Comparative Anatomy of the [CHAPTER 14:

Vertebrates: Circulatory System]

THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM OF CRANIATES

OUTLINE
CONSISTS OF:
I. Development
II. Blood
A. BLOOD VASCULAR SYSTEM
A. Hemopoiesis
1. HEART
B. Formed Elements
III. The Heart and Its Evolution
2. ARTERIES
A. Single- and Double-Circuit Hearts
- carry blood away from the heart
B. Hearts of Gill-Breathing Fishes
- with muscular and elastic walls
C. Hearts of Dipnoans and Amphibians
- regulate BP together with ARTERIOLES
D. Hearts of Amniotes
E. Innervation of the Heart
3. VEINS OR VENOUS SINUSES
F. Morphogenesis of the Heart
IV. Arterial Channels and Their Modifications - carry blood toward the heart
A. Aortic Arches of Fishes - less muscle and elastic tissue
B. Aortic Arches of Tetrapods - more fibrous tissue
1. Amphibians - smallest veins are called VENULES
2. Nonavian Reptiles
3. Birds and Mammals 4. CAPILLARIES OR SINUSOIDS
C. Aortic Arches and von Baer’s Law - generally consist of endothelium alone
D. Dorsal Aorta
1. Somatic Branches 5. BLOOD
2. Visceral Branches - acts as a transport system; also participates in
3. Allantoic Arteries of Amniotes heat regulation
E. Coronary Arteries
F. Retia Mirabilia
V. Venous Channels and Their Modifications
A. Basic Pattern: Sharks
1. Cardinal Streams
2. Renal Portal Stream
3. Lateral Abdominal Stream
4. Hepatic Portal Stream and Hepatic
Sinuses
B. Other Fishes
C. Tetrapods
1. Cardinal Veins and the Precavae
2. Postcava
3. Abdominal Stream
4. Renal Portal System
5. Hepatic Portal System
6. Coronary Veins
VI. Circulation in the Mammalian Fetus, and Fig. 1. Structure of blood vessels
Changes at Birth
VII. Systematic Summary of Respiration and B. LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
Circulation  LYMPH CHANNELS
VIII.Lymphatic System  LYMPH

OTHER RELATED TERMS:

1. ADVENTITIA
- loose CT covering arteries and veins

2. CAPILLARY BED
- represents all the individual capillaries served by a
single arteriole

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3. PRECAPILLARY SPHINCTER 2. FORMED ELEMENTS (erythrocytes,

- smooth muscle in a capillary that can close off blood leukocytes, thrombocytes)
flow to the capillary bed from the arteriole
- causes blanching and blushing in human skin

4. CAPILLARY SHUNT
- capillary bypass that assures uninterrupted
circulation between the arterial and venous sides of
the capillary bed

5. PORTAL SYSTEM – a system of veins bounded by

capillary beds

 RENAL PORTAL SYSTEM

- transports blood from the capillaries of the tail to
the capillaries of the kidneys
- lacking in typical mammals

 HEPATIC PORTAL SYSTEM

- carries blood from the digestive tract, pancreas,
and spleen to the capillaries of the liver
Fig. 2. Components of blood
 HYPOPHYSEAL PORTAL SYSTEM
- brings blood containing pituitary regulating A. HEMOPOIESIS
hormones from the hypothalamus to the - formation of blood cells
adenohypophysis
- not demonstrated in most bony fishes yolk sac  blood islands 
hemocytoblasts  blood cells
I. DEVELOPMENT

MECHANISMS OF VESSEL FORMATION

1. VASCULARIZATION – process of vessel

formation from endothelial precursors with the
formation of vessels potentially occurring prior to
the onset of blood flow

2. ANGIOGENESIS – remodelling of existing

vessels and can occur both prenatally and
postnatally, as seen in the vascularization of Fig. 3. Blood Islands on the area vasculosa of 33-hour chick
embryo
neoplasms (e.g., tumors)

NOTES: Hemopoietic Organs

1. liver
o The pattern of vessel formation is variable.
o Vascularization may be an inductive interaction 2. kidneys
3. spleen
with surrounding tissues.
- produces granular leukocytes
o The notochord seems to influence the formation
of the axial dorsal aorta. - analogous to the intestinal submucosa of
teleosts
II. BLOOD 4. bone marrow

