Circulatory System

Functions to move fluid between various parts of the

body
Small aquatic animals with no circulatory
system
Each cell is exposed to water and can independently
exchange gases and eliminate wastes
Pseudocoelomates
Use a fluid-filled body cavity as a means of transporting
substances
Coelomate echinoderms
May still rely on body fluids for the purpose of
locomotion
 Invertebrates with a Circulatory System
o Two types of circulatory fluids:
Blood - contained within blood vessels
Hemolymph mixture of blood and tissue fluid that fills the
body cavity and surrounds internal organs
o Open Circulatory System
Heart pumps hemolymph via vessels
Vessels empty into tissue spaces
Arthropods and most mollusks have an open circulatory
system.
Hemolymph is contained in a body cavity, the hemocoel.
A series of hearts circulates the fluid.
o Closed Circulatory System
Heart pumps blood to capillaries
Gases and materials diffuse to and from nearby
cells
Vessels return blood to heart without contact between
blood and tissues
 All vertebrates have a closed circulatory
system called a cardiovascular system
Vertebrate heart:
o Atria of heart receive blood from general circulation
o Ventricles of heart pump blood out through blood vessels

Vertebrate vessels:
o Arteries - Carry blood away from heart
o Arterioles Lead to capillaries
o Capillaries - Exchange materials with tissue fluid
o Venules - Lead to veins
o Veins - Return blood to heart
Transport in Vertebrates
 Comparison of Circulatory Pathways
o Fish - Blood flows in single loop

Single atrium and single ventricle

o Amphibians - Blood flows in double loop

Systemic circuit and pulmonary circuit

Two atria with a single ventricle

o Other vertebrates - Blood flows in a double loop

Heart divided by septum into separate sides

 The Human Heart

o Fist-sized

o Cone-shaped

o Muscular organ (cardiac fibers)

o Lies within a membranous sac (the

pericardium)
 The Human Heart
The heart is enclosed in a protective sac of
tissue called the pericardium (3 layers:
myocardium, epicardium, endocardium).
In the walls of the heart, two layers of
epithelial and connective tissue form
around a thick layer of muscle called the
myocardium.
Contractions of the myocardium, (thick
layer of muscle) pump blood.
 The Human Heart
o Pericardium
Visceral pericardium
Outer protective layer composed of a serous membrane
Includes blood capillaries, lymph capillaries, and nerve fibers.
Myocardium
Relatively thick.
Consists largely of cardiac muscle tissue responsible for forcing blood out
of the heart chambers.
Muscle fibers are arranged in planes, separated by connective tissues that
are richly supplied with blood capillaries, and nerve fibers.
The Human Heart
oPericardium
Endocardium
Consists of epithelial and connective tissue that
contains many elastic and collagenous fibers.
Connective tissue also contains blood vessels and some
specialized cardiac muscle fibers called Purkinje
fibers.
Lines all of the heart chambers and covers heart valves.
 Structure of the Heart
o Septum separates the heart into left & right sides
to prevent mix of oxygen-rich and oxygen-poor
blood
o Each side has two chambers
Upper two chambers are the atria
Thin-walled
Receive blood from circulation

