By Hannah Chapman

The Cardiovascular System

Structure and Functions
Our heart is an amazing
organic machine as it is a
large muscular pump,
A
transporting blood throughout
our body. In our
Cardiovascular System there
E
are 3 major components and
these are: the heart, blood
vessels and blood.

Structure of the Heart

Structure of the Heart Wall

Right Pulmonary Artery

Left Pulmonary Artery
Superior Vena Cava
Aorta
Right Pulmonary Vein
Left Pulmonary Vein
Right Atrium
Left Atrium
Right Ventricle
Left Ventricle
Tricuspid Valve
Bicuspid Valve
Inferior Vena Cava
Pulmonary Valve
Aortic Valve
Interventricular Septum
Chordate Tenineae

Our heart collects Deoxygenated blood and transport

Oxygenated blood. The righthand side of the heart receives
Oxygenated blood from the
lungs and pumps it around our
body. The left-hand side of the
heart receives De-oxygenated
blood from the body and sends it
to the lungs to be replenished
with Oxygen.

The heart is made of 3 thick

walls which consist of the
following:

K Q
I

Pumping blood around our

bodies, our heart is made up
of several different parts
including:
ABCDEFGHIJKLMNOPQ-

H
O L
J

R- Endocardium
S- Myocardium
T- Epicardium
In the heart, the
Endocardium is a smooth,
inner serous membrane which
lines the inner heart
chambers allowing blood to
flow freely and prevent
friction between the heart
muscle and flowing blood.

M
R

Myocardium, composed
mainly of cardiac cells, is the
thick muscle tissue of the
heart which is the contracting
muscular pump.

S
T

Epicardium is a thin
external layer of
connective tissue and
fat similar to a doublelayered envelope
(containing pericardial
fluid). This surrounds
the heart to prevent
overextension during
heartbeats and reduces
friction between the
thoracic cavity and the
cavity wall itself and
keeps the heart in its
normal shape.

as they allow the

exchange of materials to
happen.

Structure of Blood Vessels

As blood flows around our bodies it will in

time eventually travel through 5 different
types of blood vessel. These are:
ABCDE-

Artery
Arteriole
Capillary
Venule
Vein

In our bodies, the largest blood

vessels are the arteries which take
blood away from the heart, such as
the aorta. Blood is then transported
along the artery until it splits up
into smaller vessels called the
arterioles. Arteries have thick,
muscular walls made up of elastic
cartilage and smooth muscle which
contracts and relaxes to pump
blood under high pressure around
the body.

Arteriole (meaning little

arteries) are connected to arteries,
but branch off into smaller blood
vessels which attach arteries to
capillaries. Similar to arteries,
arterioles consist of elastic cartilage
and smooth muscle. However, as
well as transporting and controlling
the blood flow like arteries,
arterioles are also in charge of
blood pressure (vasodilation and
vasoconstriction) as the pressure
changes between arteries and capillaries.
Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels in
the body. They are one cell thick and act as
the bridge between arterioles and venules.
Capillaries are found in all parts of the body,
especially in the muscles such as the lungs
which is where diffusion takes place.
Diffusion is when the tiny spaces within the
capillaries thin cell wall exchange nutrients
and oxygen for waste products such as
carbon dioxide and lactic acid. Capillaries are
an important part of the circulatory system

Venules are like veins which have split up

into smaller blood vessels. Venules act as the
link between capillaries and veins increasing
the blood pressure between these two
vessels. Like veins, venules are
mainly made up of smooth muscle
and elastic tissue which they
contract to send blood back
towards the heart. Also like veins,
venules contain valves to prevent
blood from flowing backwards.
Veins are similar to venules, but
they are the larger blood vessels.
Although they are still made up of
smooth muscle and elastic tissue,
they do not contain as much as
arteries. As veins are normally
pumping blood against gravity,
they also contain valves which
prevent blood from flowing
backwards and pooling into the
lower limbs. Most veins transport
De-oxygenated blood back to the
heart with an exception of the
pulmonary vein.

Structure of Blood Flow

In our bodies we must keep our

blood flow regulated to control
blood pressure and body
temperature.
F- Vasodilation
G- Vasoconstriction
In blood flow, vasodilation is when the
blood vessel increases in diameter which is
caused by the relaxation of smooth muscle
within the blood vessel. As the diameter of
the blood vessel increases it results in an
increase of blood flow around the body. If
your body temperature is too warm,
vasodilation will happen to increase your
blood pressure; allowing an increased heat
loss.

Vasoconstriction, the opposite of

vasodilation is when the blood vessels
decrease in diameter. As the diameter of the
blood vessel decreases it results in a
decrease of blood flow around the body. If
your body temperature is too cold,
vasoconstriction will narrow your blood
vessels and enable a greater warm blood
flow to reach your organs.

Structure of Blood

Blood is the element in our

bodies which transports the
necessities to live such as
nutrients and oxygen. Our
blood is composed of 4
sections:
A- Plasma
B- Red Blood Cells
(Erythrocytes)
C- White Blood Cells
(Leucocytes)
D- Platelets
(Thrombocytes)
Plasma is the liquid part of
our blood which makes up
55% of blood volume. Sticky
and straw-coloured in
appearance, plasma consists
mainly of water. As blood is
pumped around our bodies,
plasma carries nourishment
such as: glucose, nutrients,
hormones, and proteins and
exchanges them for the waste
products: lactic acid and
carbon dioxide. Plasma also
contains blood clotting factors.
Red blood cells, also called Erythrocytes,
make up 45% of blood volume and constitute
99% of all types of blood cells. Red blood
cells are red because they contain a redcoloured protein called
haemoglobin. As haemoglobin
attracts oxygen, the prior role
of red blood cells is to collect
oxygen from the capillaries and
take it to the tissue cells. Red
blood cells exchange oxygen
and remove carbon dioxide, the
waste product.
Unlike red blood cells, white
blood cells make up less than