MACROPHAGES and AMOEBOID WHITE CELLS

Blood consists of:
- phagocytose deteriorating blood cells
1. PLASMA
*Serum – plasma with no fibrinogen
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 Comparative Anatomy of the [CHAPTER 14:
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B. FORMED ELEMENTS
2. DOUBLE CIRCUIT (in amniotes)

i. PULMONARY CIRCUIT

O2-poor blood  Heart  Lungs

 O2-rich blood Heart

ii. SYSTEMIC CIRCUIT

O2-rich blood from heart  Body

 O2-poor blood  Heart

B. HEARTS OF GILL-BREATHING FISHES

4 Chambers Of A Fish Heart:

Fig. 4. Blood cells
1. SINUS VENOSUS
HEMOGLOBIN - thin walls, little muscle, much fibrous tissue
- a compound protein found in RBCs - its caudal wall is anchored to the anterior face
- has an iron-containing pigment, HEME, with which of the SEPTUM TRANSVERSUM
available O2 immediately binds loosely to form - a collecting chamber for venous blood that’s
OXYHEMOGLOBIN (HbO2) returning from all parts of the body

NOTES:
o Most craniates have oval nucleated RBCs while
mammals (except camels) have biconcave
circular RBCs with no nuclei.
o Granulocytes and monocytes, as phagocytes,
serve as scavengers of broken-down tissues.
o Platelets are fragments of stem cells
(megakaryocytes) found in the bone marrow.
They consist of membrane-enclosed cytoplasm
and lack a nucleus.
III. THE HEART AND ITS EVOLUTION
HEART – supplied by CORONARY ARTERIES and
drained by CORONARY VEINS
Walls Of The Heart:
1. ENDOCARDIUM
2. MYOCARDIUM – cardiac muscle
3. EPICARDIUM – on which lies the VISCERAL
PERICARDIUM
PERICARDIAL CAVITY
- space between parietal and visceral pericardia
*BULBUS ARTERIOSUS
A. SINGLE- AND DOUBLE-CIRCUIT HEARTS
1. SINGLE CIRCUIT (in fishes)
O2-poor blood  Heart  Gills  O2-rich blood
 Body  O2-poor blood (travels back to heart)
2. ATRIUM
- has an opening called the SINOATRIAL
APERTURE
- a large thin-walled muscular sac serving as a
staging area for blood that’s about to enter the
ventricle
3. VENTRICLE
- has an opening called the
ATRIOVENTRICULAR APERTURE with one-
way valves
- with very thick muscular walls
- the actual pumping portion of the heart
4. CONUS ARTERIOSUS (TRUNCUS
ARTERIOSUS)
- prolonged anterior end of the ventricle
- with a smaller diameter
- composed chiefly of cardiac muscle and
elastic CT
- continuous with the ventral aorta
- maintains a steady flow of blood over the gills
- shorter in teleosts*
- a muscular swelling at the base of the teleost
ventral aorta which is analogous with conus
arteriosus
- present also in Necturus and some other
perennibranchiate amphibians

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Atrium Reptiles Birds Mammals

Right Receives Receives blood directly
blood from from vessels (which before
sinus emptied into the sinus
venosus venosus)
Left Receives blood from the pulmonary veins

2. 2 VENTRICLES (3 in turtles and squamates)

