ASHLEY ANNE J.

TUDEJA ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

UI-FA1-BSN1-5 MODULE 13

LESSON PREVIEW/REVIEW

The circulatory system serves several major functions that are necessary for life. It includes the
heart, arteries, veins, capillaries, and blood. It’s functions are oxygen and carbon dioxide transport,
nutrient and waste product transport, disease protection and healing, hormone delivery, and body
temperature regulation. Oxygen and carbon dioxide transport is supplying oxygen to the body and at the
same time, carbon dioxide - a waste product is diffused through the air sacs and is then exhaled. This
cycle occurs with every breath. Nutrient and waste product transport is delivering nutrients to the body
is another critical function of the cardiovascular system. After food is digested in the stomach and
intestines, its component nutrients are absorbed into the bloodstream then nutrients are diffused from
the bloodstream into body cells via the capillaries. The circulatory system picks up metabolic waste
products and toxins and transports them to the liver, kidneys, and lungs for eventual elimination from
the body. Disease protection and healing in the circulatory system serves as the highway for disease-
fighting cells and proteins, and messengers of the immune system. Hormone delivery serves as the
transportation connection between the endocrine glands and the organs or tissues they control via
hormones. Body temperature regulation is an important function of the cardiovascular system. It works
in concert with the body's sweating mechanism as the primary regulators of body temperature.