Human Circulatory

System
 Circulatory System
 Circulatory system is
responsible for moving
nutrients, gases like
oxygen and carbon
dioxide, hormones (signal
molecules) and fluids like
water throughout the
body of a multicellular
organism.
Circulatory System
 Overview
 Circulatory systems
includes:
 Heart – a muscular
pump
 Blood vessels – tubes
that transport the blood
 Blood – fluid that
transports substances
around the body

 Also called the

cardiovascular system.
 Circulatory System
 Closed system – meaning that blood is always
confined to vessels
 Some simpler animals have open circulation –
blood surrounds the organs and tissues, oozing
around open cavities inside the organism. This is
less efficient.
 Blood Vessels
 Blood vessels – tubes that transport blood
 60,000 miles of blood vessels in human body!!!
 3 types – What are they? What does each do?
 Arteries – carry blood away from the heart
 Capillaries – where material exchange occurs
 Veins – carry blood to the heart

arteries capillaries veins

 Arteries
 Carry blood away from
the heart
 Have relatively thick,
muscular walls because
blood in arteries is
under pressure
 Elastic - expand as
blood is pumped into
them, return to normal
as pressure decreases.
 If arteries become
hardened because of
cholesterol deposits
or old age, blood
pressure increases,
which increases work
load of the heart.
 Major artery is the aorta
 Blood Vessels
 Capillaries
 Site of materials exchange between blood and cells
 Tiny – only one cell thick
 Thin barrier maximizes exchange of gases, nutrients and
wastes
 Blood flow slows down to allow time for movement of
oxygen, carbon dioxide, water, glucose and other materials
into and out of the blood.
 Blood Vessels
 Red blood cells must go through single file
 So numerous that every cell in the body is near a
capillary!
 So delicate that it will rupture under a tension
1/3,000 that required to tear toilet tissue!
 Veins
 Carry blood toward the heart

 Have thinner, less muscular walls

because blood in veins is under
much lower pressure
 Have valves that prevent blood
from flowing backward
 Movement of body helps push
blood through veins
 Sometimes sitting or
standing still for long periods
can cause blood to pool in
leg veins, so not enough
blood available to brain, and
the person faints.
 Major veins are the
vena cava (upper and
lower)
 Blood Vessels
 Remember:
 Arteries carry blood away from the heart
 Veins take it toward the heart

 It has nothing to do with whether the blood is

oxygenated or not!
 Heart
 The heart
 Verses
 Can you believe…?
 Heart beats an average of 70 times per minute,
100,000 times per day, or 2.5 billion times in an
average lifespan
 Heart pumps 2,000 gallons of blood per day or 60
million gallons in an average lifespan
 Heart
 Heart is a 4-
chambered muscular
pump that provides
energy to move blood
throughout the body.
 Designed to prevent
mixing of oxygenated
and deoxygenated
blood
 Right side handles
deoxygenated blood
 Left side pumps
oxygenated blood
 Designed to ensure
one-way flow of blood
Heart
 Anatomy
 4 chambers
 2 atria –thin walled
chambers that collect blood
from veins and empty it
into the ventricles
 2 ventricles – larger,
thick-walled chambers that
contract, pumping blood
out into arteries
 Left ventricle is the
largest because it is
working under highest
pressure
 Heart
 4 valves – prevent blood from flowing backward in
the heart
 AV (atrioventricular) valves between atria and ventricles
 Semilunar valves between ventricles and arteries
 Heart

 Blood vessels
 Veins
 Vena cava collect blood
from the body
 Pulmonary vein brings blood
from the lungs to the heart
(note this vein carries
oxygenated blood)
 Arteries
 Pulmonary takes blood from
heart to lungs
 Aorta takes blood from left
ventricle to the body
Heart
 Heart
 Cardiac cycle
 Blood enters right atrium from vena cava
 As atrium fills, AV valve opens and right ventricle
begins to fill
 Atrium contracts, filling the ventricle

 Ventricle contracts, AV valve closes, semilunar

valve opens, blood moves into pulmonary artery,
then to the lungs
 Heart
 Blood enters capillaries in lungs, where it picks up
oxygen, releases carbon dioxide
 Oxygenated blood flows into pulmonary vein, then
enters left atrium
 AV valve opens and left ventricle begins to fill

