CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

Main components and functions

Heart
- The cardiovascular/circulatory system is made up of 3 main structures:
heart, blood vessels and blood.
- The heart pumps the blood in order to move nutrients through the
blood vessels to nourish and remove the metabolic wastes from the
body.
- The heart has two major circuits: the pulmonary pathway and systemic
pathway.
- The heart is a muscular organ with 4 chambers, consists of 2 atria and 2
ventricles. The left and right sides of the heart are divided by the septum.
- The heart is also made up of 3 layers of tissues: endocardium,
myocardium, pericardium.
Blood vessels are meant for carrying blood throughout the body.
- 2 types of blood vessels are arteries and veins.
- The largest artery is aorta and the largest vein is vena cava
The smallest blood vessels in the body is arterial capillaries.
- Blood vessels transport nutrients to organs/tissues and to transport
wastes away from organs/tissues in the blood.
- The important role of blood vessels is to provide oxygen to the body.
Blood is a fluid or liquid known as plasma.
- There are 3 types of blood cells, they are Erythrocytes (red blood
cells), Leukcocytes (white blood cells) and Thrombocytes (platelets).
- Erythrocytes carry oxygen to all tissues of the body and pick up carbon
dioxide from other tissues and unload it in the lungs.
- Leukocytes protect the body against foreign substance and various
types of infections.
- Platelets that help in blood clotting, the process of preventing
hemorrhage in a damaged blood vessel.