Cardiovasuclar System

CARDIOVASUCLAR
SYSTEM
CARDIOVASUCLAR SYSTEM
The cardiovascular system is the main system for
communication between different parts of the body
of animals. It pumps and conducts the blood to
irrigate the every part of the body.
FUNCTION
By circulating blood throughout the body, the
cardiovascular system functions to supply the tissues
with oxygen and nutrients, while removing carbon
dioxide and other metabolic wastes.
HEART
The heart is composed of cardiac muscle that differs slightly
from the skeletal and smooth muscle found elsewhere in
the body. This special type of muscle adjusts the rate of
muscular contraction, allowing the heart to maintain a
regular pumping rhythm. The main parts of the heart are
the chambers, the valves, and the electrical nodes.
Heart Chambers:
There are two different types of
heart chambers. The first is the
atrium (plural is atria), which
receives blood returning to the heart
through the veins. The right atrium
pumps blood to the right ventricle,
and the left atrium pumps blood into
the left ventricle. This blood is then
pumped from the atrium into the
second chamber called the ventricle.
The ventricles are much larger than
the atria and their thick, muscular
walls are used to forcefully pump the
blood from the heart to the body and
lungs (or gills).
Valves:
The valves found within the heart
are situated between the atria and
ventricles, and also between the
ventricles and major arteries. These
valves are opened and closed by
pressure changes within the
chambers, and act as a barrier to
prevent the backflow of blood. The
characteristic "lub-dub, lub-dub"
heart sounds heard through a
stethoscope are the result of
vibrations caused by the closing of
the respective valves.
Electrical Nodes:
There are two different electrical nodes, or groups of
specialized cells, located in the cardiac tissue. The first
is the sinoatrial (SA) node, commonly called the
pacemaker. The pacemaker is embedded in the wall of
the right atrium. This small patch of tissue experiences
rhythmic excitation and the impulse rapidly spreads
throughout the atria, causing a muscular contraction
and the pumping of blood from the atria to the
ventricles. The other node, the atrioventricular (AV)
node, relays the impulse of the SA node to the
ventricles. It delays the impulse to prevent the
ventricles from contracting at the same time as the
atria, thus giving them time to fill with blood. The
cycle of contraction of the heart muscle is called a
heartbeat, the rate of which varies greatly between
organisms.
VESSELS
A vessel is a hollow tube for transporting something, like a garden
hose transporting water. A blood vessel is a hollow tube for
transporting blood. There are three main types of blood vessels:
- Arteries
- Capillaries
- Veins
These main blood vessels function to transport blood through the
entire body and exchange oxygen and nutrients for carbon dioxide
and wastes.
The arteries carry blood away from the
heart, and are under high pressure from
the pumping of the heart. To maintain
their structure under this pressure, they
have thick, elastic walls to allow stretch
and recoil. The large pulmonary artery
carries unoxygenated blood from the
right ventricles to the lung, where it
gives off carbon dioxide and receives
oxygen. The aorta is the largest artery. It
carries oxygenated blood from the left
ventricle to the body. The arteries
branch and eventually lead to capillary
beds.
The capillaries make up a
network of tiny vessels with
extremely thin, highly
permeable walls. They are
present in all of the major
tissues of the body and function
in the exchange of gases,
nutrients, and fluids between
the blood, body tissues, and
alveoli of the lungs.
At the opposite side of the capillary beds,
the capillaries merge to form veins, which
return the blood back to the heart. The
veins are under much less pressure than
the arteries and therefore have much
thinner walls. The veins also contain one-
way valves in order to prevent the blood
from flowing the wrong direction in the
absence of pressure. The pulmonary vein
returns oxygenated blood from the lungs to
the left atria. The vena cava returns blood
from the body to the right atria. The blood
that is returned to the heart is then
recycled through the cardiovascular
system.
COMPARATIVE ANATOMY
Mammals and Birds
Mammalian and avian hearts have four chambers — two atria and two
ventricles.
Amphibians and Reptiles
Amphibians and reptiles, by contrast, have a three-chambered heart. The three-
chambered heart consists of two atria and one ventricle.
Fish
Fish possess the simplest type of true heart — a two-chambered organ
composed of one atrium and one ventricle.

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