CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

• The cardiovascular system is transport Blood Cells

system of body
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▪ Erythrocytes - Red Blood Cells

• It comprises blood, heart and blood
▪ Leucocytes – White Blood Cells
vessels.
▪ Thrombocytes – Platelets
• The system supplies nutrients to and
▪ Plasma - the fluid portion
remove waste products from various
tissue of body. HEART
• The conveying media is liquid in form of
blood which flows in close tubular • Is four chambered
system. • Hollow muscular organ
• Approximately the size of your fist

Location
o Superior surface of diaphragm
FUNCTION OF CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM o Left of the midline
o Anterior to the vertebral column,
✓ Transport nutrients, hormones
posterior to the sternum
✓ Remove waste products
✓ Gaseous exchange
✓ Immunity
✓ Blood vessels transport blood
✓ Carries oxygen and carbon dioxide
✓ Also carries nutrients and wastes
✓ Heart pumps blood through blood
vessels
COMPONENTS OF CARDIOVASCULAR
SYSTEM
o BLOOD
o HEART
o BLOOD VESSELS
BLOOD
 Functions of the Heart
Generating blood pressure
Routing blood
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Heart separates pulmonary and systemic
circulations
Ensuring one-way blood flow
Heart valves ensure one-way flow
Regulating blood supply
Changes in contraction rate and force match
blood delivery to changing metabolic needs
BLOOD VESSELS
o an closed network of tubes
o includes: arteries, capillaries, veins
➢ Arteries (Distributing channel)
o Thick-walled tubes
o Elastic Fibers
➢ Circular Smooth Muscle
o Capillaries (Microscopic vessels)
o One cell thick
o Serves the Respiratory System
➢ Veins (Draining channel)
General Structure
1. Tunica intima (Inner layer)
2. Tunica media (Middle layer)
3. Tunica adventitia (Outer layer)
Classification Blood Vessels
➢ Conducting Vessels
➢ Distributing Vessels
➢ Resistance Vessels
➢ Exchange Vessels
➢ Capacitance / Reservoir Vessels
ARTERIES
✓ Blood vessels that carry blood away
from the heart are called arteries.
✓ They are the thickest blood vessels
and they carry blood high in oxygen
known as oxygenated blood (oxygen
rich blood).
✓ Accompanied by vein and nerves
✓ Lumen is small
✓ No valves
✓ Repeated branching
Classification of Arteries
o Elastic- e.g. (Aorta & its Major
branches)
o Muscular -e.g. (Renal, Testicular, Radial,
Tibial etc.)
o Arterioles (<0.1 mm)
• Terminal arterioles
• Meta-arterioles
• Thoroughfare
• Channel/ Preferred
CAPILLARIES
▪ The smallest blood vessels are
capillaries and they connect the arteries
and veins.
▪ 5-8 Microns
▪ This is where the exchange of nutrients
and gases occurs.
 SINUSOID CAPILLARY
➢ The rarest and “leakiest” type of
capillary
➢ Allow for the exchange of large
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molecules, even cells. They’re able to

do this because they have many larger
gaps in their capillary wall.
➢ liver, spleen, bone marrow,
suprarenal, parathyroid etc.

Two Kinds of Capillaries

• CONTINUOUS
o They contain small gaps in between
their endothelial cells
o skin, lung, smooth muscle, connective
tissues

VEINS
▪ Blood vessels that carry blood back to the
heart are called veins.
▪ They have one-way valves which prevent
blood from flowing backwards.
▪ They carry blood that is high in carbon
dioxide known as deoxygenated blood
• FENESTRATED
(oxygen poor blood).
o Are “leakier” than continuous
▪ Thin Walled
capillaries. They contain small pores,
▪ Large irregular lumen
in addition to small gaps between
▪ Have valves
cells, in their walls that allow for the
▪ Dead space around
exchange of larger molecules.
▪ Types:
o pancreas, endocrine glands, small
✓ Large
intestine, choroid plexus, cilliary
process etc. ✓ Medium
✓ Small

Veins Without Muscular tissue

▪ Dural venous sinuses
▪ Pial Veins
▪ Retinal
▪ Veins of erectile tissue of sex organs
▪ Veins of spongy bones
 Factors Responsible for Venous Return
✓ Muscle contraction
✓ Negative intrathoracic pressure
✓ Pulsation of arteries
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Functional end artery
✓ Arteries whose terminal branches do
anastomose, but the anastomosis is
not sufficient to maintain the blood

✓ Gravity supply.
✓ Valves ✓ E.g., arteries supplying Coronary
arteries.
Sinusoid
o irregular tubular space for the
passage of blood
o taking the place of capillaries and
veins in the liver spleen, and bone
marrow
Anastomosis
▪ The joining together of vessels.
▪ When two or more blood vessels The system supplies nutrients to and remove
converge so as to provide alternate waste products from various tissue of body.
blood supply routes to the body tissue
organs, it is called anastomoses. The conveying media is liquid in form of
▪ Provides collateral/alternate channels blood which flows in close tubular system.
through which blood can flow if one Circulation
vessel becomes blocked or damaged.
o Arterial Anastomosis – Includes 2 o Coronary circulation – the circulation of
or more arteries that converge to blood within the heart.
supply the same body region.
o Venous Anastomosis – Includes 2
or more veins draining blood
from the same region.
o Arteriovenous Anastomosis –
Blood is transported from artery
directly into a vein bypassing
capillary bed. Also called shunts.
Types of End Arteries
True end artery
o Pulmonary circulation – the flow of
✓ Arteries that do not have precapillary
blood between the heart and lungs.
anastomoses with their neighbouring
arteries.
✓ E.g., arteries supplying Kidneys, Brain,
and Retina.
 Vena Cava Descending aortic artery
∞ Large Veins ❖ Leads downward through the
∞ Carries de-oxygenated blood to the diaphragm and chest…and into the
right atrium abdomen.
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∞ Types: ❖ About 1/5 to 1/3 of the blood passes

