the cardiovascular system also called

the circulatory system is the

transportation system of the body the

major structures that make this possible

are the heart blood vessels and blood

simply put 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

purpose of this video is to present a

basic understanding of the

cardiovascular system a more in-depth

study of the system will be presented in

other CTE videos where we will look into

each specific part and function of this

system the heart has two major circuits

within the circulatory pathway which

work together in a closed circulatory

system these two pathways are the

pulmonary pathway and the systemic

pathway in the human organism the right

side of the heart pushes the blood

through the pulmonary circuit so that it

can be oxygenated in the lungs the left

side of the heart pumps oxygenated blood

to the entire body the blood is then

returned to the heart via the systemic

pathway where the cycle begins again

through the pulmonary pathway it can be

said that the heart is actually two

pumps divided by a septum or wall

as mentioned in the muscular system

video the heart is an involuntary muscle

that works somewhat independently from

the nervous system this will be

explained in more detail later but for

now let's take a look at what makes up

the heart the heart is a muscular organ

with four hollow chambers it consists of

two atria which are the upper chambers

and two ventricles which are the lower

chambers the left and right sides of the

heart are divided by the septum the

heart is also made up of three layers of

tissues the innermost layer is the

endocardium which is the thin smooth

membrane that lines the inside of the

chambers of the heart and forms the

surface of the valves of which there are

four

next is the myocardium which is the

middle layer

it's the muscular wall of the heart or

the heart muscle and third the

pericardium this is a tough double

layered fibrous sac which covers the

heart the word vessel has many meanings

but in anatomy and physiology blood

vessels are meant for carrying blood

throughout the body the blood vessels

are similar to a two-way highway system

one lane or direction is known as the

arteries and the other is called the

veins starting in the heart the blood

flows to the body through arterial blood

vessels

the largest of these arteries is known

as the aorta these arteries provide the

pathway for blood to travel to the body

from the heart arteries are then further

divided into arterioles and arterial

capillaries arterioles are smaller blood

vessels that branch out from larger

arteries and lead to the arterial

capillaries which are the smallest blood

vessels in the body the arterial

capillaries are connected to the venous

capillaries the arterial side of the

capillaries is dropping off oxygen and

nutrients to the body's cells the venous

side of the capillaries is picking up

metabolic waste from the body cells

together they form a network where

arteries and veins connect completing

the closed circulatory circuit the blood

flow from the venous capillaries will

flow back from the body to the heart

through the venous blood vessels similar

to the arteries only in Reverse the

blood flows from the venous capillaries

into a system of veins called the

venules these venules connect to larger

veins which carry the blood back from

the body to the heart via the largest

veins known as the superior and inferior

vena cava

now that we have an understanding of how

the blood moves throughout the body we

can discuss what it actually is blood is

a fluid or liquid known as plasma plasma

is made up of 90% water and this is why

drinking a sufficient amount of healthy

water is absolutely necessary blood

contains many substances but the three

main substances we will discuss in this

video are the three different types of

blood cells each having its own

particular function the first type of

blood cell is called erythrocytes these

are known as the red blood cells

leukocytes are known as the white blood

cells and thrombocytes are the platelets

now the heart works alone in that it has

its own electrical system designed to

work on its own independent from the

nervous system if the nervous system is

damaged and cannot send signals to the

skeletal muscles or to other major

organs such as the brain the heart will

not be affected because it has its own

chemical / electrical system that will

continue to pump the blood throughout

the body people with brain damage are

placed on life support for breathing not

for pumping or contracting the heart the

only thing that would stop this

mechanism is the lack of oxygen and/or a

blockage or direct injury to the heart

the conductive pathway within the heart

has four main stations through which it

sends its electrical impulses in order

for the heart to keep beating which is

roughly a hundred thousand times a day

the first conductive pathway is the SA

node the SA node known as the pacemaker

is located in the right atria it starts

the spark and passes it on to the next

relay station the AV node is located on

the back wall of the heart between the

right atria and the right ventricle

the spark is then passed into the next

relay station the bundle of his located

in the heart septum and lastly to the

purge inky fibers which spread the

electrical charge throughout the

myocardium which is the cardiac muscle

and causes the heart to contract Atreus

first and then the ventricles after

watching this video you should now have

a basic understanding of what the

cardiovascular system is the basic

functions and the basic structures that

define the heart here's a quick recap

the cardiovascular or circulatory system

is an organ system whose basic purpose

is to circulate blood to and from cells

in the body in order to transport

nutrients and remove waste the heart

pumps the blood to the body through the

arteries which branch off into smaller

blood vessels called arterioles the

network of capillaries is where oxygen

and other nutrients diffuse from the

blood and into the cells as oxygen and

nutrients are diffused into the cells

from the arterial capillaries metabolic

waste is diffused into the venous

capillaries from the cells the blood

returns to the heart via the veins where

the cycle begins again

and remember that the heart has a beat

of its own through the electrochemical

circuit system and it's four relay

stations to sum it all up the heart

pumps blood to the body through the

arteries and returns from the body to

the heart through the veins

unfortunately the heart is also subject

to disease and conditions in fact the

number one reason for an early demise is

still due to heart failure

these conditions will be discussed

further in future CTE videos thanks for

watching and look for more CTE videos

where we will explore deeper into the

cardiovascular system