ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY Circulatory System

The function of the heart is to keep the blood flowing throughout the body. Blood is necessary for the survival of the tissues - red blood cells carry oxygen to the tissues, which is necessary for cellular processes, and the plasma carries nutrients to the tissues and waste away from the tissues. The heart accomplishes this function involuntarily, controlled by specific areas of the brain. The heart is made of cardiac muscle tissue made of cells called cardiomyocytes. Electrical impulses along nerve fibers in the tissue cause the cardiac fibers to contract, squeezing blood out from the heart muscle into the aorta, the first and largest Structure of the Human Heart

The outer surface of the heart is made up of three layers, the outermost layer being the inner wall of the pericardium. This layer is known as the epicardium or visceral pericardium. The second or middle layer, known as the myocardium, is made up of contractible muscles and it is this contraction which creates the pumping and beating effect which we call the heart rate. The third and innermost layer, endocardium, combines with the endothelium or inner surface of the blood vessels that envelop the valves of the heart. If you look at any heart diagram for kids in school biology textbooks, you'll get a clear and basic idea of what a human heart looks like. The human heart is divided into four compartments. The two upper chambers are called the atria and the two lower chambers are called the ventricles. The atria receive the blood and the ventricles discharge them. The channel through which blood enters and moves through the human heart include two circuits - a pulmonary circuit and a systemic circuit. Besides these, the heart also contains four valves - tricuspid valve, mitral valve, aortic valve and pulmonary valve. Functions of the Heart Pumping blood is the chief and only function of the heart! Freshly oxygenated blood from the lungs enter the heart which is then pumped out to the rest of the body. After delivering oxygen to all tissues, the de-oxygenated blood returns to the heart, which the heart sends back to the lungs to get re-charged with oxygen. The heart functions as the central point collection and dispatch for blood from the lungs to the rest of the body and vice versa. How it does so is an interesting study. The mechanism of how the heart pumps blood throughout the body is being enumerated as follows:-

The de-oxygenated blood collects inside the right atrium and is transferred or pumped to the lungs via the right ventricle by the tricuspid valve. Once the carbon dioxide is exhaled and the blood is recharged with oxygen from inhaled air, the re-oxygenated blood collects in the left atrium which is then moved to the left ventricle by the mitral valve which then pumps it out

to the rest of the body, releasing the oxygenated blood to replenish the tissues. Refer to a detailed blood flow through the heart diagram to get a clearer idea. The function of the heart valves is to transport blood from one end of the heart to the other end - from atrium to ventricle and vice versa. When blood is transported from the right atrium to the right ventricle by the tricuspid valve, it is pumped out via the pulmonary seminular valve through the pulmonary artery to the lungs. The pulmonary vein carries the oxygenated blood to the left atrium which is then transported by the mitral valve to the left ventricle. The aortic seminular valve transports this blood from the left ventricle to the aorta which is forked to accommodate the distribution of blood between major arteries that carry blood to the upper and lower body. From these major arteries branch off arterioles, which further branch off into capillaries. This way, via a complex network of blood vessel tributaries and distributaries, oxygenated blood reaches each corner of the body and invigorates every tissue. How the Heart Functions A heart beat is usually thought of as "thump-thump". This is systole-diastole. Systole is atria-ventricle contraction, and diastole is atrial-ventricle relaxation in overlapping events. During diastole blood is received by the right atrium. The tricuspid valve (or right atrioventricular valve) separates the right atrium and ventricle. The atrium contracts (systole) immediately before the ventricle contracts. Systole is started by the heart's natural pacemaker in the right atrium - the sinoatrial (SA) node, a specialized group of cardiac cells. The SA node has the fastest rate of depolarization in the heart tissue. The electrical impulse started by the SA node travels to the atrioventricular (AV) node in the interatrial septum to complete systole. In the interventricular septum is the bundle of His, known as the AV bundle. The bundle of His receives the signal from the AV node and transmits it to the left and right bundle branches in the apex of the heart. The impulses travel along specialized nerve fibers, called Purkinje fibers, to other parts of the heart to produce ventricular systole while the atria have begun diastole. When the right ventricle contracts, it pushes blood through the pulmonary semilunar valve and into the pulmonary artery, which carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs for oxygenation. The blood then flows in the left atrium of the heart through the pulmonary vein. The mitral valve, also known as the bicuspid valve, separates the left atrium and ventricle. The left ventricle has the thickest wall of any other chamber in the heart and contracts more forcibly, forcing blood through the aortic semilunar valve and out to the body (See a video of the heart functioning.

