Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system is the portion of the circulatory system that

includes the heart and blood vessels. It moves the blood between the body
cells and the organs of the integumentary, digestive, respiratory, and urinary
systems that communicate with the external environment. The heart acts as a
pump that forces blood through the blood vessels. The blood vessels form a
closed system of ducts, which transports the blood and allows exchanges of
gases, nutrients, and wastes between the blood and the body cells.
A functional cardiovascular system is vital for survival, because without
circulation, the tissues lack a supply of oxygen and nutrients, and waste
substances accumulate.
Heart
The heart is a hollow, cone – shaped, muscular pump located within the
mediastinum of the thorax and resting upon the diaphragm.
The heart is bordered laterally by the lungs, posteriorly by the backbone,
and anteriorly by the sternum. Its base lies beneath the second rib.
Internally, the heart is divided into four hollow chambers. The upper
chambers, called atria have relatively thin walls and receive the blood from
veins. The lower chambers, the ventricles, force the blood out of the heart
into arteries.
The atrium and ventricle on the right side are separated from those on the
left by a septum. The atrium on each side communicates with its
corresponding ventricle through an opening called the atrioventricular
orifice, which is guarded by an atrioventricular valve (A-V valve).
The wall of the heart is composed of three distinct layers: an outer
epicardium, a middle myocardium, and an inner endocardium.
The epicardium functions as an outer protective layer. It is a serous
membrane that consists of connective tissue covered by epithelium, and it
includes blood capillaries, lymph capillaries, and nerve fibers.
The middle layer, or myocardium, is relatively thick and consists largely
of the cardiac muscle tissue responsible for forcing the blood out of the
heart chambers.
The inner layer, or endocardium, consists of epithelium and connective
tissue that contains many elastic and collagenous fibers. The connective
tissue also contains blood vessels and some specialized cardiac muscle
fibers called Purkinje fibers.