Fig. 5. Blood flow through a fish heart
C. HEARTS OF DIPNOANS AND AMPHIBIANS
4 Modifications:
1. INTERATRIAL SEPTUM – separates RIGHT
and LEFT ATRIAL CHAMBERS
 Veins of the swim bladder/lungs empty into the
LEFT atrium (Blood here is O2-rich.)
 Sinus venosus empties into the RIGHT atrium
(Blood here is O2-poor.)
 In lungless urodeles, the atrium remains totally
undivided.
2. A partial INTERVENTRICULAR SEPTUM
(dipnoans and Siren, a urodele) or of
VENTRICULAR TRABECULAE (amphibians)
Function: Separation of oxygenated and
unoxygenated blood
*Trabeculae are shelves or ridges projecting
from the ventricular wall into the chamber.
3. SPIRAL VALVE
- found in the conus arteriosus
- direct O2-blood into aortic arches that lead to
gills/lungs and O2-rich blood into arches that
supply other organs
4. SHORTENED VENTRAL AORTA (except
urodeles)
- As a result, blood moves from the conus
arteriosus directly into appropriate vessels.
D. HEARTS OF AMNIOTES
An amniote heart consists of:
1. 2 ATRIA
- complete interatrial septum
- complete separation in crocodilians, birds, and
mammals
3. SINUS VENOSUS (except in adult birds and
mammals)
- partially incorporated into the wall of the right
atrium in crocodilians
- its embryonic location is marked by the
SINOATRIAL (SA) NODE in adult birds and
mammals
OTHER RELATED TERMS:
1. INTERATRIAL FORAMEN (FORAMEN OVALE)
- aperture connecting right and left atria during
embryonic development but closes near the time of
hatching or at birth
- marked in adult mammalian hearts by a depression,
the FOSSA OVALIS in the medial wall of the right
atrium
2. AURICLE
- earlike flap on each atrium of the mammalian heart
3. VENTRICULAR CHAMBERS IN TURTLES AND
SQUAMATES
 CAVUM PULMONALE (right ventricle)
 CAVUM ARTERIOSUM (left ventricle)
 CAVUM VENOSUM
- 3rd ventricular chamber in turtles and squamates
- receives deoxygenated blood from the right
atrium and is confluent with both left and right
ventricles
- shunts O2-rich and O2-poor blood into or away
from specific arteries that leave the heart
4. TRABECULAE CARNEAE
- found in the muscular walls lining the ventricular
chamber of a mammalian heart
- strengthen the walls and increase their pumping
force
5. CUSP– fibrous flap which comprise a valve

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6. CHORDAE TENDINEAE – tendinous cords that NOTES:

connect the atrioventricular valves to the papillary o The contraction of heart muscle is autogenic,
muscles though an extrinsic neural stimulus is needed to
produce a regular beat that can be regulated by
7. PAPILLARY MUSCLES – project from the heart the CNS in response to the physiological needs
ventricular wall to the tendinous cords of the valves of the animal.
o Important electrolytes: Na, K, Ca
8. VALVES OF THE MAMMALIAN HEART o The rate of autogenic pulsation of a denervated
sinus venosus is imposed on the atria and
 BICUSPID VALVE (MITRAL VALVE) ventricles via Purkinje fibers.
- left valve (located between left atrium and left
ventricle) F. MORPHOGENESIS OF THE HEART
- with two cusps
 The heart is a bilateral contribution (somatic and
 TRICUSPID VALVE splanchnic) of lateral-plate mesoderm.
- right atrioventricular valve with 3 cusps
Sharks and Amphibians Amniotes
 SEMILUNAR VALVE* The heart organizes from A pair of already organized
- located at the exits of the ventricles into the paired mesenchymal endothelial tubes comes
pulmonary and aortic trunks in amniotes masses that aggregate in together beneath the
the midline beneath the pharynx, fuses, and forms
*Located in the conus arteriosus in anamniotes pharynx to form a single a single tube.
endothelial tube.
E. INNERVATION OF THE HEART
IV. ARTERIAL CHANNELS AND THEIR
PURKINJE FIBER MODIFICATIONS
- modified cardiac muscle forming the intrinsic
conduction system of the heart Major arterial channels consist of:

 HAGFISHES 1. VENTRAL AORTA (paired early in

- No external innervation; instead have modified
intrinsic cells
 FISHES, AMPHIBIANS, and NONAVIAN
REPTILES
- Sinus venosus is the pacemaker.
 BIRDS and MAMMALS
- SA node is the pacemaker.
- ATRIOVENTRICULAR (AV) NODE provideS a
stimulus to the ventricles.
- ATRIOVENTRICULAR BUNDLE – collection
of Purkinje fibers in the interventricular
septum; carries signals from the AV node.
- Purkinje fibers also innervated by autonomic
nerve fibers.
Sinus venosus of fishes – innervated by the vagus nerve
(10th cranial nerve) only
Anurans and amniotes – innervated by fibers from the
symphatetic trunk
 inhibitory fibers via the vagal nerve
 accelerator fibers via cardiac nerves
embryogenesis)
2. DORSAL AORTA (paired above the pharynx
only)
3. 6 pairs of AORTIC ARCHES (connect ventral
and dorsal aorta)
A. AORTIC ARCHES OF FISHES
 ELASMOBRANCHES
- Ventral aorta extends forward under the
pharynx and connects with the developing
aortic arches.
- Aortic arches in the mandibular arch develop
first.
st
- Ventral segments of 1 pair disappear; dorsal
segments become efferent spiracular arteries
- 2nd pair gives rise to first pretrematic arteries
while 3rd-6th pairs give rise to pre- and
posttrematic arteries
- Arches 2-6 become occluded at one site;
ventral segments become afferent branchial
arteries while dorsal segments (3-6) become
efferent branchial arteries.
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- Capillary beds develop within 9 demibranchs.
Result: Blood entering an aortic arch from the
ventral aorta must pass through gill capillaries
before going to the dorsal aorta.
 TELEOSTS
- Developmental changes similar to
elasmobranches
- Most lose their 1st and 2nd aortic arches.
 DIPNOANS
th
- A pulmonary artery emerges from the 6 aortic
arch and vascularizes a swim bladder.
rd th
- In Protopterus – 3 and 4 embryonic arches
don’t become interrupted by gill capillaries.
 OTHER ACTINOPTERYGIANS
- Dorsal aorta supplies swim bladders.
B. AORTIC ARCHES OF TETRAPODS
6 Pairs of Embryonic Aortic Arches:
 1st and 2nd pairs (transitory)
 3rd arch (CAROTID ARCH) and the paired dorsal
aortae anterior to it = INTERNAL CAROTID
ARTERIES
 4th arches = SYSTEMIC ARCHES
 5th arches (become lost)
 6th arches (PULMONARY ARCH; give rise to
pulmonary arteries)
 AMPHIBIANS
- Most terrestrial urodeles have 4 pairs of aortic
arches while perennibranchiate ones have 3.
rd
GILL BYPASS = a short section of the 3 , 4 ,
th
and 5 arches that serves as a bypass to the
external gills
- Anurans have 4 arches (arches 3-6) in the
larval stage. Arches 3-5 supply the larval
external gills while arch 6 sprouts a pulmonary
artery.
- With loss of gills at metamorphosis:
 5th arch disappears
 DUCTUS CAROTICUS (portion of
dorsal aorta between arches 3 and 4)
disappears, so blood entering arch 3
pass only to the head.
 DUCTUS ARTERIOSUS (segment of
arch 6 dorsal to the pulmonary artery)
disappears, so blood entering arch 6
pass only to the lungs and skin. Arch 4
on each side continues to the dorsal
aorta to distribute blood to the rest of the
body.
- Ventricular trabeculae and the spiral valve
help prevent mixing of oxygenated and
deoxygenated blood.
- Apodans retain aortic arches 3-6 and the
ductus caroticus, but the latter as well as the
ductus arteriosus are of small diameter and
carry little blood.
 NONAVIAN REPTILES
- 3 adult aortic arches: 3, 4, and the base of 6
- No spiral valve
- Ventral aorta split into 3 channels: 2 aortic
trunks and a pulmonary trunk
Result in crocodilians:
1. Pulmonary trunk emerges from the right
ventricle and leads to the left and right
pulmonary arches. Thus, O2-poor blood is
sent to the lungs.
2. One aortic trunk emerges from the left
ventricle and carries O2- rich blood to the
right systemic arch and the carotid arches.
3. 2nd aortic trunk emerges from the right
ventricle and leads to the left systemic
arch.
Q: Why is the blood in the left systemic arch not
low in oxygen though it comes from the right
ventricle?
A: Due to the foramen of Panizza
th
FORAMEN OF PANIZZA
- an aperture that connects the 2 aortic trunks at
their base
HOW DOES IT WORK?
During normal respiration, the valve at the exit from
the right ventricle into the aortic trunk remains closed,
and blood from the right ventricle can pass only to the
lungs. Some oxygenated blood from the left ventricle is
diverted through the foramen to the left systemic arch.
When O2 levels fall, the pulmonary arteries constrict
reflexly, causing a backup of blood in the right ventricle.
The valve between the right ventricle and its aortic trunk
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 Comparative Anatomy of the [CHAPTER 14:
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is forced open and some right-ventricular blood is
diverted via the foramen to the aortic trunk that emerges
from the left ventricle.
- In turtles, snakes, and lizards, oxygenated
blood from the cavum arteriosum is pumped
into the cavum venosum and into the 2 aortic
trunks that lead to the left and right systemic
arches.
- Basal lizards retain the 5th arch and the ductus
caroticus on both sides.
- Limbless lizards and snakes may lose entirely
the left 6th arch (and in some snakes, the left
3rd arch as well).
- Some adult snakes retain only the following:
rd th
right 3 arch, left and right 4 arch, ductus
caroticus, and ventral segment of right 6th
aortic arch.
 BIRDS and MAMMALS
- No mixing of O2-rich and O2-poor blood due to
complete interventricular septum and division
of ventral aorta into only 2 trunks, namely:
 Pulmonary trunk – takes blood to the
lungs; leads to the 6th arches
 Aortic trunk – takes blood to the rest of
the body; leads to the 3rd and 4th
th
- Left 4 aortic arch is lost in birds while the
base of the right 4th only remains in mammals.
Result: the systemic arch (arch of aorta) of
birds is directed to the right whereas in
mammals, it is directed to the left.
- No ductus caroticus nor ductus arteriosus in
adults.
OTHER RELATED TERMS:
1. BULBUS CORDIS
- Term sometimes applied to conus arteriosus in
lungfishes, amphibians, and mammalian embryos;
part of the heart
C. AORTIC ARCHES AND VON BAER’S LAW
 Development of the 6 aortic arches in all
craniate embryos and the subsequent
modification or elimination of one vessel or
another as adaptations follow von Baer’s law.
von Baer’s Law
“Features common to all members of a major taxonomic
group of animals develop earlier in ontogeny than do
features that distinguish subdivisions of the group.”
D. DORSAL AORTA
- paired in the head in all adults as the internal
carotid arteries
- unpaired in the trunk where it gives off paired
somatic branches to the body wall and
appendages and paired and unpaired visceral
branches
- continues into the tail as the caudal artery
1. SOMATIC BRANCHES
 SUBCLAVIAN ARTERY
- enlarged segmental artery
- traverses the axilla as the AXILLARY
- parallels the humerus as the BRACHIAL
- divides the forearm into ULNAR and RADIAL
ARTERIES
- its tributary the VERTEBRAL ARTERY
supplies the internal head
VERTEBRAL ARTERY
- passes cephalad to the neck to contribute to
the CIRCLE OF WILLIS
- not well-developed in birds and some other
reptiles
CIRCLE OF WILLIS
- right, left, and transverse communicating
arteries that encircle the base of the
diencephalon
 VERTEBROMUSCULAR BRANCHES – to the
epaxial muscle, skin, and vertebral column
 PARIETAL BRANCHES
- encircle the body wall to the midventral line
- called INTERCOSTAL ARTERIES where
there are long ribs
- called LUMBAR and SACRAL ARTERIES in
the lumbar and sacral regions respectively
 ILIACS
- segmental arteries that supply the pelvic
fins/limbs
- becomes the FEMORAL in the thigh
- called the POPLITEAL in the knee
- is the TIBIAL in the shank
 Anastomoses (uniting end to end) of arteries
ensure continuous blood supply if ever one of
the anastomosing vessels becomes occluded.
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2. VISCERAL BRANCHES
 Unpaired visceral branches
- pass to the unpaired viscera, chiefly
digestive organs
- number is largest in generalized species
(i.e., Necturus)
- as few as 3 unpaired trunks – CELIAC,
CRANIAL (SUPERIOR) MESENTERIC,
and CAUDAL (INFERIOR) MESENTERIC
– may occur in craniates
- Anastomoses are common.
 Paired visceral branches
- Arteries to the urinary bladder,
reproductive tract, gonads, kidneys, and
adrenals
3. ALLANTOIC ARTERIES OF AMNIOTES
ALLANTOIC (UMBILICAL) ARTERIES
- carry blood to the allantois
INTERNAL ILIACS
- sprout off the umbilical arteries as limb buds
develop
E. CORONARY ARTERIES
VASA VASORUM (“vessels of the vessels”)
- supply the walls of the arteries and veins
CORONARY ARTERIES and VEINS
- supply the heart
 Elasmobranchs
- Coronary arteries arise from
hypobranchial arteries.
 Amphibians
- In frogs, CAs arise from the carotid arch.
- In urodeles, coronary supply consists of
many small arteries
 Reptiles
- CAs arise from the aortic trunk leading to
th
the right 4 arch, or from the
brachiocephalic.
 Mammals
- CAs arise from the base of the ascending
aorta just beyond the semilunar valves.
F. RETIA MIRABILIA
– remarkable network of vessels
Examples:
1. Glomeruli in craniates kidneys
2. Arterial networks in the sharks’ pseudobranchs
3. Pampiniform plexus in inguinal canals of
mammals
4. Red glands of swim bladders
Functions:
 As reservoir of oxygenated RBCs for diving
cetaceans and pinnipeds
 Heat conservation in birds wading in icy waters,
polar bears, and arctic seals
 Lowering of temperature in the scrotal sacs of
mammals
 Maintenance of oxygen level in swim bladders
V. VENOUS CHANNELS AND THEIR MO
VI. DIFICATIONS
A generalized venous system consists of the following
major streams:
1. CARDINALS (anterior, posterior, common
cardinals)
2. RENAL PORTAL
3. LATERAL ABDOMINAL
4. HEPATIC PORTAL (from the embryonic
subintestinal vein and embryonic vitelline veins)
5. HEPATIC SINUSES (from vitellines between
liver and heart)
6. CORONARY VEINS
2 additional streams in lungfishes and tetrapods:
7. PULMONARY STREAM (from lungs)
8. POSTCAVA (from kidneys)
A. BASIC PATTERN: SHARKS
1. Cardinal Streams
 COMMON CARDINAL VEINS – collect blood
entering the sinus venosus
 ANTERIOR CARDINAL (PRECARDINAL) VEINS
– collect blood from the head other than the lower
jaw
 POSTERIOR CARDINAL (POSTCARDINAL)
VEINS
- The earliest embryonic ones are continuous with
the caudal vein and their cephalic ends in adult
sharks expand to become POSTERIOR
CARDINAL SINUSES.
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- A new pair of postcardinal veins form from a
subcardinal plexus and soon, the older
postcardinals are lost anterior to the
kidneys.
- In adults, the veins drain chiefly the kidneys,
body wall, and gonads.
2. Renal Portal Stream
- capillaries surrounding the kidney tubules
(peritubular capillaries)
3. Lateral Abdominal Stream
 ILIAC VEIN – drains the pelvis and hind leg
 LATERAL ABDOMINAL VEIN – main vessel of the
lateral abdominal stream
 BRACHIAL VEIN – proximal vein draining the arm
 SUBCLAVIAN VEIN – drains the adjacent areas of
the thorax, neck, and the forelimb to the
brachiocephalic vein
 CLOACAL VEIN – drains the cloaca
 PARIETAL VEINS – paired metameric vessels
draining the lateral body wall
4. Hepatic Portal Stream and Hepatic Sinuses
VITELLINE VEINS (OMPHALOMESENTERIC
VEINS)
- from the yolk sac to the heart
- is joined by the embryonic SUBINTESTINAL VEIN
that drains the digestive tract
- break down into sinusoidal channels as the liver
develops
HEPATIC PORTAL SYSTEM
- drains the digestive organs and the spleen
- comes from the subintestinal vein + one of the pair
of vitelline veins caudal to the liver
HEPATIC SINUSES – 2 vitelline veins between liver
and sinus venosus
B. OTHER FISHES
 Agnathans – no renal portal sytem nor left
common cardinals
 Ray-finned fishes – no abdominals; pelvic
fins drained by postcardinals; blood from
swimbladder empties into either hepatic,
hepatic portal, posterior cardinal, or common
cardinal veins
 Dipnoans – pelvic fins drained by unpaired
ventral abdominal vein; missing right
postcardinal
 Coronary veins in all fishes empty into the
sinus venosus.
C. TETRAPODS
- embryonic venous channels similar to those of
embryonic sharks
1. CARDINAL VEINS and the PRECAVAE
- Embryonic tetrapods have postcardinals,
precardinals (INTERNAL JUGULAR VEINS),
and common cardinals (PRECAVAE).
- In urodeles, embryonic postcardinals persist
between the caudal vein and common
cardinals.
- In anurans, most reptiles, and birds, the
postcardinals anterior to the kidneys
disappears.
- In mammals, the anterior segment of the right
postcardinal persists as AZYGOS as well as
the part of the left postcardinal as
HEMIAZYGOS. Both veins drain intercostals
spaces.
- Azygos empties into the old right common
cardinal vein (precava) and receives
transverse shunts from the hemiazygos.
- Some mammals (e.g., cats and humans) lose
most of the left precava during embryonic life
and the left brachiocephalic vein diverts
venous blood from the left side of the head
and left anterior limb to the right precava
(a.k.a. SUPERIOR VENA CAVA).
CORONARY SINUS
- remnant of the left precava and is found in the
heart surface in the groove between the left atrium
and ventricle (called the CORONARY SULCUS)
- receives several coronary veins and empties into
the right atrium
SUPERIOR VENA CAVA (cranial vena cava of
quadrupeds)
- empties into the sinus venosus in nonavian
reptiles and into the right atrium in birds and
mammals
2. POSTCAVA
- arises in a subcardinal venous plexus that
receives renal veins from kidneys and usually
comes from the dominating right subcardinal
channel
- serves as an expressway from kidneys to
heart via hepatic sinuses which ultimately fuse
to form a median vessel that is a part of the
postcava
- connects with veins from the hindlimbs in
crocodilians, birds, and mammals
- a.k.a. CAUDAL (INFERIOR) VENA CAVA in
mammals
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3. ABDOMINAL STREAM
