Circulatory system

Learning Objectives
To be familiar with the type of capillary.
To be familiar with the type of artery and vein.
To distinguish with all the types of blood
vessels.

Concepts of organs and systems

Organ: composed of four kinds of the tissues
in a particular way
Types

Hollow organs: studied from inside to outside

parenchyma
Substantial organs:

interstitium
System: composed of many organs which
have relationship with each other in
structure and function.

General outline
---Closed tubular system
According to the circulating
fluid in the tubes, blood or lymph:
Blood vascular system
(cardiovascular system)
Lymphatic vascular system

Cardiovascular System
The histological study of the cardiovascular system
includes two major components
Heart mainly functions as a pump to move blood
(and all the things blood carries) through the
body.
Blood vessels are the tubes that distribute the
blood to the cells and then back to the heart.

The blood vessels include three major divisions:

Arteries
deliver blood from heart to capillaries

Capillaries
the smallest blood vessels and closest to
body cells, the interchanges between blood
and tissues occur there

Veins
carry blood from body to the heart

Histological Structure of Blood Vessels

Structural feature of
Arteries and Veins:
Tunica intimae
1. Endothelium
2. Basal lamina
3. Subendothelial layer
(Internal elastic membrane)
Tunica media
Mainly smooth muscle
Tunica adventitia
Mainly connective tissue

medium-sized A

Artery
transport blood from heart to capillaries
according to their size, structure and function

are classified

Large artery
Medium-sized artery D>1mm
Small artery D>0.3~1mm
Arteriole D<0.3mm

Structure features of artery

The wall of Arteries consist of three layers
or coats often referred to as tunics.

Tunica intimae is the inner coat

Tunica media is the middle layer
Tunica adventitia or tunica externa is the
outer layer of the wall of the blood vessel
Layers of arteries wall differ in different size
blood vessels. The structure and function of
arteries change as their diameter decreases.

Tunica intimae

is the inner coat and it

consists of
1)inner endothelial layer
2)subendothelial layer: a layer
of loose connective tissue
3)internal elastic membrane
(often very distinct)

This layer is relatively

constant within different size
arteries.

Tunica media
This layer makes up the greatest part of the wall of the
artery.
It is comprised primarily of smooth muscle.
In small arteries or arterioles it may be only 1-3 cells thick
but in larger arteries may comprise hundreds of layers of
muscle cells.
In larger arteries, there in increased amounts of elastin
fibers.

Tunica adventitia
This is the outer layer of the wall of the artery.
It consists primarily of connective tissue and serves to
attach the blood vessel into the surrounding connective
tissue.
Often contains adipose tissue and often contains blood
vessels (vasa vasorum) that supply the walls of the blood
vessels.

Medium-sized artery:
muscular artery: diameter larger than 1mm
Tunica intima

Endothelium
Subendothelial layer: LCT
Internal elastic lamina: clear

Tunica media: contain 10~40 layers of circular

smooth muscle
Tunica adventitia

External elastic lamina

LCT: contain vasa vasorum

Smooth muscle regulates blood flow and pressure.

Medium-sized artery
Tunica
Adventitia
Tunica
Media
Tunica
intima

Medium-sized artery

Classicmusculararteryelasticstain

Large (elastic) artery:

contains aorta, the pulmonary
trunk and their main branches
With a large lumen relative to
wall thickness
subendothelial layer is thicker
with a few smooth muscles
tunica media is thick, contains a
40-70
concentrically-arranged
elastic lamina
internal and external elastic
lamina are not distinguished
tunica adventitia are thinner,
abundant vasa vasorum

PT stain

Elastic artery

Muscular artery

Small artery:
muscular artery and peripheral resistance vessel
internal elastic lamina is clear, while
external elastic lamina is not distinguished
the tunica media contains 3~9 layers of smooth muscles

Arterioles:
Less than 0.5mm in
diameter. Have similar and
simpler structure as that of
muscular artery.
Several layers of smooth
muscle in tunica media.
Responsible
for
the
presence of blood pressure.

Vein
large lumen, thin wall,
irregular
internal and external
elastic lamina are not clear
tunica media is thin, with
a few elastic fibers and
smooth muscles
tunica adventitia is thick
(best-developed)
some veins have valves

large veins

Medium-sized vein

Arteriole(b)andvenule(a)

Vein valves: Bag-like protrusion of

tunica intima, which prevents the
blood flow from running to opposite
direction. Exists only in the vein that
has low position or far away from
heart.

Muscularveinwithvalve

Veinwithvalve

A Comparison of a Typical Artery and a Typical Vein

Artery, vein, nerve, elastin stain

Artery, vein, nerve, elastin stain

Artery, vein, nerve, trichrome stain

Capillaries
Capillaries are the site where materials carried in the
blood are unloaded and other materials are loaded into the
blood.
In many organs the capillaries form a network.
Consist of a single layer of simple squamous epithelium.
the average diameter about 8um.