1% of our blood, but they dont just appear in

blood, they are also found in other parts of
the body too. White blood cells are part of
the bodys immune system as their job is to
fight infections and defend the body from
diseases. They protect the body from
bacteria, viruses and parasites. When in
action white blood cells create an army of
antibodies and twice as many as normal can
be produced to fight the
disease.
Like white blood cells,
platelets also known as
thrombocytes constitute less
than 1% of our blood.
However, platelets are not full
cells, but cell fragments that
clump together to help form
blood clots at the site of
wounds. When platelets are in contact with
air they become sticky and
form the initial stage of repair
to damaged tissue. Then red
blood cells get stuck to the
sticky platelet and help to
form the blood clot. For some
people their blood does not
clot well, this is because they
are short of factor 8 (a
substance to enable platelets
and blood to clot). These
people are called
haemophiliacs.

Functions of the Cardiovascular

System

There are several different

functions of the cardiovascular
system; the most important being:
A- Delivery of Oxygen and
Nutrients
B- Removal of Waste Products
C- Thermoregulation
The main role of the cardiovascular
system is Transportation and as blood
is pumped around body it transports
many different necessities. Blood is
responsible for delivering oxygen and
nutrients to all the bodys cells in
order for them to respire.
Blood is also responsible for
removing excess waste products from
metabolism. Carbon dioxide and lactic acid
are waste products from metabolism and are
removed and transported to the lungs and
kidneys for excretion.
Thermoregulation is when the
cardiovascular system regulates the body
temperature through the process of
vasodilation (when a blood vessel increases
in diameter) and vasoconstriction (when a
blood vessel decreases in diameter). If your
body temperature is too warm, vasodilation
will increase your blood flow which increases
heat loss. This is why you get red cheeks
when you exercise. Whereas, if your body
temperature is too cold, vasoconstriction will
narrow your blood vessels enabling the warm
blood flow to reach your organs.

Functions of Blood

There are several different functions of

blood. The main functions are:
D- O2 Transport
E- Blood Clotting
F- Fighting Infection
When blood is pumped to the lungs via the
right pulmonary artery, oxygen will diffuse
through the capillaries walls. Then the
haemoglobins in the blood will transport the
oxygen to the bodys cells to enable them to
respire. Afterwards, blood will remove waste
products such as carbon dioxide and lactic

acid to the lungs and kidneys for

excretion.
An important function of blood is
clotting. When thrombocytes
(platelets) come into contact with air
at the site of wounds they become
sticky and form the initial stage of
repair to damaged tissue. Then
erythrocytes (red blood cells) get
stuck to the sticky platelet and help
to form the blood clot. Fibrin strands
create a net that entraps the platelets
and red blood cells, producing a clot
that plugs the break.
Leucocytes (white blood cells) are
part of the bodys immune system
and are the cells which fight diseases
and protect the body from bacteria,
viruses and parasites. The lymphatic
system is the immune system of the body
which picks up materials, cleans them of
bacteria and returns them to the blood.
Leucocytes destroy the bacteria and
therefore remove
diseases from the body.

The Cardiac Cycle

Our heart contains a

specialised tissue called the Sino
A
Atrial Node (SAN) which is a
natural pacemaker located in
the upper section of the right
atrium and sends out electrical
impulses generating a heartbeat.
The Sino Atrial Node contracts
spontaneously and rhythmically
normally about once
a second. There are 2 main
phases to the cardiac cycle:
A- Diastole Phase
B- Systole Phase
During the diastole phase the
cardiac muscles in the ventricles
relax which opens the Bicuspid
Valve and Tricuspid Valve
allowing blood to flow from the
atria into the ventricles. The
A
Bicuspid Valve and Tricuspid
Valve close to prevent blood
from flowing back into the atria.
When the Sino Atrial Node
contracts, it sets off the Atrio
Ventricular Node (AVN) which
allows the atria to contract and
empty their contents first.

Finally the Pulmonary Valve and

Aortic Valve close whilst the
Bicuspid Valve and Tricuspid
Valve open starting the whole
process again.

Effects of the Nervous System

Regulation of our heart is

controlled by our autonomic
nervous system. In some cases
our heart beats faster due to
stress as result of:

C- Sympathetic Nervous
System
D- Parasympathetic Nervous
System
When we are stressed, either
by emotional or physical factors,
the sympathetic nervous system
releases norepinephrine which is
a chemical that makes the heart
beat faster.
For example, if you are
watching a horror movie normally
you will feel your heart beat
faster and harder as
norepinephrine has been
released.

Then the Atrio Ventricular

Node sends off impulses to the
ventricles via the Atrio
Ventricular Bundle. The Atrio
Ventricular Bundle (Bundle of
His) are specialised fibres that
transmit the impulse from the
atria to the ventricles.
Then in the systole phase the
cardiac muscles in the ventricles
receive impulses from the
Purkinje Fibres which causes the
ventricles to contract, opening
the Pulmonary Valve and Aortic
Valve which pumps the blood to
the lungs and the body via the
pulmonary artery and aorta.

The Purkinje Fibres are

specialised myocardium fibres
carrying an electrical stimulus
which enables the heart to
contract in rhythm.

When chemicals are released

during the sympathetic phase
you will have a high adrenaline
rush which prepares you to fight
or flight the situation.

Then once the stress situation

has passed you will feel your
heart rate decreasing and
pumping less ferociously. This is
because the parasympathetic
nervous system has released a
chemical called acetylcholine
which makes your heart beat
slower.

By Hannah Chapman