Lower two chambers are the ventricles

Thick-walled
Pump blood away from heart
 Valvesopen and close to control blood
flow through heart
o Atrioventricular valves
Tricuspid valve between right atrium and
ventricle
Bicuspid valve between left atrium and
ventricle
o Semilunar valves
Pulmonary semilunar valve between right
ventricle and pulmonary trunk
Aortic semilunar valve between left ventricle
and aorta
 Path of Blood Through Heart
o Blood returning to heart from systemic circuit
Vena cava return blood to the right atrium
Right atrium pumps blood through the tricuspid valve to
right ventricle
Right ventricle pumps blood through the pulmonary
semilunar valve to the pulmonary circuit
o Blood returning to heart from pulmonary circuit
Enters left atrium
Left atrium pumps blood through the bicuspid valve to the
left ventricle
Left ventricle pumps blood through the aortic semilunar
valve to the systemic circuit
Oxygen-poor blood never mixes with oxygen-rich blood (in
humans)
 Heartbeat
o Systole - Contraction of heart chambers
o Diastole - Relaxation of heart chambers
o Cardiac cycle
Two-part pumping action that takes about a second
Blood collects in atria, the atria contract
Pushes blood through tricuspid and mitral valves into the
resting lower ventricles
This phase (the longer of the two) is called diastole
Second part begins after the ventricles fill
Ventricles contract
This is called systole
After blood moves into the pulmonary artery and aorta,
the ventricles relax
 Heartbeat (continued)
o The pulse is a wave effect
passing down the walls of
the arterial blood vessels
when the aorta expands
and recoils falling
ventricular systole
o Rhythmic contraction of
the heart is due to the
cardiac conduction
system
Sinoatrial node (SA)
keeps the heartbeat
regular
Atrioventricular node
(AV) signals ventricles to
contract
The nodes are also called
the Pacemakers because
they start the electric
signals which pass
through the Purkinje
Fibers
 Electrocardiogram (ECG)
o A recording of electrical changes that occur in
the myocardium during cardiac cycle
o When SA node triggers an impulse, the atrial
fibers produce an electrical charge (P wave)
o The P wave indicates that the atria are about
to contract
o The QRS complex signals that the ventricles
are about to contract and the atria are relaxing
o T wave is due to electrical changes occurring
as the ventricular muscle fibers recover
 Thehuman cardiovascular system
includes two major circular
pathways:
o Pulmonary Circuit
Takes oxygen-poor blood to the lungs and
returns oxygen-rich blood to the heart
o Systemic Circuit
Takes oxygen-rich blood from the heart to
tissues throughout the body and returns
oxygen-poor blood to the heart through the
vena cava
 Blood Pressure
o Contraction of the heart supplies pressure
that keeps blood moving in the arteries
Systolic pressure results from blood forced
into the arteries during ventricular systole
Diastolic pressure is the pressure in the
arteries during ventricular diastole
Normally measured with a
sphygmomanometer on the brachial artery
Expressed in the form: Systolic over Diastolic
Ex: 120/80 (Normal)
 Blood Vessels
o Capillaries- has walls as thick as only ONE CELL. They also
bring nutrients and oxygen to the tissues and absorb carbon
dioxide and other waste products from them
o Veins- Blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart are
veins. Veins have thinner walls than arteries. The walls of
veins contain connective tissue and smooth muscle. Large
veins contain valves that keep blood moving toward the
heart. Many veins are located near and between skeletal
muscles.
o Arteries- Large vessels that carry blood from the heart to
the tissues of the body are called arteries. Except for the
pulmonary arteries, all arteries carry oxygen-rich blood.
Arteries have thick walls. They contain connective tissue,
smooth muscle, and endothelium.
 Blood Vessels
 Blood
o Transports substances to and from capillaries for
exchange with tissue fluid
o Helps destroy pathogenic microorganisms
o Distributes antibodies
o Maintains water balance and pH
o Regulates body temperature
o Carries platelets and factors to promote clotting
and prevent blood loss
 Blood
o 45%- cells; 55%- plasma (straw-colored substance)
Plasma is 90% water and 10% dissolved gases, salts, nutrients,
enzymes, hormones, waste products, and plasma proteins.
 Blood
o Plasma Proteins
Albumins- transport substances such as fatty acids, hormones,
and vitamins. regulate osmotic pressure and blood volume.
Globulins- transport substances such as fatty acids, hormones,
and vitamins. fight viral and bacterial infections.
Fibrinogen- protein that clots blood
 Red Blood Cells (RBCs)
o Small, biconcave disks
o Lack a nucleus and contain hemoglobin (carries oxygen)
Hemoglobin contains
Four globin protein chains
Each associated with an iron-containing heme
Hemoglobin is bright red with oxygen and dark red without it and it can
hold up to four oxygen atoms
o Manufactured continuously in bone marrow of skull, ribs,
vertebrae, and ends of long bones
o RBCs live about 4 months. Iron from hemoglobin is recycled
in the liver and spleen.
o The hormone erythropoeitin, made by the kidneys,
stimulates the production of RBCs in red bone marrow.
 Blood Types
o Determined by the presence or absence of
a surface antigen
ABO System
Rh System
o Antibodies in the plasma can cause
agglutination (building up)
Cross-reactions occur when antigens meet
antibodies
 During pregnancy, if the mother is Rh negative and
the father is Rh positive, the child may be Rh
positive.
o Rh-positive red blood cells may leak across the placenta
o The mother will produce anti-Rh antibodies.
o Antibodies may attack the embryo in a subsequent
pregnancy
*Rh System- Rhesus Blood Group System. Rhesus is an
inherited protein than can be found in our RBCs
surface. Having it means positive and none means
negative.
 White Blood Cells (WBCs)
o Most types are larger than red blood cells
o Contain a nucleus and lack hemoglobin
o Important in inflammatory response
o May live for days, months or years
o White blood cells defend against disease by recognizing proteins
that do not belong to the body.
o White cells are able to ooze through the walls of capillaries to
patrol the tissues and reach the lymph system.
o Divided into two categories:
Granular leukocytes (presence of granules in their cytoplasm. They are
also called polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMN, PML, or PMNL)
because of the varying shapes of the nucleus, which is usually lobed
into three segments.)
Agranular leukocytes (has less granules in cytoplasm when viewed
under light microscope)
 White Blood Cells (WBCs)
o Granular Leukocytes
Contain granules composed of proteins and enzymes used to
help defend the body against invading organisms
Neutrophils phagocytize and digest bacteria then undergoes
apoptosis or cell self-destruction
Basophil contain histamine (released by cells in case of
injury or inflammation to cause capillaries to dilate and
smooth muscles to contract. They also increase blood flow in
the affected area causing redness or swelling)
Eosinophils involved in fighting parasitic worms, among
other activities and are stained by eosin (anti-parasitic,
trapping cells and bactericidal)
 White Blood Cells (WBCs)
o Agranular Leukocytes
Lack granules
Monocytes migrate into tissues in response to
chronic, ongoing infections
Differentiate into macrophages
Fight infection, release growth factors that increase
the production of WBCs by the bone marrow
Lymphocytes
T cells and B cells involved in the immune response
and antibody production
 Platelets
o Result from fragmentation of megakaryocytes
o Platelets produce thromboplastin that converts prothrombin to thrombin
(converts fibrinogen to fibrin and promotes coagulating factors. They may
also bind to other proteins that produce anti-coagulating factors)
o Platelets are cell fragments used in blood clotting.
o Platelets are derived from megakaryocytes. Because they lack a nucleus,
platelets have a short lifespan, usually about 10 days.
o Involved in blood clotting (coagulation)
A blood clot consists of:
Platelets
Red blood cells
Fibrin threads
*If one of the factors are defective then the person is hemophiliac (cant
even clot minor bleedings)
 from heart to heart
Arterial end Venous end
Blood pressure is higher Tissue fluid
Osmotic pressure is higher
than osmotic pressure. than blood pressure.
Net pressure out. oxygen amino carbon
Net pressure in.
acids glucose dioxide
water
wastes
water

