Mammalian Circulation

CAPE II Bio
R.Wint

Objectives
1. Describe the structure of a typical
mammalian heart
2. Explain double circulation
3. Relate the structures of arteries,
veins and capillaries to their
functions.
4. Identify the destination of the major
blood vessels to and from the heart

Overview
The heart pumps blood around the
body
The mammalian heart has 4
chambers and shows double
circulation.
Double Circulation: means that the
blood passes through the heart twice
for the body to be supplied once.
The 2 circulations are systemic
circulation and pulmonary circulation

Blood Vessels
Blood vessels are hollow tubular
organs that conduct blood around
the body.
The blood vessels consist of
arteries, arterioles, capillaries,
venules, and veins.

Blood Vessels

Typical Blood Vessel

Arteries Function
Arteries transports blood away from
the heart at high pressure.
Arteries are adapted to be strong,
flexible and elastic.

Structure of Arteries
Arterial walls are able to expand and
contract.
Arteries have three layers of thick
walls and hollow region known as
Tunica
lumen.
Externa:
connective
tissue + elastic
fibres
Tunica Media:
smooth muscle
+ elastic fibres
(collagen)
Tunica Intima:

Structure of Veins
Veins return blood to the heart at low
pressure.
Thus Veins have much thinner walls
than do arteries, largely because the
pressure in veins is so much lower.
Veins can widen (dilate) as the
amount of fluid in them increases

Structure of Veins

Capillaries
Capillaries are microscopic and one
cell thick and are the sites for the
exchange of nutrients, waste, and
oxygen with tissues at the tissue/
cellular level

Capillaries
Capillaries are microscopic vessels with very
thin, porous walls.
Networks of these vessels, called capillary
beds, infiltrate every tissue, passing within a
few cell diameters of every cell in the body.
Across the thin walls of capillaries, chemicals,
including dissolved gases, are exchanged by
diffusion between the blood and the
interstitial fluid around the tissue cells.

ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

OF THE HEART

Objectives
1. Describe the structure of heart-internal and L.S. view,
including valves and major vessels
2. Describe the composition of three layers of the heart
3. State the role of coronary artery
4. Describe the role of the pericardium
5. Describe the Pacemaker
6. Outline the cardiac cycle and its initiation
7. Discuss the internal factors that control heart action
8. Distinguish between heart beat, pulse and blood
pressure
9. Distinguish between systolic and diastolic pressure
10.Discuss factors that affect blood pressure
11.Discuss the pathology of a myocardial infarction

Heart External Frontal View

External Frontal View

Coronary Circulation
The heart receives its own supply of blood
from coronary arteries.
Coronary arteries: vessels that supply
blood to the myocardium (heart muscle)
Cardiac veins: remove deoxygenated
blood from the heart muscle.
These relatively narrow vessels are
commonly affected by atherosclerosisand
can become blocked, causinganginaor
amyocardial infarction heart attack.

Interior Anterior View (L.S.)

Interior/Anterior View

Route of Blood

The Heart
Located between your lungs in the middle of your
chest, behind and slightly to the left of your
breastbone (sternum) .
A double-layered membrane called the
pericardium surrounds the heart like a sac.
Pericardium is very important to cardiac function:
Stabilises the heart in its position and prevents
overinflation
pericardial fluid lubricate the heart and reduces the
friction on heart during beating
Protects it from infections coming from nearby organs
(such as lungs)

Layers of The heart

Heart wall has 3 layers:

epicardium, myocardium
and endocardium

1. Epicardium (visceral
pericardium): thin layer
ofconnective tissueand fat,
serves as additional layer of
protection.
2. Myocardium: thickest
layer composed of cardiac
muscle that contracts for
beating and conducts
electricity
3. Endocardium: composed
ofendothelial cellswhich

Chambers of The Heart

Theatrial wallsarethin; they don't need
towithstandmuchpressure.
Theventricles wallson the other hand
are muchthicker.
When the ventricles contract, theblood
pressureinside becomesvery high, and
they need to be able towithstand this.
Thewallsof theleft
ventriclearethickerthan those of
theright ventricle.

Atria/ Ventricles Contd

Systemic circulation is under higher pressure than
pulmonary
Bloodin thesystemic circuitneeds to be at
ahigh pressurein order to make its way around
thewhole bodyandbackagain.
In contrast, the lungsarevery closeto theheart,
and containvery delicate capillaries which
wouldbreakif subjected to too great apressure.
Hence the systemic circuitrequires agreater
blood pressurethan thepulmonary circuit, and
thus thewallsof theleft ventriclemust
bethickerthan those of theright ventricle.

Valves
Thevalvesprevent the backward
flow of blood.
Papillary muscle: A small muscle
on the floor of the ventricles that
anchors the heart valves.
Papillary muscle prevents valves
from prolapsing

Cardiac Cycle
The cardiac cycle is the sequence
of events that occurs when
theheartbeats. There are three
main phases of the cardiac cycle:
Diastole,Atrial
SystoleandVentricular Systole

Cardiac Cycle
The heart contracts and relaxes in a

rhythmic cycle.
When it contracts, it pumps blood; when

it relaxes, its chambers fill with blood.

One complete sequence of pumping
and filling is referred to as the cardiac
cycle.

