CAS Biology Notes

Prepared by N.R. Bautista

THE CARDIO-VASCULAR SYSTEM

The Cardio-Vascular or Circulatory System is an organ system that includes the heart, blood vessels and the blood. The circulatory system includes: the pulmonary circulation, a "loop" through the lungs where blood is oxygenated; and the systemic circulation, a "loop" through the rest of the body to provide oxygenated blood. An average adult contains five to six quarts (roughly 4.7 to 5.7 liters) of blood, which consists of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Also, the digestive system works with the circulatory system to provide the nutrients the system needs to keep the heart pumping. FUNCTION OF THE CARDIO-VASCULAR SYSTEM. 1. Oxygen transport and removal of Carbon Dioxide (Red blood cells) 2. Distributes Nutrients (such as amino acids and electrolytes), gases, hormones, 3. Carry and support blood cells; 4. Carry nitrogen waste products from cells to kidney 5. Help fight diseases / infections (white blood cells); and 6. Help stabilize body temperature and pH to maintain homeostasis. An accessory part of the Circulatory system are the Kidneys (which filters the blood); Liver (detoxify toxins); and Spleen (collects and destroy damaged / worn out red blood cells. Aside from the blood vessels, the circulatory system is also related to the lymphatic system, which distributes lymph similar to the liquid part of the blood, the plasma. While humans, as well as other vertebrates, have a closed cardiovascular system (meaning that the blood never leaves the network of arteries, veins and capillaries), some invertebrate groups have an open cardiovascular system. The most primitive animal phyla lack a circulatory system. The lymphatic system, on the other hand, is an open system. Pulmonary circulation Pulmonary circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which transports oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart. Specifically, oxygen deprived blood from the vena cava enters the right atrium of the heart and flows through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle where it is pumped through the pulmonary semi-lunar valve into the pulmonary arteries which go to the lungs. Pulmonary veins return the now oxygen-rich blood to the heart, where it enters the left atrium before flowing through the mitral valve into the left ventricle. Also, from the left ventricle the oxygen-rich blood is pumped out via the aorta, and on to the rest of the body. Systemic circulation Systemic circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which transports oxygenated blood away from the heart, to the rest of the body, and returns oxygen-depleted blood back to the heart. Systemic circulation is, distance-wise, much longer than pulmonary circulation, transporting blood to every part of the body except the lungs.