- In early tetrapod embryos, paired lateral
abdominal veins start in body wall at the level
of future hindlimbs, pass cephalad, receive
veins from developing forelimbs, and end in
the common cardinal veins/sinus venosus.
- As development progresses:
 In amphibians: 2 embryonic lateral
abdominal veins unite and form VENTRAL
ABDOMINAL VEIN. Blood in this vessel
connects with venous channels in the
falciform ligament and segments of the
lateral abdominal veins anterior to the liver
disappear. Abdominal stream does not
drain anymore the anterior limbs.
 In nonavian reptiles: 2 lateral abdominals
don’t unite though still connect with the
liver capillaries (using the falciform
ligament as bridge). 2 allantoic veins
become their temporary tributaries.
 In birds: No embryonic abdominal stream
remains.
 In mammals: Abdominal stream is a
strictly embryonic vessel that drains the
placenta. ROUND LIGAMENT OF THE
LIVER (a portion of the umbilical vein) is
all that is left of the abdominal stream.
OTHER RELATED TERMS:
 DUCTUS VENOSUS
- vessel through the liver carrying blood from
the umbilical vein to the postcava and the
heart
- later eroded by the umbilical vein
 LIGAMENTUM VENOSUM
- Ductus venosus becomes a ligament after
birth.
4. RENAL PORTAL SYSTEM
- In amphibians and reptiles: acquisition of a
tributary called the EXTERNAL
(TRANSVERSE) ILIAC VEIN (not homologous
with the iliac veins of amniotes) which carries
blood from the hindlimbs to the renal portal
vein
- Remains primitive in snakes (because of their
lack of hindlimbs)
- In crocodilians and birds: Blood from the
hindlimbs by-passes the kidney capillaries and
goes straight to the kidneys via this system.
- In therian mammals: no renal portal system in
adults (may be caused by the displacement of
the caudal end of the nephrogenic mesoderm)
5. HEPATIC PORTAL SYSTEM
- similar in all craniates
- drains the stomach, pancreas, intestine, and
spleen
- ends in the liver capillaries
- some tributaries: abdominal stream (starting
from the amphibians) and veins from the swim
bladder (in bony fishes)
6. CORONARY VEINS
- Amphibians seem to lack a definitive coronary
system.
- In reptiles and mammals, many coronary veins
empty into the coronary sinus.
VII. CIRCULATION IN THE MAMMALIAN FETUS, AND
CHANGES AT BIRTH
Fig. 6. Fetal circulation
1. Blood in the mammalian fetus goes into the
umbilical arteries, then to the placenta where the
blood gains O2 and nutrients. It returns via an
umbilical vein.
2. Some O2-rich blood traverses the falciform
ligament into the liver capillaries for processing,
but most of it continues nonstop via the ductus
venosus and combines with O2-poor blood in the
postcava. Blood then joins O2-poor blood from
the precava and empties into the right atrium.
3. Since pressure in the right atrium is larger than
pressure in the left atrium, most blood will be
shunted through the foramen ovale. It goes into
the left atrium, then left ventricle and is expelled
into the systemic arch. Note that a trip to the
lungs is bypassed.
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4. Some O2-poor blood from the right atrium enters
the right ventricle and is pumped into the
pulmonary trunk. However, most blood
bypasses the pulmonary arteries and moves
directly to the aorta via the ductus arteriosus.
5. O2-poor blood returns to the placenta via the
umbilical arteries originating from the internal
iliacs near the bladder.
POSTNATAL CIRCULATORY SYSTEM CHANGES
1. Ductus arteriosus closes as a result of nerve
impulses initiated with the first gasp of air. It is
converted into an arterial ligament.
(LIGAMENTUM ARTERIOSUM).
2. Increased left atrial pressure and decreased
right atrial pressure causes the foramen ovale to
close and become the FOSSA OVALIS.
3. Change of umbilical arteries into LATERAL
UMBILICAL LIGAMENTS
4. Change of umbilical vein into the ROUND
LIGAMENT OF THE LIVER and the ductus
venosus into LIGAMENTUM VENOSUM
CYANOSIS – blueness of the skin, lip, and nail bed in
humans caused by the failure of the foramen
ovale/ductus arteriosus to fully close/constrict
- collect interstitial tissue fluids not taken up by
the bloodstream as well as lipids from the villi
of the small intestine
 LYMPH – a fluid in transit moving from tissues to
heart
 LYMPH HEARTS
- accessory pump for movement of lymph
- not present in birds after hatching; none in
mammals
 LYMPH NODES (in birds and mammals) –
masses of hemopoietic tissue along course of
lymph channels
 solitary or aggregated masses of LYMPH
NODULES
 Spleen (largest)
 Thymus (absent in hagfishes)
 Bursa of Fabricius (very young birds)
 Peyer’s patches (in the small intestine of
amniotes)
 Tonsils and adenoids

