Cardiovascular System Anatomy

The Heart
The heart is a muscular pumping organ located medial to the lungs along
the bodys midline in the thoracic region. The bottom tip of the heart, known
as its apex, is turned to the left, so that about 2/3 of the heart is located on
the bodys left side with the other 1/3 on right. The top of the heart, known
as the hearts base, connects to the great blood vessels of the body:
the aorta, vena cava, pulmonary trunk, and pulmonary veins.
Circulatory Loops
There are 2 primary circulatory loops in the human body: the pulmonary
circulation loopand the systemic circulation loop.
1. Pulmonary circulation transports deoxygenated blood from the right side of
the heart to the lungs, where the blood picks up oxygen and returns to the
left side of the heart. The pumping chambers of the heart that support the
pulmonary circulation loop are the right atrium and right ventricle.
2. Systemic circulation carries highly oxygenated blood from the left side of the
heart to all of the tissues of the body (with the exception of the heart and
lungs). Systemic circulation removes wastes from body tissues and returns
deoxygenated blood to the right side of the heart. The left atrium and left
ventricle of the heart are the pumping chambers for the systemic circulation
loop.
Blood Vessels
Blood vessels are the bodys highways that allow blood to flow quickly and
efficiently from the heart to every region of the body and back again. The
size of blood vessels corresponds with the amount of blood that passes
through the vessel. All blood vessels contain a hollow area called the lumen
through which blood is able to flow. Around the lumen is the wall of the
vessel, which may be thin in the case of capillaries or very thick in the case
of arteries.

All blood vessels are lined with a thin layer of simple squamous epithelium
known as the endothelium that keeps blood cells inside of the blood vessels
and prevents clots from forming. The endothelium lines the entire circulatory
system, all the way to the interior of the heart, where it is called the
endocardium.
There are three major types of blood vessels: arteries, capillaries and veins.
Blood vessels are often named after either the region of the body through
which they carry blood or for nearby structures. For example,
the brachiocephalic artery carries blood into the brachial (arm) and
cephalic (head) regions. One of its branches, the subclavian artery, runs
under the clavicle; hence the name subclavian. The subclavian artery runs
into the axillary region where it becomes known as the axillary artery.
1. Arteries and Arterioles: Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood away
from the heart. Blood carried by arteries is usually highly oxygenated,
having just left the lungs on its way to the bodys tissues. The pulmonary
trunk and arteries of the pulmonary circulation loop provide an exception to
this rule these arteries carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to the
lungs to be oxygenated.

Arteries face high levels of blood pressure as they carry blood being pushed
from the heart under great force. To withstand this pressure, the walls of the
arteries are thicker, more elastic, and more muscular than those of other
vessels. The largest arteries of the body contain a high percentage of elastic
tissue that allows them to stretch and accommodate the pressure of the
heart.

Smaller arteries are more muscular in the structure of their walls. The
smooth muscles of the arterial walls of these smaller arteries contract or
expand to regulate the flow of blood through their lumen. In this way, the
body controls how much blood flows to different parts of the body under
varying circumstances. The regulation of blood flow also affects blood
pressure, as smaller arteries give blood less area to flow through and
therefore increases the pressure of the blood on arterial walls.

Arterioles are narrower arteries that branch off from the ends of arteries and
carry blood to capillaries. They face much lower blood pressures than
arteries due to their greater number, decreased blood volume, and distance
from the direct pressure of the heart. Thus arteriole walls are much thinner
than those of arteries. Arterioles, like arteries, are able to use smooth
muscle to control their aperture and regulate blood flow and blood pressure.
2. Capillaries: Capillaries are the smallest and thinnest of the blood vessels in
the body and also the most common. They can be found running throughout
almost every tissue of the body and border the edges of the bodys
avascular tissues. Capillaries connect to arterioles on one end and venules
on the other.

Capillaries carry blood very close to the cells of the tissues of the body in
order to exchange gases, nutrients, and waste products. The walls of
capillaries consist of only a thin layer of endothelium so that there is the
minimum amount of structure possible between the blood and the tissues.
The endothelium acts as a filter to keep blood cells inside of the vessels
while allowing liquids, dissolved gases, and other chemicals to diffuse along
their concentration gradients into or out of tissues.