Coronary circulation The coronary circulatory system provides a blood supply to the heart. As it provides oxygenated blood to the heart, it is by definition a part of the systemic circulatory system. The heart pumps oxygenated blood to the body and deoxygenated blood to the lungs. In the human heart there is one atrium and one ventricle for each circulation, and with both a systemic and a pulmonary circulation there are four chambers in total: left atrium, left ventricle, right atrium and right ventricle. The right Atrium, which is the upper chamber of the right side. The blood that is returned to the right atrium is deoxygenated (poor in oxygen) and passed into the right ventricle to be pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs for re-oxygenation and removal of carbon dioxide. The left atrium receives newly oxygenated blood from the lungs as well as the pulmonary vein which is passed into the strong left ventricle to be pumped through the aorta to the tissues of the body. Closed cardiovascular system The cardiovascular systems of humans are closed, meaning that the blood never leaves the network of blood vessels. In contrast, oxygen and nutrients diffuse across the blood vessel layers and enters interstitial fluid, which carries oxygen and nutrients to the target cells, and carbon dioxide and wastes in the opposite direction. The other component of the circulatory system, the lymphatic system, is not closed. Comparison of the circulatory system in other vertebrates The circulatory systems of all vertebrates, as well as of annelids (for example, earthworms) and cephalopods (squid and octopus) are closed, just as in humans. Still, the systems of fish, amphibians, reptiles, and birds show various stages of the evolution of the circulatory system. In fish, the system has only one circuit, with the blood being pumped through the capillaries of the gills and on to the capillaries of the body tissues. This is known as single cycle circulation. The heart of fish is therefore only a single pump (consisting of two chambers). In amphibians and most reptiles, a double circulatory system is used, but the heart is not always completely separated into two pumps. Amphibians have a three-chambered heart. In reptiles, the ventricular septum of the heart is incomplete and the pulmonary artery is equipped with a sphincter muscle. This allows a second possible route of blood flow. Instead of blood flowing through the pulmonary artery to the lungs, the sphincter may be contracted to divert this blood flow through the incomplete ventricular septum into the left ventricle and out through the aorta. This means the blood flows from the capillaries to the heart and back to the capillaries instead of to the lungs. This process is useful to ectothermic (cold-blooded) animals in the regulation of their body temperature. Birds and mammals show complete separation of the heart into two pumps, for a total of four heart chambers; it is thought that the four-chambered heart of birds evolved independently from that of mammals. Open circulatory system The Open Circulatory System is a system in which fluid (called hemolymph) in a cavity called the hemocoel bathes the organs directly with oxygen and nutrients and there is no distinction between blood and interstitial fluid; this combined fluid is called hemolymph or haemolymph. Muscular movements by the animal during locomotion can facilitate hemolymph movement, but diverting flow from one area to another is limited. When the heart relaxes, blood is drawn back toward the heart through open-ended pores (ostia). Hemolymph fills all of the interior hemocoel of the body and surrounds all cells. Hemolymph is composed of water, inorganic salts (mostly Na+, Cl-, K+, Mg2+, and Ca2+), and organic compounds (mostly carbohydrates, proteins, and lipids). The primary oxygen transporter molecule is hemocyanin. There are free-floating cells, the hemocytes, within the hemolymph. They play a role in the arthropod immune system. Absence of circulatory system in some animals. Circulatory systems are absent in some animals, including flatworms (phylum Platyhelminthes). Their body cavity has no lining or enclosed fluid. Instead a muscular pharynx leads to an extensively branched digestive system that facilitates direct diffusion of nutrients to all cells. The flatworm's dorso-ventrally flattened body shape also restricts the distance of any cell from the digestive system or the exterior of the organism. Oxygen can diffuse from the surrounding water into the cells, and carbon dioxide can diffuse out. Consequently every cell is able to obtain nutrients, water and oxygen without the need of a transport system.

Some animals, such as jellies, have more extensive branching from their gastrovascular cavity (which functions as both a place of digestion and a form of circulation), this branching allows for bodily fluids to reach the outer layers, since the digestion begins in the inner layers. Measurement techniques and instruments in studyiing the ciruculatory system: Electrocardiogram for cardiac electrophysiology Sphygmomanometer and stethoscopefor blood pressure Pulse meterfor cardiac function (heart rate, rhythm, dropped beats) Pulsecommonly used to determine the heart rate in absence of certain cardiac pathologies Heart rate variability -- used to measure variations of time intervals between heart beats Nail bed blanching testtest for perfusion Vessel cannula or catheter pressure measurementpulmonary wedge pressure or in older animal experiments. Oxygen Transport. About 98.5% of the oxygen in a sample of arterial blood in a healthy human breathing air at sea-level pressure is chemically combined with haemoglobin molecules. About 1.5% is physically dissolved in the other blood liquids and not connected to Hgb. The haemoglobin molecule is the primary transporter of oxygen in mammals and many other species. THE BLOOD Blood is a specialized bodily fluid that delivers necessary substances to the body's cells such as nutrients and oxygen and transports waste products away from those same cells. In the Photo are (from left to right) a red blood cell, a platelet and a white blood cell. In vertebrates, it is composed of blood cells suspended in a liquid called blood plasma. Plasma, which comprises 55% of blood fluid, is mostly water (90% by volume), and contains dissolved proteins, glucose, mineral ions, hormones, carbon dioxide (plasma being the main medium for excretory product transportation), platelets and blood cells themselves. The blood cells present in blood are mainly red blood cells (also called RBCs or erythrocytes) and white blood cells, including leukocytes and platelets. The most abundant cells in vertebrate blood are red blood cells. These contain hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein, which facilitates transportation of oxygen by reversibly binding to this respiratory gas and greatly increasing its solubility in blood. In contrast, carbon dioxide is almost entirely transported extracellularly dissolved in plasma as bicarbonate ion. Vertebrate blood is bright-red when its hemoglobin is oxygenated. Some animals, such as crustaceans and mollusks, use hemocyanin to carry oxygen, instead of hemoglobin. Insects and some molluscs use a fluid called hemolymph instead of blood, the difference being that hemolymph is not contained in a closed circulatory system. In most insects, this "blood" does not contain oxygen-carrying molecules such as hemoglobin because their bodies are small enough for their tracheal system to suffice for supplying oxygen. Jawed vertebrates have an adaptive immune system, based largely on white blood cells. White blood cells help to resist infections and parasites. Platelets are important in the clotting of blood. Arthropods, using hemolymph, have hemocytes as part of their immune system. Blood is circulated around the body through blood vessels by the pumping action of the heart. In animals having lungs, arterial blood carries oxygen from inhaled air to the tissues of the body, and venous blood carries carbon dioxide, a waste product of metabolism produced by cells, from the tissues to the lungs to be exhaled. Medical terms related to blood often begin with hemo- or hemato- (also spelled haemo- and haemato-) from the Ancient Greek word (haima) for "blood". In terms of anatomy and histology, blood is considered a