VIII.SYSTEMATIC SUMMARY OF RESPIRATION AND

CIRCULATION

Respiratory and Circulatory Systems

- Their objectives are to meet O2 demands and
eliminate metabolic wastes

 In amphioxus: transverse muscle of the atrial

wall provides a “cough” reflex
 In living agnathans: expiratory pump via
branchiomeric constrictor muscles
 In gnathostomes: jointed pharyngeal skeleton
with inspiratory and expiratory muscles (double
muscular pump)
 In placoderms, basal actinopterygians, Fig. 7. Lymph circulation
lungfishes: air sacs
 In teleosts, lungfishes, amphibians: pressure OTHER RELATED TERMS:
(pulse) pump
 Some amphibians and all amniotes: aspiration 1. LYMPH CAPILLARIES – smallest vessels of
breathing lymph system consisting of single-layered
endothelial tube
IX. LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
2. LYMPH SINUSOIDS – expansions of capillaries
A lymphatic system consists of:
3. LACTEALS – dead-end lymph vessels draining
 LYMPH CHANNELS lipid laden lymph from the intestine

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4. CHYLE – lymphatic fluid milky in color due to

lipid content

5. HEMOLYMPH – lymph containing blood cells

6. THORACIC DUCT – single lymphatic vessel

traversing the thorax carrying lymph from the
abdomen to the major veins of the neck
7. CISTERNA CHYLI – abdominal lymph sinus of
mammals

Fig. 8. Human lymphatic system

NOTES:

o Anurans have numerous sinusoids that take the

place of capillaries at some locations.
o Amphibians, especially aquatic and semiaquatic
ones, have more tissue fluids to manipulate and
as a result their lymph hearts move a larger
volume of fluid than other craniates.

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