Precapillary sphincters are bands of smooth muscle found at the arteriole
ends of capillaries. These sphincters regulate blood flow into the capillaries.
Since there is a limited supply of blood, and not all tissues have the same
energy and oxygen requirements, the precapillary sphincters reduce blood
flow to inactive tissues and allow free flow into active tissues.
3. Veins and Venules: Veins are the large return vessels of the body and act as
the blood return counterparts of arteries. Because the arteries, arterioles,
and capillaries absorb most of the force of the hearts contractions, veins
and venules are subjected to very low blood pressures. This lack of pressure
allows the walls of veins to be much thinner, less elastic, and less muscular
than the walls of arteries.

Veins rely on gravity, inertia, and the force of skeletal muscle contractions to
help push blood back to the heart. To facilitate the movement of blood,
some veins contain many one-way valves that prevent blood from flowing
away from the heart. As skeletal muscles in the body contract, they squeeze
nearby veins and push blood through valves closer to the heart.

When the muscle relaxes, the valve traps the blood until another contraction
pushes the blood closer to the heart. Venules are similar to arterioles as they
are small vessels that connect capillaries, but unlike arterioles, venules
connect to veins instead of arteries. Venules pick up blood from many
capillaries and deposit it into larger veins for transport back to the heart.
Coronary Circulation
The heart has its own set of blood vessels that provide the myocardium with
the oxygen and nutrients necessary to pump blood throughout the body. The
left and right coronary arteries branch off from the aorta and provide blood
to the left and right sides of the heart. The coronary sinus is a vein on the
posterior side of the heart that returns deoxygenated blood from the
myocardium to the vena cava.
Hepatic Portal Circulation
The veins of the stomach and intestines perform a unique function: instead
of carrying blood directly back to the heart, they carry blood to the
liver through the hepatic portal vein. Blood leaving the digestive organs is
rich in nutrients and other chemicals absorbed from food. The liver removes
toxins, stores sugars, and processes the products of digestion before they
reach the other body tissues. Blood from the liver then returns to the heart
through the inferior vena cava.
Blood
The average human body contains about 4 to 5 liters of blood. As a liquid
connective tissue, it transports many substances through the body and helps
to maintain homeostasis of nutrients, wastes, and gases. Blood is made up
of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, and liquid plasma.
Red Blood Cells: Red blood cells, also known as erythrocytes, are by far the
most common type of blood cell and make up about 45% of blood volume.
Erythrocytes are produced inside of red bone marrow from stem cells at
the astonishing rate of about 2 million cells every second. The shape of
erythrocytes is biconcavedisks with a concave curve on both sides of the
disk so that the center of an erythrocyte is its thinnest part. The unique
shape of erythrocytes gives these cells a high surface area to volume ratio
and allows them to fold to fit into thin capillaries. Immature erythrocytes
have a nucleus that is ejected from the cell when it reaches maturity to
provide it with its unique shape and flexibility. The lack of a nucleus means
that red blood cells contain no DNA and are not able to repair themselves
once damaged.

Erythrocytes transport oxygen in the blood through the red pigment
hemoglobin. Hemoglobin contains iron and proteins joined to greatly
increase the oxygen carrying capacity of erythrocytes. The high surface area
to volume ratio of erythrocytes allows oxygen to be easily transferred into
the cell in the lungs and out of the cell in the capillaries of the systemic
tissues.
White Blood Cells: White blood cells, also known as leukocytes, make up a
very small percentage of the total number of cells in the bloodstream, but
have important functions in the bodys immune system. There are two
major classes of white blood cells: granular leukocytes and agranular
leukocytes.