specialized form of connective tissue, given its origin in the bones and the presence of potential molecular fibers in the form of fibrinogen.

BLOOD CELLS --- the 3 types

ERYTHROCYTE RED BLOOD CELLS Red blood cells are non-nucleated, biconcave discs that are filled with hemoglobin. The primary function of these cells is to carry oxygen from the lungs to the body cells. A woman usually have 4-5 million erythrocytes per cubic millimeter of blood, men have 5-6 million. If this number is considerably higher, polycythemia may be the cause. If the number is considerably less, the person has anemia. Sickle cell anemia is an inherited condition which results in some erythrocytes being malformed. The gene for this condition causes the hemoglobin to be incorrectly formed, which in turn causes some erythrocytes to take on a crescent shape. These cells are not able to carry adequate amounts of oxygen to cells. WHITE BLOOD CELLS There are 5 types: 1. NEUTROPHIL -- This granulocyte has very tiny light staining granules (the granules are very difficult to see). The nucleus is frequently multi-lobed with lobes connected by thin strands of nuclear material. These cells are capable of phagocytizing foreign cells, toxins, and viruses. When taking a Differential WBC Count of normal blood, this type of cell would be the most numerous. Normally, neutrophils account for 50-70% of all leukocytes. If the count exceeds this amount, the cause is usually due to an acute infection such as appendicitis, smallpox or rheumatic fever. If the count is considerably less, it may be due to a viral infection such as influenza, hepatitis, or rubella. 2. EOSINOPHIL -- This granulocyte has large granules which are acidophilic and appear pink (or red) in a stained preparation. The nucleus often has two lobes connected by a band of nuclear material (like a telephone receiver?) The granules contain digestive enzymes that are particularly effective against parasitic worms in their larval form. These cells also phagocytize antigen - antibody complexes. These cells account for less than 5% of the WBC's. Increases beyond this amount may be due to parasitic diseases, bronchial asthma or hay fever. Eosinopenia may occur when the body is severely stressed. 3. BASOPHIL -- The basophilic granules in this cell are large, stain deep blue to purple, and are often so numerous they mask the nucleus. These granules contain histamines (cause vasodilation) and heparin (anticoagulant). In a Differential WBC Count we rarely see these as they represent less than 1% of all leukocytes. If the count showed an abnormally high number of these cells, hemolytic anemia or chicken pox may be the cause. 4. LYMPHOCYTE -- The lymphocyte is an agranular cell with very clear cytoplasm which stains pale blue. Its nucleus is very large for the size of the cell and stains dark purple. This cell is much smaller than the three granulocytes (which are all about the same size). These cells play an important role in our immune response. The T-lymphocytes act against virus infected cells and tumor cells. The B-lymphocytes produce antibodies. This is the second most numerous leukocyte, accounting for 25-35% of the cells counted in a Differential WBC Count. When the number of these cells exceeds the normal amount, one would suspect infectious mononucleosis or a chronic infection. Patients with AIDS keep a careful watch on their T-cell level, an indicator of the AIDS virus' activity. 5. MONOCYTE -- This cell is the largest of the leukocytes and is agranular. The nucleus is most often "U" or kidney bean shaped; the cytoplasm is abundant and light blue (more blue than this micrograph illustrates). These cells leave the blood stream (diapedesis) to become macrophages. As a monocyte or macrophage, these cells are phagocytic and defend the body against viruses and bacteria. These cells account for 3-9% of all leukocytes. In people with malaria, endocarditis, typhoid fever, and Rocky Mountain spotted fever, monocytes increase in number.

