THE HUMAN CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

The main organ of the circulatory system is the Human Heart. The other main parts of the
circulatory system include the Arteries, Arterioles, Capillaries, Venules, Veins and Blood. The
lungs also play a major part in the pulmonary circulation system.

The Functions of the Circulatory System

The function of a human’s circulatory system is to transport blood around the body. The blood
itself also carries numerous other substances which the body requires to function.

The main substance being Oxygen, carried by a protein called haemoglobin, found inside red
blood cells. White blood cells are also vital in their role of fighting disease and infection. Blood
contains platelets which are essential for clotting the blood, which occurs following an injury to
stop blood loss. Blood also carries waste products, such as Carbon Dioxide away from muscles
and organs in order to be dispelled by the lungs.

How the Circulatory System Works

There are three circulatory processes occurring simultaneously within the body. Firstly systemic
circulation carries blood around the body,
pulmonary circulation carries blood to the
lungs and coronary circulation provides the
heart with its own supply of blood.

Systemic Circulation
At the start of the blood circulatory cycle
the heart pumps oxygenated blood out of the
left ventricle, through the Aorta (the largest
artery in the body). The aorta divides into
smaller arteries, then arterioles and finally into
microscopic capillaries, found deep within
muscles and organs. Here the Oxygen (and
other nutrients) passes through the thin
capillary walls, into the tissues where it can be
used to produce the energy muscles require to
contract. (See the diagram below)
A waste product of energy production
(metabolism) is Carbon dioxide and in order to
be removed, it too passes across the walls of
the capillaries, into the blood stream. The blood continues back towards the heart, through
venules and then veins, into the right atrium.

Pulmonary Circulation
Once blood returns to the heart it is then pumped from the right ventricle through the
Pulmonary arteries to the lungs, where the waste carbon dioxide can be expelled and more
Oxygen collected. The Pulmonary vein carries oxygenated blood back to the left atrium of the
heart, where the cycle starts again.

Blood Flow
The rate and distribution of blood flow through the circulatory system is variable and related to
several factors. Physical activity, cardiac output and venous return.

Physical Activity

With exercise, metabolism speeds up and because of this the muscles require more oxygen

So the heart beats faster to supply the muscles with more oxygen-rich blood

In turn the speed of blood flow increases.

Cardiac Output
Due to an increase in heart rate (and stroke volume) to meet demands, cardiac output (the
volume of blood pumped out of the heart in one minute) automatically increases
The faster and harder the heart pumps, the higher the rate of blood circulation.
Venous Return
Venous return is the return of blood to the heart via venules and veins
If this is slow, the volume of blood pumped from the heart with each beat (stroke volume) is
lower
This lowers cardiac output and reduces blood pressure and flow rate.

Blood Pressure
Blood pressure is defined as the force exerted by the blood against the vessel wall. Blood
pressure is highest in arteries and gradually decreases as it passes through arterioles,
capillaries, venules and finally, veins.
Blood pressure is also variable and can increase due to exercise where the cardiac output
increases thus forcing more blood through the arteries or by altering the peripheral resistance.
This occurs by vasoconstriction, increases in blood viscosity (thickness) and changes in shape or
size of the vessels. The regulation of blood pressure is the responsibility of the sympathetic and
parasympathetic nervous systems.

Blood

Blood has many functions. These include:

• Transportation: The blood carries other substances around the body inside Arteries,
Veins and Capillaries. These include gasses (Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide), waste products
(water, urea), hormones, enzymes and nutrients (glucose, amino acids, vitamins and minerals).
The blood flows through the Circulatory System.

• Maintaining Homeostasis: Altering the blood flow to the skin can help to reduce body
temperature. Transportation of enzymes which are used to maintain our internal
environments.

• Immunity and defence: White blood cells fight infection and platelets help repair
damage and clot the blood
Constituents of blood

Blood is made up of a number of types of cells:

Plasma: Plasma is a straw-coloured fluid in which blood cells are

suspended. It is made up of approximately 90% water as well as
electrolytes such as sodium and potassium and proteins.

Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes): The main function of red blood

cells is to carry oxygen. RBC's contain a protein called
Haemoglobin. This combines with oxygen to form
Oxyhaemoglobin. Each RBC has a lifespan of approximately 120
days before it gets broken down by the spleen. New RBC's are
manufactured in the bone marrow of most bones. There are
approximately 4.5-5 million RBC's per micro-litre of blood.

White Blood Cells (Leucocytes): There a number of types of

white blood cells, although the function of all of them is to help
fight disease and infection. They typically have a lifespan of a few
days and there are only 5-10 thousand WBC's per micro-litre of
blood.

Platelets (Thrombocytes): Platelets are disc shaped cell fragments which are involved in clotting
the blood to prevent the excess loss of body fluids.

The Heart

The heart is a strong, powerful organ, consisting of cardiac muscle. The heart pumps
continuously, without resting and without becoming fatigued. Its function is to pump blood to
the lungs and around the body. The heart is one of the key organs in the Circulatory System.

Anatomy of the heart

The heart consists of four chambers and is divided into left and right by a wall of muscle called
the septum. The right side of the heart consists of an atrium which recieves blood returning
from the body, and the right ventricle, which then pumps blood out to the lungs, via the
pulmonary artery.

The left side again contains an atrium and a ventricle. The left atrium recieves the oxygenated
blood returning from the lungs and the ventricle then pumps this blood around the body.

