SNC 2D0

Mrs. Volpe

The Circulatory
System
Quick Facts
• The average human heart rate is 70-75 beats/min
• Size of your fist
• Your heart is protected by the ribcage, sternum + spine
• Cardiac muscle tissue causes the heart to beat as one unit
• Epithelial tissue lines the inside and outside of the heart to protect it
from friction.
• Red blood cells have no nuclei and survive for about 120 days (thank
goodness for bone marrow)
• Although veins may look blue, its NOT because your venous blood is
blue (wavelengths seen are affected by penetration of skin)
** The circulatory system is made up of the heart, blood, and blood
vessels **
Circulatory System

• The blood’s
transportation
system
Structures
Functions
• Arteries
• Veins
• Atriums
• Ventricles
Functions
• Valves +
Septum
CIRCULATORY SYSTEM CRASH
COURSE
• Crash Course
(3:08-7:26)
 So how does the blood
know which way to go?
• THE VALVES!!!
o The heart contracts (squeezes) and pushes the
blood from one chamber to the next
o The Valves located where atria join ventricles
and where ventricles join arteries prevent
backflow
The Big Picture
Deoxygenated blood from body goes in
RIGHT SIDE OF HEART

PUMPED TO LUNGS

Oxygenated blood returns to LEFT SIDE OF

HEART

PUMPED TO BODY
Ok, so the blood has left my heart. What next?
• BLOOD VESSELS
o Blood travels through the body via vessels

• Types of Vessels
o Arteries
o Arterioles
o Capillaries
o Venules
o Veins
Arteries vs Veins
The Artery
• Carry blood AWAY from
the heart
• Largest of the vessels
• Elastic fibres allow the
artery to STRETCH under
pressure
 The Vein
• Carry blood to the heart
• Have valves to prevent
backflow (work against
gravity and prevents blood
pooling)
• Skeletal muscle pump also
helps
• Smaller than arteries
The Capillary
• Link arteries and veins
• Allow diffusion of material between blood and cells in the body
• Smallest blood vessel
• Conduct gas exchange with the surrounding cells (or alveoli in the lungs)
• A collection of capillaries is known as
a capillary bed
What is carried in your...
 The Blood
• Blood is considered a connective tissue, and is made
up of 4 parts:
1. Red Blood Cells- these carry the oxygen and
carbon dioxide
2. White Blood Cells- to fight bacteria and viruses
3. Platelets- these help with clotting
4. Plasma- the liquid
• Red Blood Cells make up about half of your blood
volume. They contain haemoglobin which makes
the blood look red. They carry oxygen to your body
cells and carbon dioxide away from them