ANATOMY & PHYSIOLOGY
CHAPTER 19: CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
ANATOMY OF THE BLOOD
BLOOD AND HOMEOSTASIS
• Blood contributes to homeostasis by transporting
oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, and hormones to and
from your body’s cells. It also helps regulate body pH and
temperature, and provides protection against disease
through Phagocytosis and the production of Antibodies
FUNCTIONS AND PROPERTIES OF BLOOD
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
• Cardio = Heart & Vascular = Blood or blood vessels
• Consists of three interrelated components: Blood, heart,
and blood vessels
HEMATOLOGY
• Branch of science concerned with the study of blood,
blood-forming tissues, and the disorders associated with
them
BLOOD
• Liquid connective tissue that consists of cells surrounded
by a liquid extracellular matrix
• Blood Plasma – suspends various cells and cell fragments
• Blood transports oxygen from the lungs and nutrients
from the gastrointestinal tract, which diffuse from the
blood into the interstitial fluid and then into body cells
INTERSTITIAL FLUID
• Fluid that bathes body cells and is constantly
renewed by the blood
FUNCTIONS OF BLOOD
1. TRANSPORTATION
Blood transports oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients,
hormones, heat, and waste products
2. REGULATION
Blood regulates homeostasis of all body fluids, pH,
body temperature, and water content of cells
3. PROTECTION
Blood protects against excessive loss by clotting and
uses white blood cells to protect against infection
COMPONENTS OF BLOOD
BLOOD PLASMA
• When the formed elements are removed from blood, a
straw-colored liquid is left
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• Antibodies – plasma proteins that are produced
during certain immune responses
• Antigens (foreign substances) stimulate production of
millions of different antibodies
• Antibody binds specifically to the antigen that stimulated
its production and thus disables the invading antigen
FORMED ELEMENTS
• Includes three principal components: red blood cells,
white blood cells, and platelets
• Red Blood Cell (RBC) – erythrocytes transports oxygen
from the lungs to body cells and delivers carbon dioxide
from body cells to the lungs
• White Blood Cell (WBC) – leukocytes protect the body
from invading pathogens and other foreign substances
• Types of WBCs: neutrophils, basophils, eosinophils,
monocytes, and lymphocytes
• Lymphocyte’s subdivisions: B cells, T cells, and neutral
killer (NK) cells
• Platelets – fragments of cells that do not have a nucleus;
they release chemicals that promote blood clotting when
blood vessels are damaged
• The percentage of total blood volume occupied by RBCs
is called Hematocrit
• A significant drop in hematocrit indicates anemia; a
lower-than-normal number pf RBCs
• Polycethemia when the percentage of RBCs is
abnormally high, and hematocrit may be 65% or higher
FORMATION OF BLOOD CELLS
• Lymphocytes can live for years while most other blood
cells live for hours, days, or weeks
• The number of red blood cells and platelets remains
rather steady while that of white blood cells varies
depending on invading pathogens and other foreign
antigens
• The process of producing/developing blood cells is called
Hemopoiesis (hematopoiesis)
• Red Bone Marrow is a highly vascularized connective
tissue located in the microscopic spaces between
trabeculae of spongy bone tissue
• About 0.05-0.1% of red bone marrow cells are called
pluripotent stem cells or hemocytoblasts and are
derived from mesenchyme
• In order to form blood cells, pluripotent stem cells in red
bone marrow produce stem cells: myeloid stem cells
and lymphoid stem cells
• During hemopoiesis, some of myeloid stem cells
differentiate into progenitor cells
RED BLOOD CELLS
• Red blood cells or erythrocytes contains the protein
hemoglobin that is used to carry oxygen to all cells and
to carry some carbon dioxide to the lungs
• Each hemoglobin, molecule contains an iron ion which
allows each molecule to bind four oxygen molecule
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CHAPTER 19: CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
• Red blood cells have no nucleus or other organelles and
are biconcave discs – this allows them to carry oxygen
more efficiently
• Hemoglobin is involved in regulating blood flow and
blood pressure via release of nitric oxide (NO) – no
causes of vasodilation, which improves blood flow and
enhances oxygen delivery
• Red blood cells also contain carbonic anhydrase, which
catalyzes the conversion of carbon dioxide and water to
carbonic acid – Carbonic acid transports about 70% of
carbon dioxide in the plasma
• Red blood cells live for only about 120 days – dead cells
are removed from the circulation by the spleen and liver