Capillary: Thinnest, simplest, largest, longest and most widely

distributed. Connects the arteries and veins.

Stomach, vascular injection of mucosa

Renal vasculature, vascular dye injection

Capillaries
1) LM:
A single layer of
endothelial cells
A basement membrane
pericyte:

Capillary(b)andvenule(a)

Capillaryinheart(B)

Pericyte:
long cytoplasmic processes
have a contractile function, participating in the repair process

Capillarypericyte

 EM
According to the appearance of the endothelium
and basement membrane:
Continuous capillary
Fenestrated capillary
Sinusoid

Capillaries
Continuous C.

Fenestrated C.

Sinusoid

Continuous capillary:
distributed in muscle tissue, brain, lung and
connective tissue, etc.
endothelial cell: large number of pinocytotic
vesicles, cell junctions between the endothelia
(tight junction), no pores, no gaps
basement membrane: integrity

(stripe)

Continuous capillary

* Endothelia contain
special
tubular
organelle, the WeibelPalade (WP) bodies,
which release Factor
VIII related antigen to
facilitate blood clotting
when blood vessels
break. Endothelia also
contains
some
enzymes, such as
EDRF,etc.

* WeibelPalade body

Fig. Of EM

Fenestrated capillary:
distributed in tissues where rapid
interchange of substances occurs
between the tissue and the blood, as
in the kidney glomerulus, mucosa
of gastrointestine, some endocrine
glands

endothelial
cells:
present
abundant perforated pores (6080nm in D, with 4-6 nm
diaphragm), have
or havent
diaphragm on them
basal lamina: continuous

Fenestrated
capillary

Fenestratedcapillary(kidney)

Sinusoid

distributed
in
tissues
where
interchange of substance in big size
occurs, as in the liver, spleen, and some
endocrine glands
a greatly enlarged diameter (30~40um)
endothelial cell: intercellular clefts are
large between cells, many pores without
diaphragm
absence of a continuous basement
membrane
macrophages are located either among
or outside the cells of the endothelium

Sinusoid

Heart
a hollow muscular organ that contracts
rhythmically
pump blood through the circulatory system

The wall of heart

epicardium

myocardium

endocardium

The wall of heart

E
SE

endocardium
subendocardial layer
Purkinje fibers

myocardium

epicardium

endocardium
Endothelium
Subendothelial layer: fined CT
Subendocardial layer: LCT,
blood vessels, nerves and the
impulse-conducting system of
the heart

Purkinje cell

Cardiac cell

Purkinje cells both broader and shorter than

ordinary cardiac muscle fibers, rich in
sarcoplasm, two nuclei can be found, welldeveloped intercalated disks.

Conducting System
components:
sinoatrial node (SA node):
the primary pacemaker of the heart
located in epicardium of right atrium
atrioventricular node( AV node)
bundles( AV bundles) located in
subendocardial layer.
network of Purkinje fiber

Impulse generating and conducting

system of the heart:
Pacemaker cells: heartbeat generating
Transitional cells: transmit impulse
Purkinje cells (bundle cell):
distributed in subendocardial layer.

three types of cells

a. pacemaker cell( P cell):
mainly distributed in SA and AV node
small, fusiform or polygonal in shaped
enclosed by DCT

less organelle: myofibril, plasmalemmal

vesicles and more glycogen

b. transitional cell:

mainly distributed in periphery of SAN or

AVN and AV bundle
The structure is between pacemaker cell and
cardiac M
thinner and shorter than CM
more myofibril than P cell

c. Purkinje cell:
mainly constitute AV bundle and branches
shorter, boarder than CM, with 1-2 centrally
located nuclei
rich in mitochondria, glycogen, less myofibril
well-developed intercalated disks

myocardium thickest layer, consists of cardiac muscle, is

richly supplied with capillaries

three layers are divided roughly, cardiac

muscle arrange spirally.

epicardium

LCT: contain adipose cells, blood vessels and

nerves
Methothelium

The core of dense connective tissue

cardic valve
endothelium

prevent the back

flow of blood

Lymphatic vascular system

(Study by yourself)

Lymphatic capillaries
Lymphatic vessel
Lymphatic ducts

VII. Lymph vessels:

A. Lymph enters the blood
via right lymphatic duct
and thoracic duct.
B. Lymph vessels have
larger lumen, thinner wall
and are more permeable,
compared with the vein of
the same grade.
C. Lymph comes from the
tissue fluid. Lymph
capillaries locate in CT
and have blind ends.

Lymph vessels
Lymph vessels return fluid from tissues to
circulatory system.
Depend upon muscles to move fluid
Very thin walled.

lymphatic

Lymphaticwithvalve

Thank you for your attention!