THROMBOCYTES - PLATELETS Platelets, are cell fragments. Platelets are important for proper blood clotting. Each cubic millimeter of blood should contain 250,000 to 500,000 of these. If the number is too high, spontaneous clotting may occur. If the number is too low, clotting may not occur when necessary. PLASMA Liquid part of the blood. About 55% of whole blood is blood plasma, a fluid that is the blood's liquid medium, which by itself is strawyellow in color. The blood plasma volume totals of 2.7 3.0 litres in an average human. It is essentially an aqueous solution containing 92% water, 8% blood plasma proteins, and trace amounts of other materials. Plasma circulates dissolved nutrients, such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids (dissolved in the blood or bound to plasma proteins), and removes waste products, such as carbon dioxide, urea, and lactic acid. Other important components include: 1. Serum albumin ; 2. Blood-clotting factors (to facilitate coagulation) ; 3. Immunoglobulins (antibodies) ; 4. lipoprotein particles ; 5. Various other proteins ; 6. Various electrolytes (mainly sodium and chloride) . The term serum refers to plasma from which the clotting proteins have been removed. Most of the proteins remaining are albumin and immunoglobulins. The normal pH of human arterial blood is approximately 7.40 (normal range is 7.35 7.45), a weakly alkaline solution. Blood that has a pH below 7.35 is too acidic, whereas blood pH above 7.45 is too alkaline. Blood pH, partial pressure of oxygen (pO2), partial pressure of carbon dioxide (pCO2), and HCO3 are carefully regulated by a number of homeostatic mechanisms, which exert their influence principally through the respiratory system and the urinary system in order to control the acid-base balance and respiration. Plasma also circulates hormones transmitting their messages to various tissues. The list of normal reference ranges for various blood electrolytes is extensive. The circulation of blood through the human heart. Blood is circulated around the body through blood vessels by the pumping action of the heart. In humans, blood is pumped from the strong left ventricle of the heart through arteries to peripheral tissues and returns to the right atrium of the heart through veins. It then enters the right ventricle and is pumped through the pulmonary artery to the lungs and returns to the left atrium through the pulmonary veins. Blood then enters the left ventricle to be circulated again. Arterial blood carries oxygen from inhaled air to all of the cells of the body, and venous blood carries carbon dioxide, a waste product of metabolism by cells, to the lungs to be exhaled. However, one exception includes pulmonary arteries, which contain the most deoxygenated blood in the body, while the pulmonary veins contain oxygenated blood. Additional return flow may be generated by the movement of skeletal muscles, which can compress veins and push blood through the valves in veins toward the right atrium. The blood circulation was famously described by William Harvey in 1628. Production and degradation of blood cells In vertebrates, the various cells of blood are made in the bone marrow in a process called hematopoiesis, which includes erythropoiesis, the production of red blood cells; and myelopoiesis, the production of white blood cells and platelets. During childhood, almost every human bone produces red blood cells; as adults, red blood cell production is limited to the larger bones: the bodies of the vertebrae, the breastbone (sternum), the ribcage, the pelvic bones, and the bones of the upper arms and legs. In addition, during childhood, the thymus gland, found in the mediastinum, is an important source of lymphocytes.[10] The proteinaceous component of blood (including clotting proteins) is produced predominantly by the liver, while hormones are produced by the endocrine glands and the watery fraction is regulated by the hypothalamus and maintained by the kidney. Healthy erythrocytes have a plasma life of about 120 days before they are degraded by the spleen, and the Kupffer cells in the liver. The liver also clears some proteins, lipids, and amino acids. The kidney actively secretes waste products into the urine.