• Breakdown products from the red blood cells are
recycles and reused
• ERYTHROPIOESIS, the production of red blood cells,
starts in the red bone marrow with a precursor cell called
proerythroblast
Erythropoietin, a hormone released by the kidneys in
response to hypoxia (lowered oxygen concentration)
stimulates differentiation of hematopoietic stem cells
into erythrocytes
• Reticulocytes (immature red blood cells) enter the
circulation and mature in 1 to 2 days
WHITE BLOOD CELLS
• White blood cells or leukocytes
• In general, an elevation in the white blood count
indicates an infection or inflammation
• A low white blood cell count may develop due to several
causes
• A differential white blood cell count will help to
determine if a problem exists
• White blood cell’s proteins are called major
histocompatibility (MHC) antigens
GRANULAR LEUKOCYTES
• Neutrophil – as the cells age, the number of nuclear
lobes increases b/cause older neutrophils thus have
several differently shaped are often called
polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs)
• Eosinophil – the large, uniform sized granules are
eosinophilic – they stain red orange with acidic dyes.
• Basophil – the round, variable sized granules are
basophilic – they stain blue purple with basic dyes
AGRANULAR LEUKOCYTES
• Lymphocyte
• Monocyte
PLATELETS
• Megakaryocytes in red bone marrow splinter into 2000-
3000 fragments to create the platelets that contain many
vesicles but no nucleus
• Platelets are use to clot the blood – under the influence
of the hormone thrombopoietin, hemopoietic stem cells
differentiate into platelets
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• Platelets only survive in 5 to 9 days
STEM CELL TRANSPLANTS FROM BONE MARROW AND
CORD BLOOD
• Bone marrow transplants are performed to replace
cancerous red bone marrow with normal red bone
marrow – the donor’s marrow is usually collected from
the iliac crest of the hip bone
• Stem cells collected and frozen from an umbilical cord
after birth may also be used, and have advantages over
bone marrow transplants
HOMEOSTASIS
• Homeostasis is a sequence of responses that stops
bleeding.
• When blood vessels are damaged or ruptured, the
homeostatic response must be quick, localized to the
region of damage, and carefully controlled in order to be
effective
• Once the clot forms, it retracts (tightens) to pull the
edges of the damaged vessel together – Vitamin K is
needed for normal clot formation because it is used in
the synthesis of 4 clotting factors
• Small, unwanted clots are usually dissolved by plasmin,
an enzyme that is part of the fibrinolytic system
Vascular Spasm
• When arteries or arterioles are damaged, the circularly
arranged smooth muscle in their walls contracts
immediately
Platelet Plug Formation
Blood Clotting
• Involves several clotting (coagulation) factors
• Blood clotting can be activated in one of two ways:
Extrinsic Pathway and Intrinsic Pathway
• Both of these pathways lead to the formation of
prothrombinase and, from there, the common
pathway continues
BLOOD GROUP AND BLOOD TYPES
Blood is characterized into different blood groups based on
the presence or absence of glycoprotein and glycolipid
antigens (agglutinogens) on the surface of red blood cells
• There are 24 blood groups and more that 100 antigens
• Because these antigens are genetically controlled, blood
types vary among different populations
• Classification is based on antigens labeled A, B or AB,
with O being the absence of the antigens
• An additional antigen, Rh, is present in 85% of humans
• Blood plasma usually contains antibodies (agglutinins)
that react with A or B antigens
• An individual will not have agglutinins against his or her
own blood type
• Typing and cross-matching are performed to determine
a person’s blood type
• A drop of blood is mixed with an antiserum that will
agglutinate blood cells that possess agglutinogens that
react with it
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CHAPTER 19: CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

HEMOLYTIC DISEASE OF THE NEWBORN
At birth, small amounts of fetal blood leak into the maternal
circulation

• If the baby is Rh+ and the mother is Rh-, she will develop
antibodies to the Rh factor
• During her next pregnancy with an Rh+ baby, when she
transfers antibodies to the fetus (a normal occurrence),
transferred anti Rh antibodies will attack some fetus’ red
blood cells causing agglutination and hemolysis

DISORDERS: HOMEOSTATIC IMBALANCES

• Sickle cell disease is a genetic anemia (oxygen-carrying
capacity of the blood is reduced)
• The red blood cells of individuals with this disease
contain hemoglobin-S (Hb-S), which causes red blood
cells to bend into a sickle shape when it gives up oxygen
to the interstitial fluid

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