1. Granular Leukocytes: The three types of granular leukocytes are neutrophils,
eosinophils, and basophils. Each type of granular leukocyte is classified by
the presence of chemical-filled vesicles in their cytoplasm that give them
their function. Neutrophils contain digestive enzymes that neutralize bacteria
that invade the body. Eosinophils contain digestive enzymes specialized for
digesting viruses that have been bound to by antibodies in the blood.
Basophils release histamine to intensify allergic reactions and help protect
the body from parasites.
2. Agranular Leukocytes: The two major classes of agranular leukocytes are
lymphocytes and monocytes. Lymphocytes include T cells and natural killer
cells that fight off viral infections and B cells that produce antibodies against
infections by pathogens. Monocytes develop into cells called macrophages
that engulf and ingest pathogens and the dead cells from wounds or
infections.
Platelets : Also known as thrombocytes, platelets are small cell fragments
responsible for the clotting of blood and the formation of scabs. Platelets
form in the red bone marrow from large megakaryocyte cells that
periodically rupture and release thousands of pieces of membrane that
become the platelets. Platelets do not contain a nucleus and only survive in
the body for up to a week before macrophages capture and digest them.
Plasma: Plasma is the non-cellular or liquid portion of the blood that makes
up about 55% of the bloods volume. Plasma is a mixture of water, proteins,
and dissolved substances. Around 90% of plasma is made of water,
although the exact percentage varies depending upon the hydration levels of
the individual. Theproteins within plasma include antibodies and albumins.
Antibodies are part of the immune system and bind to antigens on the
surface of pathogens that infect the body. Albumins help maintain the bodys
osmotic balance by providing an isotonic solution for the cells of the body.
Many different substances can be found dissolved in the plasma, including
glucose, oxygen, carbon dioxide, electrolytes, nutrients, and cellular waste
products. The plasma functions as a transportation medium for these
substances as they move throughout the body.
Cardiovascular System Physiology
Functions of the Cardiovascular System
The cardiovascular system has three major functions: transportation of
materials, protection from pathogens, and regulation of the bodys
homeostasis.
Transportation: The cardiovascular system transports blood to almost all of
the bodys tissues. The blood delivers essential nutrients and oxygen and
removes wastes and carbon dioxide to be processed or removed from the
body. Hormones are transported throughout the body via the bloods liquid
plasma.
Protection: The cardiovascular system protects the body through its white
blood cells. White blood cells clean up cellular debris and fight pathogens
that have entered the body. Platelets and red blood cells form scabs to seal
wounds and prevent pathogens from entering the body and liquids from
leaking out. Blood also carries antibodies that provide specific immunity to
pathogens that the body has previously been exposed to or has been
vaccinated against.
Regulation: The cardiovascular system is instrumental in the bodys ability to
maintain homeostatic control of several internal conditions. Blood vessels
help maintain a stable body temperature by controlling the blood flow to the
surface of the skin. Blood vessels near the skins surface open during times
of overheating to allow hot blood to dump its heat into the bodys
surroundings. In the case of hypothermia, these blood vessels constrict to
keep blood flowing only to vital organs in the bodys core. Blood also helps
balance the bodys pH due to the presence of bicarbonate ions, which act as
a buffer solution. Finally, the albumins in blood plasma help to balance the
osmotic concentration of the bodys cells by maintaining an isotonic
environment.
The Circulatory Pump
The heart is a four-chambered double pump, where each side (left and
right) operates as a separate pump. The left and right sides of the heart are
separated by a muscular wall of tissue known as the septum of the heart.
The right side of the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the systemic
veins and pumps it to the lungs for oxygenation. The left side of the heart
receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it through the
systemic arteries to the tissues of the body. Each heartbeat results in the
simultaneous pumping of both sides of the heart, making the heart a very
efficient pump.
Regulation of Blood Pressure
Several functions of the cardiovascular system can control blood pressure.
Certain hormones along with autonomic nerve signals from the brain affect
the rate and strength of heart contractions. Greater contractile force and
heart rate lead to an increase in blood pressure. Blood vessels can also
affect blood pressure. Vasoconstriction decreases the diameter of an artery
by contracting the smooth muscle in the arterial wall. The sympathetic (fight
or flight) division of the autonomic nervous system causes vasoconstriction,
which leads to increases in blood pressure and decreases in blood flow in the
constricted region. Vasodilation is the expansion of an artery as the smooth
muscle in the arterial wall relaxes after the fight-or-flight response wears off
or under the effect of certain hormones or chemicals in the blood. The
volume of blood in the body also affects blood pressure. A higher volume of
blood in the body raises blood pressure by increasing the amount of blood
pumped by each heartbeat. Thicker, more viscous blood from clotting
disorders can also raise blood pressure.
Hemostasis
Hemostasis, or the clotting of blood and formation of scabs, is managed by
the platelets of the blood. Platelets normally remain inactive in the blood
until they reach damaged tissue or leak out of the blood vessels through a
wound. Once active, platelets change into a spiny ball shape and become
very sticky in order to latch on to damaged tissues. Platelets next release
chemical clotting factors and begin to produce the protein fibrin to act as
structure for the blood clot. Platelets also begin sticking together to form a
platelet plug. The platelet plug will serve as a temporary seal to keep blood
in the vessel and foreign material out of the vessel until the cells of the
blood vessel can repair the damage to the vessel wall.