The human circulatory system. Red indicates oxygenated blood, blue indicates deoxygenated. blood vessel. When the fibers relax, blood flows into the heart from the inferior and superior vena cava, the endpoints of the peripheral venous system carrying deoxygenated blood from the body.

Arteries

The walls (outer structure) of arteries contain smooth muscle fibre that contract and relax under the instructions of the sympathetic nervous system. Transport blood away from the heart; Transport oxygenated blood only (except in the case of the pulmonary artery). Arterioles 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. Transport blood from arteries to capillaries; Arterioles are the main regulators of blood flow and pressure. Capillaries 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. 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. Venules Venules are minute vessels that drain blood from capillaries and into veins. Many venules unite to form a vein. Drains blood from capillaries into veins, for return to the heart

Veins

The walls (outer structure) of veins consist of three layers of tissues that are thinner and less elastic than the corresponding layers of aerteries. Veins include valves that aid the return of blood to the heart by preventing blood from flowing in the reverse direction. The human vascular system basically consists of two systems. The arterial system is distributing the in the lungs oxygenated blood from the heart to all organs, tissues and cells of the body. The venous system is, generally speaking, responsible for the transport of the deoxygenated blood back to the heart and further to the lung, where oxygen is replenished.

In the following we will focus on the arterial system, as it plays the more important role concerning vessel diseases, which can be life-threatening in many cases. The arterial circulation: Beginning at the heart as the central circulation pump the aorta carries the oxygenated blood over many branches to all regions of the body. The main branches out of the aorta are the following: Chest / neck area: Carotid arteries (Arteriac carotis communis, left and right) supplies blood to the head (external and internal); Subclavian artery (Arteria subclavia) provides blood to the upper limbs. Abdominal / pelvic area: The left and right renal arteries supplying blood to the kidneys are two other important branches out of the aorta. Further down in the pelvic area there are the branches out of the aorta delivering blood to the abdominopelvic organs. Arterioles und Capillaries: The above mentioned arteries divide again into smaller arteries, the arterioles; these small arteries are divided into a network of minuscule vessels, the capillaries. These capillaries supply oxygen and vital nutrients via the blood to the cells.

These explanations already show that even an occlusion of a small artery results in the insufficient supply of a tissue or organ area and thus in a damage of the concerned area. The larger the occluded artery, the larger the resulting damage.

Function of the Vascular System Circulatory needs of Tissues

The circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients (such as amino acids, electrolytes and lymph), gases, hormones, blood cells, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pH to maintain homeostasis. This system may be seen strictly as a blood distribution network, but some consider the circulatory system as composed of the cardiovascular system, which distributes blood, and the lymphatic system, which distributes lymph. While humans, as well as other vertebrates, have a closed cardiovascular system (meaning that the blood never leaves the network of arteries, veins and capillaries), some invertebrate groups have an open cardiovascular system. The most primitive animal phyla lack circulatory systems. The lymphatic system, on the other hand, is an open system. Two types of fluids move through the circulatory system: blood and lymph. The blood, heart, and blood vessels form the cardiovascular system. The lymph, lymph nodes, and lymph vessels form the lymphatic system. The cardiovascular system and the lymphatic system collectively make up the circulatory system

Blood Flow and Blood Pressure

Human cardiovascular system The main components of the human cardiovascular system are the heart, the veins, and the blood vessels. It includes: the pulmonary circulation, a "loop" through the lungs where blood is oxygenated; and the systemic circulation, a "loop" through the rest of the body to provide oxygenated blood. An average adult contains five to six quarts (roughly 4.7 to 5.7 liters) of blood, which consists of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Also, the digestive system works with the circulatory system to provide the nutrients the system needs to keep the heart pumping. Systemic circulation Main article: Systemic circulation Systemic circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which transports oxygenated blood away from the heart, to the rest of the body, and returns oxygen-depleted blood back to the heart. Systemic circulation is, distance-wise, much longer than pulmonary circulation, transporting blood to every part of the body. Coronary circulation The coronary circulatory system provides a blood supply to the heart. As it provides oxygenated blood to the heart, it is by definition a part of the systemic circulatory system.