CLOSED CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

a system of internal transport in which the blood is confined to vessels

Humans, birds, and mammals have a four-chambered heart that completely separates oxygen-rich and oxygen-depleted blood, as is shown in Figure 10. Fish have a twochambered heart in which a single-loop circulatory pattern takes blood from the heart to the gills and then to the body. Amphibians have a three-chambered heart with two atria and one ventricle. A loop from the heart goes to the pulmonary capillary beds, where gas exchange occurs. Blood then is returned to the heart. Blood exiting the ventricle is diverted, some to the pulmonary circuit, some to systemic circuit. The disadvantage of the three-chambered heart is the mixing of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Some reptiles have partial separation of the ventricle. Other reptiles, plus, all birds and mammals, have a four-chambered heart, with complete separation of both systemic and pulmonary circuits. Figure 10. Circulatory systems of several vertebrates showing the progressive evolution of the four-chambered heart and pulmonary and systemic circulatory circuits. Images from Purves et al., Life: The Science of Biology, 4th Edition, by Sinauer Associates (www.sinauer.com) and WH Freeman (www.whfreeman.com), used with permission.

Amphibians have a three-chambered heart: two atria emptying into a single common ventricle. Some species have a partial separation of the ventricle to reduce the mixing of oxygenated (coming back from the lungs) and deoxygenated blood (coming in from the body). Two sided or two chambered hearts permit pumping at higher pressures and the addition of the pulmonary loop permits blood to go to the lungs at lower pressure yet still go to the systemic loop at higher pressures.

In a closed

circulatory system, blood flows from arteries to capillaries and through veins, but the tissues surrounding the vessels are not directly bathed by blood. Some invertebrates and all vertebrates have closed circulatory systems. A closed circulatory system allows more of a complete separation of function than an open circulatory system does. The blood volume in these animals is considerably lower than that of animals with open circulatory systems. In animals with closed circulatory systems, the heart is the chambered organ that pushes the blood into the arterial system. The heart also sustains the high pressure necessary for the blood to reach all of the extremities of the body In the closed circulatory system of mammals, there are two subdivisions the systemic circulation and the pulmonary circulation. The pulmonary circulation involves circulation of deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs, so that it may be properly oxygenated. Systemic circulation takes care of sending blood to the rest of the body. Once the blood flows through the system of capillaries at the bodys tissues, it returns through the venous system. The pressure in the venous system is considerably lower than the pressure in the arterial system. It contains a larger portion of blood than the arterial system does, for the venous system is thought to be the blood reservoir of the body.

Introduction
The circulatory system consists of blood, a heart, and blood vessels. Functions of the Circulatory System The circulatory system functions with other body systems to provide the following: Transport of materials: Gasses transported: Oxygen is transported from the lungs to the cells. CO2 (a waste) is transported from the cells to the lungs. Transport other nutrients to cells - For example, glucose, a simple sugar used to produce ATP, is transported throughout the body by the circulatory system. Immediately after digestion, glucose is transported to the liver. The liver maintains a constant level of glucose in the blood. Transport other wastes from cells - For example, ammonia is produced as a result of protein digestion. It is transported to the liver where it is converted to less toxic urea. Urea is then transported to the kidneys for excretion in the urine. Transport hormones - Numerous hormones that help maintain constant internal conditions are transported by the circulatory system. Contains cells that fight infection Helps stabilize the pH and ionic concentration of the body fluids. It helps maintain body temperature by transporting heat. This is particularly important in homeothermic animals such as birds and mammals.

Describe blood flow through the mammalian heart

The human heart is a four-chambered double pump, which creates sufficient blood pressure to push the blood in vessels to all the cells in the body. The heart has a route which the blood takes in order to achieve this blood pressure, and to become oxygenated. Systemic venous blood is brought to the heart from the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava into the right atrium. From the right atrium, the blood passes through the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle. When the ventricle contracts, the tricuspid closes to prevent a flow of blood back into the atrium. At the same time, the pulmonary semilunar valve opens and blood passes into the left and right pulmonary arteries. These arteries lead the blood into the left and right lungs where the blood gives off its carbon dioxide and picks up oxygen. The oxygenated blood returns to the heart through pulmonary veins, two from each lung and enters the left atrium. The blood then flows from the left atrium to the left ventricle through the bicuspid valve (also known as mitral valve). This valve is open when the left ventricle is relaxed. When the left ventricle contracts, the bicuspid valve closes preventing backflow into the atrium. At the same time, the aortic semilunar valve opens letting blood pass through from the left ventricle into the aorta. Once the blood passes, the left ventricle relaxes and the aortic semilunar valve closes thus preventing backflow from the aorta into the left ventricle.

CARDIAC CYCLE

The cardiac cycle consists of two parts: systole (contraction of the heart muscle) and diastole (relaxation of the heart muscle). Atria contract while ventricles relax. The pulse is a wave of contraction transmitted along the arteries. Valves in the heart open and close during the cardiac cycle. Heart muscle contraction is due to the presence of nodal tissue in two regions of the heart. The SA node (sinoatrial node) initiates heartbeat. The AV node (atrioventricular node) causes ventricles to contract. The AV node is sometimes called the pacemaker since it keeps heartbeat regular. Heartbeat is also controlled by nerve messages originating from the autonomic

Blood flows through the heart from veins to atria to ventricles out by arteries. Heart valves limit flow to a single direction. One heartbeat, or cardiac cycle, includes atrial contraction and relaxation, ventricular contraction and relaxation, and a short pause. Normal cardiac cycles (at rest) take 0.8 seconds. Blood from the body flows into the vena cava, which empties into the right atrium. At the same time, oxygenated blood from the lungs flows from the pulmonary vein into the left atrium. The muscles of both atria contract, forcing blood downward through each AV valve into each ventricle. Diastole is the filling of the ventricles with blood. Ventricular systole opens the SL valves, forcing blood out of the ventricles through the pulmonary artery or aorta. The sound of the heart contracting and the valves opening and closing produces a characteristic "lub-dub" sound. Lub is associated with closure of the AV valves, dub is the closing of the SL valves. Human heartbeats originate from the sinoatrial node (SA node) near the right atrium. Modified muscle cells contract, sending a signal to other muscle cells in the heart to contract. The signal spreads to the atrioventricular node (AV node). Signals carried from the AV node, slightly delayed, through bundle of His fibers and Purkinjie fibers cause the ventricles to contract simultaneously