The circulatory system is a vast network of organs and vessels that is
responsible for the flow of blood, nutrients, oxygen and other gases, and
hormones to and from cells. Without the circulatory system, the body would
not be able to fight disease or maintain a stable internal environment
such as proper temperature and pH known as homeostasis.
Description of the circulatory system
While many view the circulatory system as simply a highway for blood it
is also known as the cardiovascular system it is made up of three
independent systems that work together: the heart (cardiovascular), lungs
(pulmonary) and arteries, veins, coronary and portal vessels (systemic).
In the average human, about 2,000 gallons (7,572 liters) of blood travel
daily through about 60,000 miles (96,560 kilometers) of blood vessels. An
average adult has 5 to 6 quarts (4.7 to 5.6 liters) of blood, which is made up
of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. In addition to
blood, the circulatory system moves lymph, which is a clear fluid that helps
rid the body of unwanted material.





The circulatory system is centred on the HEART, a muscular organ that
rhythmically pumps BLOOD around a complex network of BLOOD
VESSELS extending to every part of the body. Blood carries the oxygen and
nutrients needed to fuel the activities of the bodys tissues and organs, and it
plays a vital role in removing the bodys waste products. An average-sized
adult carries about 5 litres (9 pints) of blood.
PARTS OF THE SYSTEM
All the output of blood from the left side of the heart goes into the aorta, the
bodys largest artery. Other arteries branch from the aorta to supply blood to
the head, limbs, and internal organs. The blood is drained from all these parts
by veins into two large vessels, the inferior and superior venae cava, which
deliver the blood back to the right side of the heart.
HEART
The heart contracts tirelessly more than 2.5 billion times over an average
lifetime to pump blood around the body. These contractions are triggered by
electrical impulses that originate in a specialized area of heart tissue. The
signals spread through the muscle in the wall of the heart via a network of
conducting fibres.
INSIDE THE HEART
The heart has two upper chambers, called atria, and two lower chambers,
called ventricles. Blood from the body arrives in the right atrium. This blood is
low in oxygen, and is shown here in blue. The blood passes to the right
ventricle, which pumps it to the lungs to pick up more oxygen. The left atrium
receives oxygen-rich blood (red) back from the lungs. This passes to the left
ventricle, which pumps it by way of the aorta to the body.

HEART VALVES
At the exit of each heart chamber lies a valve, which ensures the one-way
flow of blood through the heart and into the circulation. These valves are
made of flaps that open to allow blood to pass through but snap tightly shut to
prevent backflow. The valves have three flaps, except for the valve between
the left atrium and left ventricle, which has two.
BLOOD VESSELS
If an adults blood vessels were laid end to end, they would stretch out over
100,000 km (62,500 miles). There are three main types of vessel. Arteries
carry blood from the heart to the bodys tissues, while veins carry blood back
from the tissues to the heart. Small arteries are called arterioles and small
veins are referred to as venules. The third and smallest type of vessel,
capillaries, form a network connecting the smallest arterioles with the smallest
venules.
TYPES OF BLOOD VESSEL
Arteries have relatively thick elastic walls that enable them to withstand the
high pressure of blood pumped from the heart. By the time the blood has been
forced through capillaries and arrived in veins, its pressure has dropped, so
veins have thinner walls.

