CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

The cardiovascular system is an organ system that conveys blood through vessels to and from all parts of the body, carrying nutrients and oxygen to tissues and removing carbon dioxide and other wastes. It includes the heart and the blood vessels. HEART It is approximately the size of your fist Its primary function is to serve as a muscular pump propelling blood into and through vessels to and from all parts of the body. It is suspended in its own membranous sac, the pericardium. It has four chambers and four valves that regulate blood flow: Anatomy Left and right atria Function Chambers that receive blood returning from your body through your veins

Left and right ventricles Chambers where blood is pumped to your body through your arteries Mitral valve Tricuspid valve Aortic valve Pulmonary valve The mitral valve controls the flow of oxygen-rich blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle The tricuspid valve controls the flow of oxygen-poor blood from the right atrium to the right ventricle The aortic valve controls flow of oxygen-rich blood from the left ventricle to the body The pulmonary valve controls flow of oxygen-poor blood from the right ventricle to the lungs

BLOOD VESSELS Intricate networks of hollow tubes that transport blood throughout the entire body. Through the process of microcirculation, substances such as oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and wastes are exchanged between the blood and the fluid that surrounds cells. o Microcirculation deals with the circulation of blood from the heart to arterioles (small arteries), to capillaries, to venules (small veins) and back to the heart. Structure and Functions of Blood Vessels

Structure Arteries
The walls (outer structure) of arteries contain smooth muscle fibre that contract and relax under the instructions of the sympathetic nervous system. Arterioles are tiny branches of arteries that lead to capillaries. These are also under the control of the sympathetic nervous system, and constrict and dialate, to regulate blood flow. Capillaries are tiny (extremely narrow) blood vessels, of approximately 5-20 micro-metres (one micro-metre = 0.000001metre) diameter. There are networks of capillaries in most of the organs and tissues of the body. These capillaries are supplied with blood by arterioles and drained by venules. Capillary walls are only one cell thick (see diagram), which permits exchanges of material between the contents of the capillary and the surrounding tissue. Venules are minute vessels that drain blood from capillaries and into veins. Many venules unite to form a vein. The walls (outer structure) of veins consist of three layers of tissues that are thinner and less elastic than the corresponding layers of aerteries.

Functions
Transport blood away from the heart; Transport oxygenated blood only (except in the case of the pulmonary artery). Transport blood from arteries to capillaries; Arterioles are the main regulators of blood flow and pressure. Function is to supply tissues with components of, and carried by, the blood, and also to remove waste from the surrounding cells ... as opposed to simply moving the blood around the body (in the case of other blood vessels); Exchange of oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, salts, etc., between the blood and the surrounding body tissues.

Arterioles

Capillaries

Venules Veins

Drains blood from capillaries into veins, for return to the heart Transport blood towards the heart; Transport deoxygenated blood only (except in the case of the pulmonary vein).

Veins include valves that aid the return of blood to the heart by preventing blood from flowing in the reverse direction.

Comparison between Arteries and Veins

Arteries
Transport blood away from the heart; Carry Oxygenated Blood (except in the case of the Pulmonary Artery); Have relatively narrow lumens (see diagram above); Have relatively more muscle/elastic tissue; Transports blood under higher pressure (than veins); Do not have valves (except for the semi-lunar valves of the pulmonary artery and the aorta).

Veins
Transport blood towards the heart; Carry De-oxygenated Blood (except in the case of the Pulmonary Vein); Have relatively wide lumens (see diagram above); Have relatively less muscle/elastic tissue; Transports blood under lower pressure (than arteries); Have valves throughout the main veins of the body. These are to prevent blood flowing in the wrong direction, as this could (in theory) return waste materials to the tissues.

SYSTEMIC CIRCULATION

Your heart and circulatory system make up your cardiovascular system. Your heart works as a pump that pushes blood to the organs, tissues, and cells of your body. Blood delivers oxygen and nutrients to every cell and removes the carbon dioxide and waste products made by those cells. Blood is carried from your heart to the rest of your body through a complex network of arteries, arterioles, and capillaries. Blood is returned to your heart through venules and veins. If all the vessels of this network in your body were laid end to end, they would extend for about 60,000 miles (more than 96,500 kilometers), which is far enough to circle the planet Earth more than twice! The one-way circulatory system carries blood to all parts of your body. This process of blood flow within your body is called circulation. Arteries carry oxygen-rich blood away from your heart, and veins carry oxygen-poor blood back to your heart. In pulmonary circulation, it is the pulmonary artery that brings oxygen-poor blood into your lungs and the pulmonary vein that brings oxygen-rich blood back to your heart. In the diagram, the vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood are colored red, and the vessels that carry oxygen-poor blood are colored blue. Twenty major arteries make a path through your tissues, where they branch into smaller vessels called arterioles. Arterioles further branch into capillaries, the true deliverers of oxygen and nutrients to your cells. Most capillaries are thinner than a hair. In fact, many are so tiny, only one blood cell can move through them at a time. Once the capillaries deliver oxygen and nutrients and pick up carbon dioxide and other waste, they move the blood back through wider vessels called venules. Venules eventually join to form veins, which deliver the blood back to your heart to pick up oxygen.

Oxygenated Blood
Oxygenated blood leaves the lungs and enters the Left Atrium (LA) of the heart via the pulmonary veins. This oxygenated blood is then pumped from the Left Atrium (LA) of the heart to the Left Ventricle (LV) of the heart, and then out of the heart to the body tissues via the aorta, which is the major artery leaving the heart. The aorta divides into other arteries that serve different parts of the body (as mentioned on the page about the structure of the heart). These can be separated into two categories: blood supply to the upper-body, and blood supply to the lower-body. Blood Supply to the Upper-Body: The aorta leads to the subclavian arteries that take blood to the arms (some of which eventually reaches the hands), and also to the carotid artery that carries blood to the head. Blood Supply to the Lower-Body: The aorta also leads to the hepatic artery that carries blood to the liver, the mesenteric artery that carries blood to the small intestines, the renal arteries that carry blood to the kidneys, and the iliac arteries that carry blood to the legs (some of which eventually reaches the feet.).

Deoxygenated Blood

Blood is deoxygenated when it leaves the tissues and organs it has supplied with oxygen and other nutrients, to return back to the pulmonary circulatory system. This can also be summarised for the upper-body and lower-body separately: Return of Blood from the Upper-Body: Blood returns from the head via the jugular veins, and from the arms via the subclavian veins. All of the blood in the major veins of the upper body flows into the superior vena cava, which returns the blood to the right ventricle of the heart. Return of Blood from the Lower-Body: Blood returns from the small intestines by passing through the hepatic portal vein to the liver. Blood returns from the liver via the hepatic vein, from the kidneys via the renal veins, and from the legs via the iliac veins. All of the blood in the major veins of the lower body flows into the inferior vena cava, which returns the blood to the right ventricle of the heart. After re-entering the (right atrium of the) heart via the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava, deoxygenated blood is pumped into the right ventricle of the heart and then out of the heart to the lungs via the pulmonary artery. Deoxygenated blood enters the lungs and is oxygenated before leaving the lungs (as oxygenated blood), and so the cycle begins again ...