▪ Inferior Vena Cava- largest vein
in the body
▪ Superior Vena Cava
In the lungs, the blood exchanges the carbon
dioxide it is carrying for oxygen.
through the renal artery into the
kidney.
❖ The kidney is a filter and takes some
water and waste products out of the
blood.
❖ The kidneys excrete the waste
products and water out of the body as
urine.
❖ The descending aortic artery continues
downward into the abdomen. It then
splits into two major branches.

o Systemic circulation – the flow of blood

between the heart and the cells of the
body.
➢ At the arch of the aorta, 3 branches
extend upward.

This split is called the aortic bifurcation. The

two branches are called iliac arteries.

1. The brachiocephalic artery (innominate

The left iliac artery supplies blood to the left
artery) divides into:
pelvis and leg.
✓ right subclavian artery that supplies
The right iliac artery supplies blood to the
blood to the right arm and upper torso
right pelvis and leg.
✓ right common carotid artery that
supplies the head and neck. The iliac artery continues down into the leg
as the femoral artery and its branches.
2. The left common carotid artery supplies
the head and neck.
3. The left subclavian artery supplies the left
arm and upper torso. ‘Subclavian’ means it is
located below the clavicle or collarbone.

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o Fetal Circulation – The unborn baby’s
distinct blood flow.
Arteries are elastic tubes that carry blood in
pulsating waves. The blood exerts pressure
against the walls of the arteries as it passes
through. The peak pressure occurs during
the heart’s contraction and is called systolic
pressure. The minimum pressure occurs
between contractions when the heart
expands and refills and is called diastolic
pressure. This pressure variation within the
artery produces a pulse. All arteries have a
pulse.
Common pulse sites used to check
circulation are:
1. TEMPORAL (TEM por ul) - side of forehead
2 & 3. CAROTID (kuh RAH did) - neck
4. BRACHIAL (BRAY kee ul) - inside the
elbow
5. RADIAL - thumb side of wrist
6. FEMORAL (FEM er all) - groin
7. POPLITEAL (pah plah TEE ul) - behind the
knee
8 & 9. DORSALIS PEDIS (dor SAL us PED
iss) - upper surface of foot
∞ The average pulse rate for a person who
is ‘resting’, would be 70. During exercise,
that number might increase to between
130 and 140 beats per minute.
∞ Count the number of beats for 15 seconds
x 4 = pulsations per minute.
∞ Systolic and diastolic blood pressure can
be measured in the brachial artery just
above the elbow with an instrument
called a sphygmomanometer (sfig mō
mah MOM ah ter) and a stethoscope. Two
measurements are taken and are
expressed in millimeters of mercury (the
chemical symbol for mercury is Hg).
∞ The two blood pressure measurements
are written as a ratio… systolic over
diastolic.
∞ In the average adult, systolic pressure
usually ranges between 100 to 140 mm
Hg. Diastolic pressure usually ranges
between 60 to 90 mm Hg.
∞ A typical blood pressure reading would
be expressed as 120/80… 120 over 80. A
reading of 140/90 would be considered
‘high’ blood pressure, and may pose
health risks.
The arteries branch off into even smaller
vessels called arterioles, and then to smaller
vessels yet called capillaries.
Arterioles act like adjustable nozzles in the
circulatory system, so they have the greatest
influence over blood pressure.
 Veins are the vessels that are used to
remove blood from the body for analysis.
This procedure is called a venipuncture
(VEEN ah punk chur) and the medical
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personnel that specializes in this procedure

is called a phlebotomist (flah BOTT ah mist).
The capillaries are the smallest of the blood
vessels, and the walls are so thin that
molecules can pass through them. They
branch out from the arterioles, passing next
to the organs, intestines, and through all the
cellular tissue.
In the cellular tissue, the capillaries provide
the means of exchange, through the process
of absorption.
The capillaries branching away from the
The veins carry the blood back toward the
arteries in the abdomen pass by the liver and
heart. The blood still carries a small amount
intestines, picking up nutrients and water.
of oxygen along with cellular waste, but has
The capillaries in the cellular tissue fairly low pressure compared to blood in
exchange their oxygen, nutrients, and water… arteries. It finally travels through the
and pick up carbon dioxide and other wastes. superior and inferior vena cava, and back
into the right atrium of the heart. Circulation
The capillaries branching away from the is complete and starts over again.
arteries in the lungs absorb oxygen.
Portal Circulation
The capillaries branching away from the
the flow of blood between tow set of
arteries in the lungs absorb oxygen.
capillaries before draining in systemic veins.

The veins have valves that prevent the

backflow of blood. Veins lead back to the
heart. Fetal Circulation
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