The Circulatory System

Blood Plays a Central Role in Maintaining Homeostasis

 Blood is the fluid of the circulatory system. It carries many substances,
including dissolved respiratory gases, through the body.
 The heart pumps blood through vessels.
 Blood vessels lead to respiratory surfaces, where blood exchanges
gases with the environment . They also lead to body tissues, where
blood exchanges gases and nutrients.
 Blood consists of cells suspended in a liquid extracellular matrix
called plasma.
‒ Plasma is mostly water but also contains antibodiesand
many other dissolved substances.
‒ Plasma carries red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
 Red blood cells carry oxygen to body tissues.
‒ Red blood cells contain hemoglobin , a protein that binds to
oxygenat respiratory surfaces and “unloads” oxygen at body tissues.
 White blood cells are part of the immune system.
‒ They provoke inflammation and destroy microbes, among many other
functions.
 Platelets are cell fragments that initiate blood clotting .
‒ Platelets adhere to each other at a break in a blood vessel.
‒ Plasma proteins called clotting factors reinforce the clot.

Blood Has Diverse Functions

 Here is a summary of blood’s functions.

Animal Circulatory Systems

 Blood travels through circulatory systems, which have multiple forms.
 ‒ An open circulatory system has short, open-ended
vessels thatlead to open spaces in the body cavity.
‒ Fluid can exchange materials with the cells before flowing
backinto the heart through pores.
‒ In a closed circulatory system, blood remains in vessels.
‒ Blood exchanges materials (nutrients, dissolved gases, waste products)
with tissue fluids that surround the body cells.
‒ These materials enter and leave the bloodstream by crossing
the vessel membranes.
 Closed circulatory systems are distinguished based on the number of heart
chambers .
‒ Fishes and larval amphibians, for example, have a two -
chambered heart. Blood is pumped across the gills and then to
therest of the body.
‒ Adult amphibians and reptiles have a three-chambered heart.
‒ Birds and mammals have a four -chambered heart. Blood is
pumped to the lungs , and then returns to the
heart tobe pumped to the rest of the body .

The Cardiovascular System: An Overview

 This diagram shows some of the major components of the human cardiovascular
system.
 The heart pumps blood through three main types of blood vessels.
1. Arteries carry blood away from the heart.
2. Veins carry blood back to the heart.
3. Capillaries are the tiniest blood vessels. Water and dissolved substances
diffuse between each capillary and the interstitial fluid that bathes body cells.

The Heart Is a Muscular Pump

 The muscular heart pumps thousands of liters of blood through the body each day.
 How does the heart work?
 The human heart has four chambers.
– Atria receive blood from veins.
– Ventricles pump blood into arteries.
– The right half of the heart receives blood from the
body and pumps it to the lungs .
– The left half of the heart receives blood from
thelungs and pumps it to the rest of the body .
 The right atrium receives oxygen-depleted blood.
 The right atrium pumps oxygen-depleted blood to the right ventricle ,
which then pumps it to the lungs .
 Blood picks up oxygen at the lung capillaries and returns tothe
left atrium of the heart.
 The left atrium pumps oxygen-rich blood to the left ventricle , which
thenpumps it through the aorta to the rest of the body .
 How does the heart “know” when to contract its ventricles and atria to regulate blood
flow through the circulatory system?
1. The signal to contract begins at the pacemaker , also called the
sinoatrial(SA) node.
2. Each signal from the pacemaker spreads along the sides of the heart. The two
atria contract in unison.
3. After a brief delay—giving time for the ventricles to fill with blood—the
signal reaches the atrioventricular (AV) node, which sends the signal to contract
through the ventricle walls.
 Two sets of valves prevents blood from flowing backward through the
heart.
 When the ventricles contract, valves between the ventricles and
atriaclose.
 When the ventricles relax, valves between the arteries and the ventricles close.
 – The familiar “lub-dup” sound of the heart comes from the two sets of heart
valves closing.
 The amount of blood pumped each minute, called cardiac output ,
isdetermined by the heart rate and the strength of the heart.
‒ Strong heart muscles pump more blood with each stroke than weaker
muscles.
 We can watch this process in action:
 Heart Contraction and Blood Flow
 Your Heart's Electrical System

Blood Vessels Form the Circulation Pathway

 Arteries carry blood away from the heart.
‒ They have a thick layer of smooth muscle that can
withstand high blood pressure.
 Arteries lead to slightly smaller arterioles .
 Arterioles lead to capillary beds, where vessels are only
about aswide as a red blood cell.
 Capillary walls are only one cell layer thick, allowing water and substances to
easily diffuse to body tissues.
 Capillary beds lead to venules , which in turn lead to veins.
 Blood pressure in veins is low. Therefore, they have a thinner layer of
smooth muscle than arteries.

Systemic Circulation
• Systemic circulation: system of blood vessels that carry blood from the heart out
to all the tissues of the body and return the blood to the heart.
– Arteries carry oxygenated blood out to the tissues.
– Veins carry deoxygenated blood from the tissues back to the
heart.
Pulmonary Circulation
• Pulmonary circulation: vessels that carry blood from right ventricle to lungs and
back to the left atrium of heart
• Pulmonary trunk: branches into pulmonary arteries
• Pulmonary arteries: carry deoxygenated blood from right ventricle to
thelungs
• Pulmonary veins: exit lungs and carry oxygenated blood to left atrium
• These vessels are exceptions to the rule!
– Pulmonary arteries are the only arteries that carry deoxygenated blood,
and pulmonary veins are the only veins that carry oxygenated blood.

Blood Vessels Form the Circulation Pathway

 Without much smooth muscle, veins collapse when they are not filled with blood.
‒ Valves keep blood from flowing backward in veins.
‒ Skeletal muscle contraction propels blood through open
valvestoward the heart.

Blood Pressure
 Blood pressure – the pressure blood exerts on the walls of vessels.
 Doctors measure blood pressure using a sphygmomanometer.
 The higher reading (systole ) reflects the pressure in arteries when the
ventricles contract .
 The lower reading (diastole ) reflects the pressure in arteries when the
ventricles relax .
 Factors that Influence Arterial Blood Pressure
– Cardiac output
  A function of stroke volume (volume of blood discharged
from the ventricle during each contraction) and heart rate
(number of beats per minute).
– Blood volume
– Peripheral resistance – opposition to blood flow
 Vessel interior diameter (smaller diameter  more resistance)
 Vessel length (longer length  more resistance)
– Blood viscosity
 i.e. the consistency (thinner – more “watery” vs. thicker – more
“syrupy”)

Blood Vessels Form the Circulation Pathway

 A negative feedback system helps regulate blood pressure.
‒ When blood pressure is too high, arterioles dilate, and heart rate decreases
to lower blood pressure back into the normal range.
‒ When blood pressure is too low, arterioles constrict, and heart rate
increases to raise blood pressure back into the normal range.