Cardiac Cycle
In thediastole phase, the
heartventriclesare relaxed and the heart
fills withblood
In thesystole phase, the ventricles contract
and pump blood to the arteries.
One cardiac cycle is completed when the
heart fills with blood and the blood is
pumped out of the heart.

Cardiac Cycle

Cardiac Cycle

Cardiac Cycle Terms

Cardiac output: the volume of blood
the ventricles pumps per minute. Equals
heart rate x stroke volume
Heart rate: measures the rate of
contraction or number of beats per
minute. Normally 60- 70beats/min
Stroke Volume: the amount of blood
pumped in a single contraction
Tachycardia: abnormal fast heart rate
Brachycardia: abnormal slow heart
rate (brakes)

Coordination of Cardiac
Cycle

What controls the timed rhythmic beating of

the heart? Where does it originate?
Cardiac cells contract when stimulated by an
electrical impulse (action potential)
Some cardiomyocytes (cardiac muscle cells)
are autorhytmic, meaning that they are
not controlled by the nervous system
The heart has an intrinsic contraction
system that regulates heartbeat.

Sinoatrial (SA) Node:

Pacemaker
The initiation of the cardiac
cycle is controlled by a
cluster of autorhytmic cells
called sinoatrial node or
pacemaker.

Sinoatrial node: are

specialised autorhymic
cardiomyocytes located at
the upper wall of the right
atrium
SA node: sets the rate and
timing at which all cardiac
muscle cells contract.

Initiation of Contraction
1. SA node spontaneously generates an electrical
impulse known as an action potential.
2. These impulses spread rapidly throughout the atria,
causing them to contract in unison.
3. The impulse from the SA node are conducted from
the atria to the atrioventricular (AV) node,
located between the right and left atria.
4. At the AV node, the impulse delays for 0.1sec to
allow the atria to empty completely before ventricles
contract.
5. Impulse is them conducted from AV node via Bundle
branch to the heart apex and then throughout
ventricular walls via the Purkinje fibres.

Intrinsic Conduction
System

Intrinsic Conduction
System

ECG/EKG
Impulses from the
SA node are
conducted to skin
via body fluids.
In the
electrocardiogra
m these impulses
are recorded by
electrodes placed
on the skin

rdiac Cycle Wave

Depolarisation = contra
Repolarisation = relax

Factors Affecting Heart Rate

Although heart beat is autogenerated, its quality is still
affected other body processes.
1. SA node activity:
2. Signals from the brain
1. Signals from the Parasympathetic (Vagus) Nerve: slows
heart rate
2. Signals from Sympathetic nerves increases heart rate
3. Endocrine secretion: adrenaline secretion increases heart
rate (flight or fight mode), thyroxin
4. Sensory input stress, emotion etc- from higher brain
centres (medulla cerebrum, etc)

3. O2 concentration: a drop in O2 conc. (e.g. during

exercise) stimulates the release of NO that stimulates
vasodilation of aterioles increasing heart rate
4. Changes in core body temperature

BLOOD PRESSURE

Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is the force per area that
blood exerts on the walls of blood vessels
during the cardiac cycle
It is expressed as a systolic number over a
diastolic number
Blood pressure is measured in millimetres of
mercury,mmHg
A young, fit person should have a blood
pressure of about 120 over 70, which means
their systolic pressure is 120 mmHg and their
diastolic pressure 70 mmHg

Blood Pressure
Fluid will move from areas of high to
lowhydrostaticpressures. In the arteries, the
hydrostatic pressure near the heart is very high.
Systolic pressure is the peak pressure in the
arteries during the cardiac cycle;
The diastolic pressure is the lowest pressure at
the resting phase of the cardiac cycle.
Pulse pressureis the difference between the
systolic blood pressure and the diastolic blood
pressure.
Pulse: the temporary increase in pressure

Blood Pressure
Blood pressure drops as blood moves
farther away from the heart.
This is due to increased in distance
as well difference in contraction in
arteries vs veins.

Arterial Blood Pressure

The walls of arteries are thick and
strong, accommodating blood
pumped at high pressure by the
heart.
Arterial walls also have an elastic
recoil that helps maintain blood
pressure and flow to capillaries

Venous Blood Pressure

Although pressure
in veins is low,
several mechanisms
aid in returning
blood to heart:
1. Rhythmic
contractions of
smooth muscles in
the walls of venules
and veins
2. the contraction of
skeletal muscles

Internal Factors That Affect

Blood Pressure
Blood vessel diameter
Wider lumen = lower pressure, since the area
per force increases.

Autonomic Nervous System: nerve

signals innervating arterial smooth muscle
can cause vasodilation or
vasoconstriction
Hormones and other molecular signals
Nitric Oxide- mainly for vasodilation
Endothelin mainly for vasocontriction

Dangers of Abnormal Blood Pressure

Hypertension
kidney damage
burst blood vessels
damage to the brain, including strokes.

Low blood pressure (Hypotension)

can cause dizziness, fainting and
poor blood circulation.

Capillary Function
Capillaries are microscopic and
penetrates every tissue.
Capillaries allow for gas exchange,
and nutrient and waste exchange
between cells.
Thin endothelial walls for rapid diffuses
of gases and small molecules
Wall contain microscopic pores as route
for transport of small solutes

Capillary Exchange