 Atrium contracts, filling the ventricle

 Ventricle contracts, AV valve closes, semilunar

valve opens, blood moves into aorta and is
distributed to the body.
 Cardiac Cycle
 Heart muscle itself gets its blood supply from
the coronary arteries (which branch off the
aorta), not the blood flowing through it.
 Blood
 Blood is the fluid that transports
substances around the body.
 Its job is to “nourish and cleanse each living
cell.” (In His Image, Brand and Yancey, p.59)
 Consists of cells suspended in plasma (liquid)
Blood
 Cells
 Red blood cells (erythrocytes)
 Round cells that carry
oxygen
 Contain hemoglobin,
an iron-containing
protein that binds
oxygen very strongly in
lungs, then releases it in
oxygen-poor
environment of the
capillaries
 Blood
 Don’t have a
nucleus
 Live about 120 days

 Made in the bone

marrow
 We make about 2
million new RBC per
second
 Normally have
about 5 million RBC
in speck of blood
the size of a letter
“o”
 Blood
 White blood cells
(leukocytes)
 Several different
types, all part of
immune system
 Defend the body
against disease
(bacteria, viruses
fungi worms), toxins
and cancer
 Many act by
surrounding and
engulfing
invaders
 Blood
When infection present in the
body, WBC count increases to
combat it. Doctors measure
WBC levels to determine
presence and extent of
infections.
 Blood
 Platelets – small fragments
of WBC that help form
blood clots when a blood
vessel is damaged.
 Platelets stick to wound
site, attract more platelets
Blood
 Clotting proteins
circulating in blood
become activated
 Fibrin becomes
activated by clotting
factors, forms a
network of threads
(like a spiderweb)
that traps more
platelets and RBC to
form a clot
Blood
 Plasma – watery fluid
containing cells and
dissolved molecules
like proteins, oxygen,
carbon dioxide,
nutrients (glucose,
amino acids and fats),
waste products (like
urea) and hormones
Cardiac Cycle


Patients requiring blood almost never receive transfusions of whole blood. Instead, a patient
typically receives only the components necessary to treat their clinical condition. Therefore, whole
blood donations must be processed to separate out each component. Each component plays a
different role in the health and survival of a patient. Red blood cells comprise 40-50% of
blood volume. They carry oxygen to vital organs and are required by surgical patients who lose
blood during surgery or by trauma victims who have lost blood as a result of an accident or
injury. Red blood cells that have been donated can be stored in a refrigerator for up to 42 days.
If they are not used within six weeks, they must be thrown away. They can also be stored frozen
for up to 10 years. Red cells are the most commonly transfused blood component and most
whole blood collections are done with the specific intent of capturing the red cell component. Red
Blood Cells carry oxygen to organs. Platelets account for a small percentage of whole blood
volume. They are used therapeutically to control bleeding and are often transfused in multiple
doses to cancer patients undergoing chemotherapy. Platelets must be stored at room
temperature to retain their visibility. Therefore, they have only a five day shelf life before they
must be discarded due to possible growth of bacteria. Platelets aid in clotting. Plasma: The
remainder of blood volume is plasma, a watery substance in which proteins that trigger blood
clotting mechanisms are suspended. Plasma can be transfused directly to a patient, but, more
often, plasma is used as a raw material for pharmaceuticals. Plasma is “fractionated” into its
different protein components, which are then manufactured into pharmaceuticals. Factor VIII,
which is required by hemophiliacs to control bleeding, is one such plasma derived medicine.
Plasma can be stored frozen for up to one year. Plasma: the fluid portion of blood.
 Blood
 Illnesses
 Anemia – too few RBC, can’t carry enough oxygen.
Person gets very tired, prone to infections. Treat
with iron for less severe cases or blood transfusion
for severe cases. Females especially prone to this.
 Sickle cell anemia
 Hemophilia – inadequate clotting
Mutations in clotting proteins cause profuse bleeding
from even minor wounds.
Treat by giving clotting factor. Used to be obtained
from blood donors, so many patients contracted HIV
and hepatitis. Now use factors produced by bacteria.
(Insert human gene into bacteria and have them
mass produce the correct protein.)
 Blood
 Clotting disorders
 Clots can form in blood vessels due to internal
damage (fatty plaques, for example). If clot
obstructs vessels to heart heart attack.
Obstruct vessels to brain stroke. Both are
debilitating and can be fatal.