Heart and the blood

Heart: is an organ in the circulatory system which pumps the body to be transported all across the body.

Structure of the heart: muscular walls to provide a strong heartbeat (the muscular wall of the left ventricle
is thicker because it needs to be pumped all around the body rather than just to the lung like the right
ventricle).
Four chambers in the heart separate the oxygenated blood from the deoxygenated blood.
Valves make sure the blood doesn't flow back.
Coronary arteries cover the heart to provide its oxygenated energy.

Process: The heart has two chambers- two atria and two ventricles.
Blood enters the heart through the atria. Blood from two vena cavae enters the right atrium.
Blood from the pulmonary veins enters the left atrium. The atria fill, followed by the ventricles.
Blood is prevented from flowing back into the atria by heart valves.
Blood leaves the heart in the body’s main artery – the aorta – from the left side, and the pulmonary
artery from the right.
The blood passes through the heart twice completing one circulation of the body.

Humans have a double circulatory system which means there are two circuits:
1. Pulmonary circuit- Deoxygenated blood flows into the right atrium and then into the right
ventricle which pumps it into the lungs to undergo a gas exchange
● Oxygen diffuses into the blood from the alveoli (the blood becomes oxygenated)
● Carbon dioxide diffuses from the blood into the lung
2. Systemic circuit- Oxygenated blood flows into the left atrium and then into the left ventricle
which pumps oxygenated blood around the body
● Transports oxygen and nutrients to the body
● Moves the carbon dioxide and other wastes away from the cells
Systemic circulation has high pressure because it has to deliver to the extremities of the body however
Pulmonary circulation is under low pressure because blood is delivered to the lungs only, which are
close to the heart.
The natural resting heart rate (70 beats per minute) is controlled by a group of cells found in the right
the atrium that acts as the pacemaker- they provide stimulation through small electrical impulses that
pass as a wave in the heart muscle causing it to contract, (without this, the heart would not pump fast
enough to deliver the required amount of oxygen to the body)
Sometimes in the case of a pacemaker not functioning properly, the heartbeat can be a bit abnormal
causing it to be irregular (fast or slow). In such cases, we use artificial pacemakers. These are small
battery-operated electronic devices that are implanted into the chest that sends out regular electrical
impulses to produce normal contractions of the heart. Wires are guided along a vein to the chamber of
the heart that needs to be simulated. The lead extends to the pacemaker which is fitted into the skin of
the
upper chest and the lower chest muscle.

Blood vessels: different types of vessels that carry oxygenated/deoxygenated blood depending on their
adaptations.
There are three types of vessels- veins, arteries, and capillaries.
Arteries: carry the blood AWAY from the heart
● Carry oxygenated blood (except for the pulmonary artery)
● Carry blood under high pressure
● Have thick and muscular walls to pump blood across the body
● The channel in the blood vessel - the lumen - is narrow.
● Elastic fibres allow them to stretch
Veins: carry blood TOWARDS the heart
● Carry deoxygenated blood (except the pulmonary vein)
● Carry under low or negative pressure
● Have thin walls - have less muscular tissues than arteries
● Have a wide lumen to allow low pressure of blood
● Have valves to ensure the correct blood flow direction
Capillaries: connect the smallest branches of arteries and veins. The walls of capillaries are just one
cell thick, which therefore allows the exchange of molecules between the blood and the body’s cells-
molecules can diffuse across their walls.
Oxygen: diffuses through the capillary wall, into the tissue liquid and the cells.
Carbon dioxide: diffuses from the cells into the tissue fluid and then across the capillary walls into the
blood plasma
Glucose: diffuses from the blood plasma, across the capillary walls to the tissue fluid and then to the
Cells.

Blood: a tissue present, flowing between the vessels in any animal body. It is made up of plasma, red
blood cells, white blood cells and platelets. Transports materials and distributes heat around our body
which helps us fight against diseases.
Plasma: Transports carbon dioxide, digested food molecules, Urea and hormones; distributing heat.
Red blood cells: transport oxygen White blood cells: ingest pathogens and produce antibodies
Platelets: involved in blood clotting

Red blood cells:

-Required for aerobic respiration in our body. They must be able to absorb oxygen in the lungs, pass
through narrow blood capillaries, and release this oxygen to respiring cells. They have an adaptation
which allows them to carry the maximum amount of oxygen. They contain the protein haemoglobin,
which gives them our red colour. Haemoglobin can combine with oxygen (oxyhaemoglobin) and release
oxygen within the cells directly. They have no nucleus so that they can pack in more haemoglobin.
They’re small and flexible so they can fit through tiny capillaries. They have a biconcave shape (disc
shape curved in from both sides) to maximise the area of oxygen absorption. They are thin, so theres
only a short distance for the oxygen to diffuse to reach the centre of the cell.

White blood cells: there are two main types of WBCs- phagocytes and lymphocytes
-About 70% of the WBCs present are phagocytes. They engulf and destroy the bacteria that enter the
blood by the process of phagocytosis (the process of ingestion of bacteria by phagocytes). They’re also
a part of the immune system.
-Lymphocytes cover up 25% of the white blood cells. They produce soluble proteins called antibodies
when a foreign microorganism enters the body. And, they’re a part of the immune system of the body.

Platelets: are cell fragments produced by giant cells in the bone marrow (soft tissue found inside the
bones that produce new cells). Platelets stop bleeding in two ways:
● Proteins: stick to the surface which enable them to break in the blood vessel and clump
together
● Secrete proteins that result in a series of a blood clot, which plugs a wound.

Blood products are components of the blood that are given to the patient by transfusion (blood given via
a drip), they include RBCs, platelets, plasma and antibodies. These products are produced by donors.
Blood products are screened for: infectious agents (HIV), their blood group and presence of antibodies.
Cardiovascular diseases: The coronary arteries (one of the important arteries that provide blood and
oxygen to the heart muscle in order to do basic activities like respiring) may become blocked by a “build-
up” of fatty materials increases, and one or more, coronary arteries narrow down and block. Due to this
blockage, there is less or no space for blood circulation and if not treated timely, the person dies
because of a heart attack. This is called coronary heart disease.
Statins: these are drugs that are used to lower the cholesterol level (lipid or fatty substance). They do
this by lowering its production in the liver. Statins need to be taken long-term, if a person stops taking
them cholesterol levels rise again. However, they should not be prescribed to someone with a liver
problem, a pregnant lady, or a breastfeeding woman. Additionally, it has a side effect of short-term
memory loss and headaches or could worsen up to type 2 diabetes or liver disease.
Stents: A device consisting of a wire mesh tube, used to keep a narrowed or blocked coronary artery
open. If the coronary artery has been narrowed, it is supposed to be stretched and the stent is supposed
to be inserted to restore and maintain the blood flow. Stents are used in cases where drugs are less
effective, and these are made up of alloys (link properties to chem) which do not lead to an immune
response in the patient. Risk factors for the same depend on: age, general health, or whether they have
a heart attack or stroke.
Heart transplant: an operation to replace a damaged heart with a healthy heart from a donor. It is
required in a condition of heart failure (when a heart fails to pump sufficient blood across the body at the
required pressure). Due to the raising amount of heart failures, the patient ends up being dependent on
an artificial heart until it finds a donor. Artificial hearts are plastic devices used to keep alive while
patients are on a waiting list.

Flow rates of blood:

-techniques of MRI can be used to find the rate of blood flow.
-blood flow from heart is called cardiac output
-cardiac output in cm^3 per minute= heart rate in beats per minute x stroke volume in cm^3 per beat