Due to the distance which the blood being pumped from the left ventricle has to travel, a more
forceful contraction is required. For this reason the muscular wall of the left side is thicker than
that of the right side.
The atria and ventricles are separated by valves known as Atrioventricular, or AV valves. The
purpose of these valves is to prevent blood from flowing in the wrong direction. Following the
movement of blood from the atrium, into the ventricle, the AV
valve snaps shut which causes the first heart sound of the heart
beat (often described “lub dub”, with the closing of the AV valves
being the “lub”)

The “dub” sound is caused by the closing of two other valves,

known as the Semilunar or SL valves. These are located between
each ventricle and the artery leaving the heart, and again prevent
the blood flowing backwards.

The way in which the cardiac muscle contracts in order to force

blood around the body is highly specialised and is described on
the heart beat page.

This box diagram shows blood flow through the human heart.

Arteries
Arteries are blood vessels which carry blood away from the heart. All of which, with the
exception of the pulmonary artery, carry oxygenated blood. The most widely known artery
within the human body is the Aorta.

This is the largest of all blood vessels and transports blood away from the left ventricle of the
heart where it then branches into smaller arteries.

As the arteries divide further they become smaller and smaller, until they are classed as
arterioles. Arterioles continue to branch into smaller and smaller vessels which, once they have
decreased in size below 10 micrometers in diameter are known as capillaries.

The pulmonary artery, is classed as an artery as it carries blood away from the heart, however it
carries deoxygenated blood. The blood it carries has travelled around the body and back to the
heart where it is pumped, via the pulmonary artery, to the lungs to release waste products and
pick up more oxygen

Structure

The artery walls consist of three layers:

Tunica Adventitia: This is the strong outer covering of

arteries and veins which consists of connective tissues,
collagen and elastic fibres.

Tunica Media: This is the middle layer and consists

of smooth muscle and elastic fibres. This layer is
thicker in arteries than veins.

Tunica Intima: This is the inner layer which is in direct contact with the blood flowing through
the artery. It consists of an elastic membrane and smooth endothelial cells. The hollow centre
through which blood flows is called the lumen.

Smaller arteries and arterioles contain more smooth muscle tissue in order to control the
changing pressure of the blood flow. This change in pressure is a direct effect of the pumping of
the heart. During the diastolic phase blood pressure is low due to the rest period of the heart.
In the systolic phase the heart contracts, forcing blood through the arteries and subsequently
increasing the pressure. This change in pressure within an artery is what you can feel when you
take a pulse.

Capillaries
Capillaries are the smallest of all blood vessels and form the connection betweenveins and
arteries. As arteries branch and divide into arterioles and continue to reduce in size as they
reach the muscle they become capillaries. Here the capillaries form a capillary bed, which is a
vast expanse of very small vessels forming a network throughout the muscle. However, unlike
veins and arteries, their main function is not transporting blood. They are specially designed to
allow the movement of substances, mainly gases Oxygen and Carbon Dioxide into and out of
the capillary.

Gaseous Exchange

The oxygen carried within the red blood cells as Oxyhaemoglobin, at this point dissociates from
the Haemoglobin and passes through the capillary wall into the muscle cells where it is 'picked
up' by Myoglobin, the muscle cells equivalent to Haemoglobin. The Oxygen can now be used
in aerobic metabolism to provide the muscle with energy.
The waste product produced during aerobic metabolism is Carbon Dioxide. Due to the lower
concentration of Carbon dioxide in the capillaries than the muscle tissue (especially during high
levels of metabolism) there is a surge through the capillary wall. From here the blood continues
into venules and then veins which return the deoxygenated and CO2 rich blood back to the
heart and then on to the lungs where the CO2 is exhaled and more Oxygen is taken up.

Structure

Capillaries have very thin walls comprised only of endothelial cells,

which allows substances to move through the wall with ease.
Capillaries are very small, measuring 5-10 micrometres in width.
However, the cross-sectional area of capillaries within an average size
muscle would be larger than that of the Aorta. This allows a fast and
efficient transfer of oxygen-carrying red blood cells to the site where
they are needed.

Veins
Veins are blood vessels which carry deoxygenated (or very low levels of oxygen) blood back to
the heart. The exception to this rule is the pulmonary vein, which carries oxygenated blood,
from the lungs, back to the heart, ready to be pumped around the rest of the body.

At tissue level, capillaries drain blood into venules, which are very small veins, which as they
return to the heart merge into larger veins before reaching either the Superior Vena Cava (if
returning from tissues and organs above the heart) or the Inferior Vena Cava (if returning from
tissues and organs below to the heart). The Inferior Vena Cava is larger than the Superior Vena
Cava. These two large arteries merge and return blood to the right atrium of the heart.

Structure

The structure of veins is similar to that of arteries, again

consisting of three layers:

Tunica Adventitia: This is the strong outer covering of arteries

and veins which consists of connective tissues, collagen and
elastic fibres.

Tunica Media: This is the middle layer and consists of smooth

muscle and elastic fibres. This layer is thinner in veins.

Tunica Intima: This is the inner layer which is in direct contact

with the blood flowing through the vein. It consists of smooth
endothelial cells. The hollow centre through which blood flows is called the lumen. Veins also
contain valves which prevent the back flow of blood and aid venous return.