a. Left & Right sides of the heart i. Left side: Systemic circulation 1. Contains left heart, systemic arteries, capillaries, veins, 2. LV pumps blood to all organs of the body except the lungs. ii. Right side: Pulmonary circulation 1. Contains right heart, pulmonary arteries, capillaries, and veins 2. RV pumps blood to the lungs iii. Left and Right heart function in series so that blood is pumped sequentially from left heart to the systemic circulation, to the right heart, to the pulmonary circulation, and the back to left heart. iv. What is cardiac output? 1. Rate at which blood is pumped from either ventricle. Because the two sides of the heart operate in series, the cardiac output of the left ventricle equals the cardiac output of the right ventricle in steady state (think of current in series circuit) v. What is venous return? 1. The rate at which blood is returned to the atria from the veins is called the venous return. Because the left heart and right heart are in series, venous return to the left heart equals venous return to the right heart in the steady state. vi. What rates are equal in steady state? 1. Cardiac output from RV and LV are equal 2. Venous return to RA and LA are equal 3. Cardiac output from the heart equals venous return to the heart. vii. What percentage of the blood is pumped to various organs? 1. Renal 25% 2. GI 25% 3. Skeletal muscle 25% 4. Cerebral 15% 5. Coronary 5% 6. Skin 5% b. Blood Vessels i. What are the functions of the blood vessels besides serving as pipes?
1. They participate actively in the regulation of blood
flow to the organs. 2. When resistance of the blood vessels, particularly of the arterioles, is altered, blood flow to that organ is altered. c. Circuitry i. How is the cardiac output distributed among various organs? 1. Total cardiac output of the left heart is distributed among the organ systems via sets of parallel arteries. (Total resistance is constant, so the current [blood volume reaching organs] changes) ii. When exercising (or other activities), how does the cardiac output reaching skeletal muscle alter and what regulates it? 1. Percentage of cardiac output reaching skeletal muscle increases. There are 3 mechanisms that regulate this: a. Cardiac output remains constant, but the blood flow is redistributed among the organ systems by the selective alteration of arteriolar resistance. (So, blood flow to one organ is increased at the expense of blood flow to other organs) b. Cardiac output increases or decreases, but th percentage of distribution of blood flow among the organ systems is kept constant. c. Combination of the above 2 mechanisms. 2. 3rd mechanism is used for strenuous exercise. iii. Valves: 1. Mitral valve between LA and LV 2. Aortic valve semilunar valve of the left heart 3. Pulmonic valve semilunar valve of the right heart. 4. Tricuspid valve between RA and RV