Cardiovascular System: Up Your Cardiovascular System. Yourheart Works As A
Cardiovascular System: Up Your Cardiovascular System. Yourheart Works As A
The parts of the cardiovascular system include the heart, which is the organ that pumps the blood, and a
network of blood vessels:
Heart: This is the main organ of the cardiovascular system. It pumps blood through the vessels in order to
pick up oxygen and nutrients and deliver it to the necessary cells. Also, it pushes the blood through the
vessels in order to take out the wastes from the blood
Arteries: The blood vessels that take blood away from the heart. These are the vessels that bring the
blood from the heart to the body. Most arteries contain oxygenated blood or blood that contains oxygen.
Veins: Blood vessels that return blood to the heart. These are the vessels that bring the blood to the heart
from the body. Most veins contain deoxygenated blood, or blood that does not have oxygen.
Capillaries: Very small vessels that lie between the arteries and veins.These are vessels that have walls
only one cell thick. This allows oxygen to leave the blood and enter into cells that need oxygen. When
oxygen leave, carbon dioxide, and wastes are exchanged to go from the cell, through the capillaries, and
into the blood to be deposed.
Blood: This is the medium that carries important nutrients, gases, and liquids to supply the body while
carrying wastes to be filtered out of the body. Blood is made of mostly red blood cells, white blood cells,
platelets, and minerals/liquids.
And it includes the pulmonary circulation,a loop through lungs where blood is oxygenated.
An average adult contains five to six quarts (roughly 4.7 to 5.7 liters) of blood, accounting for
approximately 7% of their total body weight.
Also, the digestive system works with the circulatory system to provide the nutrients the system needs to
keep the heart pumping
The cardiovascular systems of humans are closed, meaning that the blood never leaves the network of blood
vessels. In contrast, oxygen and nutrients diffuse across the blood vessel layers and enter interstitial fluid,
which carries oxygen and nutrients to the target cells, and carbon dioxide and wastes in the opposite
direction. The other component of the circulatory system, the lymphatic system, is open.
Arteries
: Oxygenated blood enters the systemic circulation when leaving the left ventricle, through the aortic
semilunar valve.
The first part of the systemic circulation is the aorta, a massive and
thick-walled artery. The aorta arches and gives branches supplying
the upper part of the body after passing through the aortic opening
of the diaphragm at the level of thoracic ten vertebra, it enters the
abdomen. Later it descends down and supplies branches to
abdomen, pelvis, perineum and the lower limbs. The walls of aorta
are elastic. This elasticity helps to maintain the blood pressure throughout the
body. When the aorta receives almost five litres of blood
from the heart, it recoils and is responsible for pulsating
blood pressure. Moreover, as aorta branches into
smaller arteries, their elasticity goes on decreasing and
their compliance goes on increasing.
Arteries branch into small passages called arterioles and
then into the capillaries.[9] The capillaries merge to bring
blood into the venous system.
Veins
After their passage through body tissues, capillaries
merge once again into venules, which continue to merge
into veins. The venous system finally coalesces into two major veins: the superior vena cava (roughly
speaking draining the areas above the heart) and the inferior vena cava (roughly speaking from areas below
the heart). These two great vessels empty into the right atrium of the heart.
Coronary vessels
The heart itself is supplied with oxygen and nutrients
through a small "loop" of the systemic circulation and
derives very little from the blood contained within the
four chambers.
Portal veins
The
general rule is that arteries from the heart branch out into capillaries, which collect into veins leading \back
to the heart. Portal veinsare a slight exception to this. In humans the only significant example is the hepatic
portal vein which combines from capillaries around the gastrointestinal tract where the blood absorbs the
various products of digestion; rather than leading directly back to the heart, the hepatic portal vein branches
into a second capillary system in the liver.
Heart
Main article: Heart
View from the front
The heart pumps oxygenated blood to the body and deoxygenated blood to the lungs. In the
human heart there is one atrium and one ventricle for each circulation, and with both a systemic and a
pulmonary circulation there are four chambers in total: left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium and right
ventricle.
The right atrium is the upper chamber of the right side of the heart. The blood that is returned to the right
atrium is deoxygenated (poor in oxygen) and passed into the right ventricle to be pumped through the
pulmonary artery to the lungs for re-oxygenation and removal of carbon dioxide. The left atrium receives
newly oxygenated blood from the lungs as well as the pulmonary vein which is passed into the strong left
ventricle to be pumped through the aorta to the different organs of the body.
The coronary circulation system provides a blood supply to the heart muscle itself. The coronary circulation
begins near the origin of the aorta by two coronary arteries: the right coronary
artery and the left coronary artery. After nourishing the heart muscle, blood returns
through the coronary veins into the coronary sinus and from this one into the right
atrium. Back flow of blood through its opening during atrial systole is prevented by
the Thebesian valve. The smallest cardiac veins drain directly into the heart chambers
Lungs
The pulmonary circulation as it passes from the heart. Showing both the pulmonary and bronchial
arteries.
Systemic circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which transports oxygenated blood away
from the heart through the aorta from the left ventricle where the blood has been previously deposited from
pulmonary circulation, to the rest of the body, and returns oxygen-depleted blood back to the heart.[8]
Brain
Main article: Cerebral circulation
The brain has a dual blood supply that comes from arteries at its front and back. These are called the
"anterior" and "posterior" circulation respectively. The anterior circulation arises from the internal carotid
arteries and supplies the front of the brain. The posterior circulation arises from the vertebral arteries, and
supplies the back of the brain and brainstem. The circulation from the front and the back join together
(anastomise) at the Circle of Willis.
Kidneys
The renal circulation receives around 20% of the cardiac output. It branches from the abdominal aorta and
returns blood to the ascending vena cava. It is the blood
supply to the kidneys, and contains many specialized blood
vessels.
Lymphatic system
Main article: Lymphatic system
The lymphatic system is part of the circulatory system. It is a network of lymphatic vessels and lymph
capillaries, lymph nodes and organs, and lymphatic tissues and circulating lymph. One of its major functions is
to carry the lymph, draining and returning interstitial fluid back towards the heart for return to the
cardiovascular system, by emptying into the lymphatic ducts. Its other main function is in the adaptive
immune system.
Circulatory system diseases