salt plasma
protein

osmotic pressure
smooth blood pressure venule
arteriole muscle fiber
 Hypertension- sustained elevated blood pressure of
140/90 or higher
Atherosclerosis- fatty deposits (plaque) build up in
arteries inner walls
Heart Attack- If enough heart muscle is damaged,
heart attack occurs, or if the coronary artery is
damage, O2 deprivation occurs
Stroke- if the artery to the brain is blocked by an
embolus or bursts causing O2 deprivation leading to
brain cell death
 The body of an adult contains over 60,000 miles of
blood vessels!
An adult's heart pumps nearly 4000 gallons of
blood each day!
Your heart beats some 30 million times a year!
The average three-year-old has two pints of blood
in their body; the average adult at least five times
more!
A "heartbeat" is really the sound of the valves in
the heart closing as they push blood through its
chambers.

 As blood circulates, some
fluid leaks into
surrounding tissues.
This helps maintain
movement of nutrients
and salts from the blood
into the tissues. The
lymphatic system
collects the fluid that is
lost by the blood and
returns it back to the
circulatory system.
*The fluid is known as
lymph.
 The lymphatic system
collects and returns
fluid that leaks from
blood vessels. The spleen
is an organ whose main
function is to destroy
damaged red blood cells
and platelets. Certain
white blood cells called T
cells mature in the
thymus gland, which
produces hormones that
promote their
development.
 Lymph collects in lymphatic capillaries and flows
into larger lymph vessels.
Ducts collect the lymph and return it to the
circulatory system through two openings in the
superior vena cava.
Along lymph vessels are enlargements called
lymph nodes.
Lymph nodes trap disease-causing
microorganisms.
When large numbers of microorganisms are
trapped in the lymph nodes, the nodes become
enlarged.