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Circulatory system
The circulatory system is a system of blood vessels with a pump and valves to ensure one way
flow of blood.
● Single circulation means blood passes through the heart only once i.e. fish
● Double circulation means blood passes through the heart twice i.e. mammals
All mammals (including humans) have a double circulatory system of blood flow.
1. Deoxygenated blood enters the right atrium (RA)
2. Deoxygenated blood enters the right ventricle (RV)
3. Deoxygenated blood is pumped by the RV to the lungs to become oxygenated
4. Oxygenated blood enters the left atrium (LA)
5. Oxygenated blood enters the left ventricle (LV)
6. Oxygenated blood is pumped by the LV to the rest of the body
7. Body cells use the oxygen and cause the blood to become deoxygenated
8. Deoxygenated blood returns to the heart and the cycle repeats (step 1)
It is very important to understand these steps now so that it makes life easier when we dive
deeper into the heart structure later.
It is extremely important you familiarize yourself with the different structures of the heart and the
direction of blood flow through it
Vena cava → Right atrium → Atrioventricular valve → Right ventricle → Semilunar valve →
Pulmonary artery → Lungs →Pulmonary vein → Left atrium → Atrioventricular valve → Left
ventricle → Semi-lunar valve → Aorta → Body → Vena cava
Atrium
The right and left atrium contracts to pump blood into the right and left ventricles respectively
Ventricles
The right ventricle contracts to pump blood to the lungs (to become oxygenated).
The left ventricle contracts to pump blood to the rest of the body. It has a thicker wall than the
right ventricle because it needs to pump blood further, and therefore needs more force.
Atrioventricular valves
The aterioventricular valves separate the atrium and ventricles on both sides of the heart.
These valves prevent the backflow of blood, thus ensuring a one way flow of blood from the atria
to the ventricles.
Semilunar valves
Semilunar valves are found within the pulmonary arteries and the aorta. They prevent the
backflow of blood and ensures unidirectional blood flow in the arteries.
Pulmonary artery
The pulmonary artery carries blood from the right ventricle to the lungs
Pulmonary vein
The pulmonary vein carries blood from the lungs to the left atrium
Aorta
The aorta is a large artery which carries blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body
Vena cava
The vena cava is a large vein which carries deoxygenated blood from the body back to the heart
(right atrium)
Septum
The septum is a thick muscular wall which separates the right and left side of the heart. This
separation is important to ensure that oxygenated and deoxygenated blood does not mix.
Heart rate is the rate at which the heart beats. The most common way to measure heart rate is by
measuring the pulse rate.
The pulse rate is exactly equal to the heart rate, as the contractions of the heart cause the
increases in blood pressure in the arteries that lead to a noticeable pulse.
Physical activity increases the energy demand in muscles such as the arms and legs. With an
increased rate of respiration, blood must be travel quicker to the muscles to supply them of
oxygen/nutrients whilst also removing waste products such as carbon dioxide. The heart rate
therefore increases to meet these demands.
Electrocardiogram (ECG)
An electrocardiogram is a device which can track heart activity. It can accurately measure pulse
rates via the opening and closing of heart valves.
So far we know that the heart functions as a pump which delivers blood to the rest of the body.
However, the heart muscles themselves also need a blood supply because they too, are respiring
muscles.
The coronary artery is the very important artery which provides the heart muscles with blood.
Coronary heart disease is when the coronary artery becomes blocked, leading to blood (and
oxygen) starvation in the heart muscles. This leads to a heart attack.
Causes
Blockage of the coronary artery begins by the narrowing of the artery due to cholesterol build up
on the inner walls.
Total blockage can occur when a blood clot gets ‘stuck’ in these narrow arteries.
Risk factors
There are certain factors that increase the risk of an individual developing coronary heart
disease:
● Poor diet
● Stress
● Smoking
● Genetics
● Age
● Gender
Blood thinning medications are used to reduce the chances of a blood clot forming
● Angeioplasty is a stent with a balloon which can be inflated once the stent is
inserted to even further increase the diameter of the artery
● Bypass is the process of making a separate ‘new’ artery to allow for an alternative
blood path that the heart can use to receive blood (rather than relying only on the
coronary artery)
Blood vessels
Blood vessels are a tubular structures carrying blood through the tissues and organs. Starting
from the heart, the pathway of blood is as follows:
Arteries
Arteries take blood away from the heart. They have several important structural features:
Arterioles
Arterioles are smaller branches of an artery. They eventually branch further to form capillaries.
● Arterioles have muscular/elastic walls that can constrict & dilate in order to regulate
blood flow.
Capillaries
Capillaries are fine branching blood vessels that form a network between the arterioles and
venule.
They allow for the nutrient & waste exchange between the blood and the tissues of the body. The
features of capillaries are as follows:
● Walls are one cell thick to allow for quick diffusion of diffuse rates of
nutrients/wastes
● Luman has a diameter of just one RBC to allow blood cells to pass closely to the
walls for faster diffusion rates
● Valves are absent since the narrow capillary lumen ensures unidirectional blood
flow
Venules
Venules are small vessels formed from the joining of the capillaries. Venules combine to establish
a vein.
Veins
Veins take the blood towards the heart. Their structural features are as follows:
● Thin walls with little muscle & elastic fibres (thick muscles not required since blood
is carried at low pressure)
● Large lumen to reduce blood flow resistance
● Valves present to prevent blood back flow
Shunt vessels
Shunt vessels are blood vessels that connect blood directly from the arterioles to the venules.
This allows for an alternative route for blood flow (i.e. blood bypasses the capillaries).
Like arterioles, shunt vessels have walls that can construct & dilate in order to regulate blood
flow.
Tissue fluid
The fluid is the mode of nutrient & waste exchange between the blood and respiring tissues.
For example:
● Waste products (such as carbon dioxide) from cells diffuse into the tissue fluid first
before diffusing in the blood
● Nutrients (such as glucose) diffuse into the tissue fluid first before diffusing into the
cells
Tissue fluid is produced by leakage of certain substances from blood capillaries, and drained out
by the lymphatic vessels of the lymphatic system.
Details of tissue fluid production and drainage are NOT required. Just understand that blood
capillaries LEAK tissue fluid and the tissue fluid is DRAINED by lymphatic vessels. The tissue
fluid inside lymph vessels are called LYMPH.
The lymphatic system is composed of lymphatic vessels which carry “lymph” and lymph nodes
which produce lymphocytes for immunity.
Blood
Plasma
Blood plasma makes up about 50% of the blood. It is a yellowish liquid that carries the other
blood components such as RBCs/WBCs/platelets.
White blood cells are part of the immune system that helps to destroy foreign organisms such as
bacteria.
There are two types of white blood cells that you need to be aware of:
● Phagocytes are types of WBCs which engulf and digest pathogens via
phagocytosis
● Lymphocytes are WBCs which produce antibodies
More will be learnt about phagocytosis and antibodies in the next chapter
Platelets
Platelets are substances that form blood clots which is a protective mechanism to prevent blood
loss during an injury.
At the site of damage, platelets immediately stick together and release chemical signals which
attract other nearby cells and clump them together.
A series of of chemical reactions take place. Fibrinogen is converted into fibrin and this forms a
thread which traps RBCs to establish a thick clot. The clot seals off the site of damage.