The Circulatory System

MS. CAMPBELL
 Double circulation
During one complete circulation around the body, the blood flows through the heart twice,
therefore, humans have a double circulatory system:
the pulmonary circulation is between the heart and lungs
the systemic circulation is between the heart and the rest of the body

A double circulation is necessary because blood loses pressure when it passes through the
lungs, so it goes back to the heart to be given enough pressure to reach body organs to supply
them with oxygen.
As it loses pressure passing through organs, the blood goes back to the heart again to be given
enough pressure to reach the lungs to get rid of waste carbon dioxide and pick up more
oxygen.
Pulmonary circulation
Blood travels from the right ventricle through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs to pick up
oxygen and lose carbon dioxide, i.e. becomes oxygenated.
It then travels back via the pulmonary veins to the left atrium.
Systemic circulation
Blood travels from the left ventricle through the aorta to the body where it gives up oxygen to
the body cells and picks up carbon dioxide , i.e. it becomes deoxygenated
It then travels back via the anterior/superior or posterior/inferior vena cava to the right atrium
You must be able to name
the blood vessels
supplying the main organs
of the body

Hepatic portal vein carries

blood (with digested food)
from the alimentary canal
to the liver
 The heart
The heart is located under the rib cage -- 2/3 of it is to the left of your breastbone (sternum) -- and
between your lungs and above the diaphragm.
The heart is about the size of a closed fist, weighs about 10.5 ounces and is somewhat cone-
shaped. It is covered by a sack termed the pericardium or pericardial sack.
The walls of the heart are composed of cardiac muscle which contracts without nerve impulses,
i.e. it is myogenic, and it does not get tired.
The coronary arteries and veins comprise the heart’s own mini-circulatory system. They supply
the heart muscle with blood containing oxygen and nutrients (especially glucose)
The heart is divided into four chambers. The two on the right contain deoxygenated blood and are
completely separated from the two on the left, which contains oxygenated blood, by the septum.
Thus the septum prevents the mixing of the blood
The two top chambers, called atria, have thin walls and they receive blood from veins.
Their walls are thin because they only have to pump blood a short distance into the
ventricles.
The two bottom chambers, called ventricles, have thick walls and they pump blood out
of the heart. Their walls are thick because they have to pump blood longer distances
around the body and to the lungs.
The wall of the left ventricle is thicker than the walls of the right ventricle because it
has to pump blood to longer distances e.g. the toes. The right ventricle has to pump
blood to the lungs, which are not very far from the heart. The left ventricle therefore
needs more muscles so as to exert more pressure and make blood reach those distant
body parts
Internal structure of the heart

• Mitral valve is also

called bicuspid valve
• Aortic and pulmonary
valve are also called
semilunar valve
External structure of the heart
Flow of blood through the heart
Right side of the heart
•Blood enters the heart through two large veins, the inferior and superior vena cava,
emptying oxygen-poor blood from the body into the right atrium of the heart.
•As the atrium contracts, blood flows from your right atrium into your right ventricle
through the open tricuspid valve.
•When the ventricle is full, the tricuspid valve shuts. This prevents blood from flowing
backward into the atria while the ventricle contracts.
•As the ventricle contracts, blood leaves the heart through the pulmonary/semilunar
valve, into the pulmonary artery and to the lungs where it is oxygenated.
Left side of the heart (operating at the same time as the right side of the heart)
•The pulmonary vein empties oxygen-rich blood from the lungs into the left atrium of
the heart.
•As the atrium contracts, blood flows from your left atrium into your left ventricle
through the open mitral/bicuspid valve.
•When the ventricle is full, the mitral valve shuts. This prevents blood from flowing
backward into the atrium while the ventricle contracts.
•As the ventricle contracts, oxygen-enriched blood leaves the heart through the
aortic/semilunar valve, into the aorta and to the arteries and eventually into veins to
complete the blood circulation in your body.

Why are valves

*N.b. valve tendons are tough connective tissue preventing the valves from needed in the
heart?
turning inside out
The cardiac cycle
This is the complete sequence of events during one beat of the heart

Contractions of heart chambers are called systole

Relaxation is called diastole
One cardiac cycle or heart beat involves the following:
◦ Diastole – all the muscles of the heart relax and blood flows into the heart
◦ Atrial systole – the muscles of the atria contract and force blood into the ventricles
◦ Ventricular systole – the muscles of the ventricles contract and push blood out of the heart