BLOOD
Blood is composed of a straw-coloured fluid, plasma, and huge numbers of
blood cells that float in the plasma. Of the two main types of blood cell, red
blood cells carry oxygen to the bodys tissues, and white blood cells help
defend the body against infection. Blood also transports nutrients, proteins
needed for blood clotting, and waste products.
BLOOD CLOTTING
If a blood vessel is damaged, a clot forms to stop blood leaking. First, platelets
stick together to form a plug that stops the leak. At the same time, a complex
sequence of chemical events in the blood leads to the production of long
strands of a protein called fibrin. These bind the blood cells and debris
together to form a gel-like clot that gradually solidifies. The solid clot remains
until the blood vessel has been repaired.
BLOOD CELLS
A drop of blood contains millions of red cells, and each cell contains 250
million molecules of a substance called haemoglobin. In the lungs, oxygen
binds to haemoglobin, but in the tissues the oxygen is released again. Several
types of white blood cell exist, and all are important to the bodys immune
system. Platelets are tiny cells that are needed for blood clotting.
About the Cardiovascular System

The heart and circulatory system (also called the cardiovascular system) make up
the network that delivers blood to the body's tissues. With each heartbeat, blood is sent
throughout our bodies, carrying oxygen and nutrients to all of our cells.

Every day, the approximately 10 pints (5 liters) of blood in your body travel many
times through about 60,000 miles (96,560 kilometers) of blood vessels that branch and
cross, linking the cells of our organs and body parts. From the hard-working heart, to
our thickest arteries, to capillaries so thin that they can only be seen through a
microscope, the cardiovascular system is our body's lifeline.
The circulatory system is composed of the heart and blood vessels, including arteries,
veins, and capillaries. Our bodies actually have two circulatory systems:
The pulmonary circulationis a short loop from the heart to the lungs and back again,
and the systemic circulation (the system we usually think of as our circulatory
system) sends blood from the heart to all the other parts of our bodies and back again.
The Heart
The heart is the key organ in the circulatory system. As a hollow, muscular pump, its
main function is to propel blood throughout the body. It usually beats from 60 to 100
times per minute, but can go much faster when it needs to. It beats about 100,000
times a day, more than 30 million times per year, and about 2.5 billion times in a 70-
year lifetime.
The heart gets messages from the body that tell it when to pump more or less blood
depending on a person's needs. When we're sleeping, it pumps just enough to provide
for the lower amounts of oxygen needed by our bodies at rest. When we're exercising
or frightened, the heart pumps faster to get more oxygen to our bodies.
The heart has four chambers that are enclosed by thick, muscular walls. It lies between
the lungs and just to the left of the middle of the chest cavity. The bottom part of the
heart is divided into two chambers called the right and left ventricles, which pump
blood out of the heart. A wall called the interventricular septumdivides the
ventricles.
The upper part of the heart is made up of the other two chambers of the heart, called
the right and left atria (pronounced: AY-tree-uh). The right and left atria receive the
blood entering the heart. A wall called the interatrial (pronounced: in-tur-AY-tree-
ul)septum divides the atria, and they're separated from the ventricles by
the atrioventricular (pronounced: AY-tree-oh-ven-TRIK-yoo-lur) valves.
The tricuspid valve separates the right atrium from the right ventricle, and
the mitral (pronounced: MY-trul) valve separates the left atrium and the left ventricle.
Two other heart valves separate the ventricles and the large blood vessels that carry
blood leaving the heart. These valves are called the pulmonic valve, which separates
the right ventricle from the pulmonary artery leading to the lungs, and the aortic
valve, which separates the left ventricle from the aorta, the body's largest blood
vessel.

