the atria and ventricles – the

tricuspid valve on the right and the
bicuspid valve on the left; both
valves are reenforced by chordae
tendinae attached to muscular
projections within the ventricles.
External heart
anatomy
Coronary artery circulation
 Passage of Blood
Through the
Heart
■ Blood follows this sequence through

the heart: superior and inferior vena

cava → right atrium → tricuspid valve
→ right ventricle → pulmonary
semilunar valve → pulmonary trunk
and arteries to the lungs →
pulmonary veins leaving the lungs →
left atrium → bicuspid valve → left
ventricle → aortic semilunar valve →
aorta → to the body.
Internal view of the
heart
■ The pumping of the heart sends out
blood under pressure to the
arteries.
■ Blood pressure is greatest in the aorta;
the wall of the left ventricle is
thicker than that of the right
ventricle and pumps blood to the
entire body.
■ Blood pressure then decreases as
the cross-sectional area of arteries
Path of blood through the
heart
 The
Heartbeat
■ Each heartbeat is called a cardiac

cycle.
■ When the heart beats, the two atria
contract together, then the two
ventricles contract; then the whole
heart relaxes.
■ Systole is the contraction of
heart chambers; diastole is their
relaxation.
■ The heart sounds, lub-dup, are due
to the closing of the
 Intrinsic Control of
Heartbeat
■ The SA (sinoatrial) node, or pacemaker,
initiates the heartbeat and causes
the atria to contract on average
every 0.85 seconds.
■ The AV (atrioventricular) node conveys
the stimulus and initiates contraction
of the ventricles.
■ The signal for the ventricles to
contract travels from the AV
node through the atrioventricular
bundle to the smaller Purkinje
Conduction system of
the heart
Extrinsic Control of
Heartbeat
■A cardiac control center in the
medulla oblongata speeds up or
slows down the heart rate by way
of the autonomic nervous system
branches: parasympathetic system
(slows heart rate) and the
sympathetic system (increases heart
rate).
■ Hormones epinephrine and
norepinephrine from the adrenal
medulla also stimulate faster
 The Electrocardiogram
■ An electrocardiogram (ECG) is a
recording of the electrical
changes that occur in the
myocardium during a cardiac
cycle.
■ Atrial depolarization creates the P

wave, ventricle depolarization

creates the QRS wave, and
repolarization of the ventricles
Electrocardiogram
 The Vascular
Pathways
■ The cardiovascular system

includes two circuits:

1) Pulmonary circuit which
circulates blood through the
lungs, and
2) Systemic circuit which
circulates blood to the rest
of the body.
3) Both circuits are vital
Cardiovascular
system
diagram
 The Pulmonary Circuit
■ The pulmonary circuit begins with
the pulmonary trunk from the right
ventricle which branches into two
pulmonary arteries that take
oxygen-poor blood to the lungs.
■ In the lungs, oxygen diffuses into
the blood, and carbon dioxide
diffuses out of the blood to be
expelled by the lungs.
■ Four pulmonary veins return
oxygen- rich blood to the left
 The Systemic Circuit
■ The systemic circuit starts with the
aorta carrying O 2-rich blood from
the left
ventricle.
■ The aorta branches with an artery
going to each specific organ.
■ Generally, an artery divides
into arterioles and capillaries
which then lead to venules.
■ The vein that takes blood to the vena
cava often has the same name as
the artery that delivered blood to the
■ organ.
In the adult systemic circuit, arteries
carry blood that is relatively high in
oxygen and relatively low in carbon
dioxide, and veins carry blood that is
relatively low in oxygen and
relatively high in carbon dioxide.
■ This is the reverse of the

pulmonary circuit.
Major arteries and
veins of the systemic
circuit
■ The coronary arteries serve the heart
muscle itself; they are the first
branch off the aorta.
■ S ince the coronary arteries are so

small, they are easily clogged,

leading to heart disease.
■
The hepaattiicc portal system carries
blood rich in nutrients from digestion
in the small intestine to the liver, the
organ that monitors the
composition of the blood.
 Cardiovascular
Disorders
■ Major cardiovascular disorders
include atherosclerosis, stroke,
heart attack, aneurysm, and
hypertension.
 Atherosclerosis
■ Atherosclerosis is due to a build-up
of fatty material (plaque), mainly
cholesterol, under the inner lining of
arteries.
■ The plaque can cause a thrombus

(blood clot) to form.

■ The thrombus can dislodge as an

embolus and lead to

thromboembolism.
 Stroke, Heart Attack,
and Aneurysm
■ A cerebrovascular accident, or stroke,
results when an embolus lodges in
a cerebral blood vessel or a
cerebral blood vessel bursts; a
portion of the brain dies due to
lack of oxygen.
■ A myocardial infarction, or heart
attack, occurs when a portion of
heart muscle dies due to lack of
■ Partial blockage of a coronary
artery causes angina pectoris, or
chest pain.
■ An aneurysm is a ballooning of a

blood vessel, usually in the

abdominal aorta or arteries
leading to the brain.
■ Death results if the aneurysm is in a

large vessel and the vessel bursts.

■ Atherosclerosis and hypertension

weaken blood vessels over time,

increasing the risk of aneurysm.
 Hypertension
■ About 20% of Americans suffer from
hypertension (high blood pressure).
■ Hypertension is present when systolic
pressure is 140 or greater or diastolic
pressure is 100 or greater; diastolic
pressure is emphasized when medical
treatment is considered.
■ A genetic predisposition for
hypertension occurs in those who
have a gene that codes for
angiotensinogen, a powerful
vasoconstrictor.
Thank You