PRINCIPLES OF MEDICAL LABORATORY SCIENCE II

Review of the Circulatory

Layers of the Heart

and Lymphatic System

1. Transports oxygen and other nutrients to the tissues.

2. Removes waste metabolic product of the cells and the

carbon dioxide gas for excretion.

3. Fighting diseases and infection caused by microbial

pathogens, cancer cells or even by the autoimmune
diseases. 1. EPICARDIUM
• Thin, watery membrane on the outer layer of
4. Maintenance of the Homeostasis by acid-base the heart
regulation. • It covers the heart and is attached to the
pericardium
5. Hemostasis and Coagulation action.
2.MYOCARDIUM
• Thick layer of cardiac muscles in the middle
layer of the heart
• Pumps blood into the arteries by contracting
3. ENDOCARDIUM
• Thin layer of epithelial cells in the inner layer
of the heart
• Lines the valves and interior chambers
HEART FUNCTIONS

 Generating blood pressure

 Routing blood
 Ensuring one-way blood flow
 Pumps blood through the body.  Regulating blood supply
 It is a hollow cone shaped organ about the size of a
fist and measures an average of 14 cm long and 9 cm
BLOOD VESSELS
wide.
 A healthy adult, at rest, pumps approximately 5 L of
 Carries blood
blood per minute.
 Exchanges nutrients, waste products and gases with
tissues

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 Transports substances
 Helps regulate blood pressure
 Directs blood flow to the tissues.
Types of Blood Vessels
1. VENOUS SYSTEM
 Thin-walled tubes that carry deoxygenated blood from
the tissues towards the heart – dark red colored blood
 Veins are said to “merge”, “converge”, “merge” and
grow larger as they go near the heart
 Venules are very small veins that collect blood from
the capillaries
2. ARTERIAL SYSTEM
 Thick-walled blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich
blood from the heart to the tissues – bright red colored
blood
 Arteries are said to “diverse”, “branch” and “fork” as
they form smaller divisions away from the heart
 Arterioles are thinner blood vessels that transport
blood from the arteries to the capillaries
3. CAPILLARIES
 Fine hair-like blood vessels that connect arterioles
and veins
 Smallest of the vessels and is also the thinnest
because it's composed of overlapping endolethium
producing gaps of slits
 This is where the metabolic exchange between the
blood and tissue takes place

BLOOD CELLS AND ITS COMPONENTS

 Blood is the fluid that is transported through out the

body via the circulatory system.

 It is composed of plasma and other formed elements.

BLOOD COMPONENTS

1. FATTY LAYER
 Mostly composed of lipoproteins such as
chylomicrons or sometimes very low density
lipoprotein (VLDL)

Fatty layer

VENOUS SYSTEM

2. PLASMA
 Composed of 90% water, 8% plasma proteins
(albumin, globulin and fibrinogen) and 2% solutes
 Clear, straw-colored liquid portion of the blood;
plasma is anticoagulated or serum is from coagulated
tube.
 Triglycerides can sometimes cause turbidity in the
plasma fluid.

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FORMED ELEMENTS

a. Buffy coat
o Upper yellowish layer: PLATELETS
o Lower yellowish layer: WBCs
b. Packed erythrocytes

 Colorless nucleated cells which primary function is to

defend the body from foreign invaders.
 Present in much smaller number than erythrocytes in
peripheral blood.
 According to granularity, they are classified as
granulocytes and nongranulocytes
 RR: 4.5 – 11.0 x

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BLOOD COMPONENTS

 A cytoplasmic fragment with an average size of 2-4

μm
 Primary action is to make a clot through platelet plug
formation mechanism by releasing granules.  A network of tissues and organs responsible for the
 RR: 150 – 400 x /L removal of toxins and waste in the body.
 Its primary function is to transport the WBC to and
from the lymph nodes throughout the body.
 It stores lymphocytes and monocytes to protect the
body by phagocytosis and immune response.

1. Fluid balance

2. Fat absorption

3. Defense

LYMPH

 Small, biconcave disk shaped anucleated cells with

an average size of 7.2 μm
 Filled with hemoglobin that carries oxygen and
nutrients to the tissue and removes waste and carbon
dioxide from the tissue.
 RR: 3.8 – 6.5 x

FORMED ELEMENTS

 Is a clear, watery fluid that is collected from the

intercellular spaces.

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 Transported through the lymphatic vessels, ducts and  Carry lymphocytes from lymphatic tissues to the
masses of lymph tissue called nodes bloodstream.
 Often contains fat (chyle) when it comes from  Have valves which are constricted at the sites of
intestinal organs. valves showing a beaded appearance
 It is filtered by passing through several lymph nodes
before entering the venous system.
 It passes through the lymph nodes, which produces
lymphocytes, before it reaches the duct.

 Begin blindly in most tissues, collect tissue fluid, and

join to form large collecting vessels that pass to
regional lymph nodes
 Absorb lymph from tissue spaces and transport it
back to the venous system
 They are called lacteals in the villi of the small
intestine, where they absorb emulsified fat.

 Are organized collections of lymphatic tissue

permeated by lymph channels.
 Produce lymphocytes and plasma cells and filter the
lymph
 Trap bacteria drained from an infected area and
contain reticuloendothelial cells and phagocytic cells
(macrophages) that ingest these bacteria
 Are hard and often palpable when there is a
metastasis and are enlarged and tender during
infection.

 Serve as one-way drainage toward the heart and

return lymph to the bloodstream through the thoracic
duct or the right lymphatic duct.

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