The Role of Blood Vessels
Blood vessels carrying blood away from the heart are calledarteries. They are the
thickest blood vessels, with muscular walls that contract to keep the blood moving
away from the heart and through the body. In the systemic circulation, oxygen-rich
blood is pumped from the heart into the aorta. This huge artery curves up and back
from the left ventricle, then heads down in front of the spinal column into the abdomen.
Two coronary arteries branch off at the beginning of the aorta and divide into a
network of smaller arteries that provide oxygen and nourishment to the muscles of the
heart.
Unlike the aorta, the body's other main artery, the pulmonary artery, carries oxygen-
poor blood. From the right ventricle, the pulmonary artery divides into right and left
branches, on the way to the lungs where blood picks up oxygen.
Arterial walls have three layers:
The endothelium (pronounced: en-doh-THEE-lee-um) is on the inside and provides
a smooth lining for blood to flow over as it moves through the artery.
The media is the middle part of the artery, made up of a layer of muscle and elastic
tissue.
The adventitia (pronounced: ad-ven-TIH-shuh) is the tough covering that protects
the outside of the artery.
As they get farther from the heart, the arteries branch out intoarterioles (pronounced:
ar-TEER-ee-olz), which are smaller and less flexible.
Blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart are called veins. They are not as
muscular as arteries, but they contain valves that prevent blood from flowing backward.
Veins have the same three layers that arteries do, but they are thinner and less
flexible. The two largest veins are the superior and inferior vena cavae(pronounced:
VEE-nuh KAY-vee). The terms superior and inferior do not mean that one vein is better
than the other, but that they are located above (superior) and below (inferior) the
heart.
A network of tiny capillaries connects the arteries and veins. Even though they're tiny,
the capillaries are one of the most important parts of the circulatory system because it
is through them that nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the cells. In addition, waste
products such as carbon dioxide are also removed by the capillaries.

hat the Heart & Circulatory System Do
The circulatory system works closely with other systems in our bodies. It supplies
oxygen and nutrients to our bodies by working with the respiratory system. At the
same time, the circulatory system helps carry waste and carbon dioxide out of the
body. Hormones produced by the endocrine system are also transported through
the blood in our circulatory system. As the body's chemical messengers, hormones
transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another.
Did you ever wonder about the process behind your beating heart? A healthy heart
makes a "lub-dub" sound with each beat. Here's what happens to make that sound:
One complete heartbeat makes up a cardiac cycle, which consists of two phases. In
the first phase, the ventricles contract (this is calledsystole, pronounced: SIS-tuh-lee),
sending blood into the pulmonary and systemic circulation. To prevent the flow of blood
backwards into the atria during systole, the atrioventricular valves close, creating the
first ("lub") sound.
When the ventricles finish contracting, the aortic and pulmonic valves close to prevent
blood from flowing back into the ventricles. This is what creates the second sound (the
"dub"). Then the ventricles relax (this is called diastole, pronounced: dye-AS-tuh-lee)
and fill with blood from the atria, which makes up the second phase of the cardiac
cycle.
A unique electrical system in the heart causes it to beat in its regular rhythm.
The sinoatrial (pronounced: sy-no-AY-tree-ul) orSA node, a small area of tissue in the
wall of the right atrium, sends out an electrical signal to start the contracting of the
heart muscle. These electrical impulses cause the atria to contract first; they then
travel down to the atrioventricular or AV node, which acts as a kind of relay station.
From here the electrical signal travels through the right and left ventricles, causing
them to contract and force blood out into the major arteries.

In the systemic circulation, blood travels out of the left ventricle, to the aorta, to every
organ and tissue in the body, and then back to the right atrium. The arteries,
capillaries, and veins of the systemic circulatory system are the channels through which
this long journey takes place. Once in the arteries, blood flows to smaller arterioles and
then to capillaries.
While in the capillaries, the bloodstream delivers oxygen and nutrients to the body's
cells and picks up waste materials. Blood then goes back through the capillaries into
venules, and then to larger veins until it reaches the vena cavae. Blood from the head
and arms returns to the heart through the superior vena cava, and blood from the
lower parts of the body returns through the inferior vena cava. Both vena cavae deliver
this oxygen-depleted blood into the right atrium. From here the blood exits to fill the
right ventricle, ready to be pumped into the pulmonary circulation for more oxygen.
In the pulmonary circulation, blood low in oxygen but high in carbon dioxide is pumped
out the right ventricle into the pulmonary artery, which branches off in two directions.
The right branch goes to the right lung, and vice versa. In the lungs, the branches
divide further into capillaries. Blood flows more slowly through these tiny vessels,
allowing time for gases to be exchanged between the capillary walls and the millions
of alveoli(pronounced: al-VEE-oh-lie), the tiny air sacs in the lung.
During the process called oxygenation, oxygen is taken up by the bloodstream. Oxygen
locks onto a molecule called hemoglobin in the red blood cells. The newly oxygenated
blood leaves the lungs through the pulmonary veins and heads back to the heart. It
enters the heart in the left atrium, then fills the left ventricle so it can be pumped into
the systemic circulation.