Circulatory system

The circulatory system is a system of blood vessels with a pump and valves to ensure one
way flow of blood.

• Single circulation means blood passes through the heart only once i.e. fish
• Double circulation means blood passes through the heart twice i.e. mammals

Double circulation is advantageous because it maintains a higher blood pressure compared

to a single circulation system.

Blood flow around the body

All mammals (including humans) have a double circulatory system of blood flow.
 1. Deoxygenated blood enters the right atrium (RA)
2. Deoxygenated blood enters the right ventricle (RV)
3. Deoxygenated blood is pumped by the RV to the lungs to become oxygenated
4. Oxygenated blood enters the left atrium (LA)
5. Oxygenated blood enters the left ventricle (LV)
6. Oxygenated blood is pumped by the LV to the rest of the body
7. Body cells use the oxygen and cause the blood to become deoxygenated
8. Deoxygenated blood returns to the heart and the cycle repeats (step 1)

It is very important to understand these steps now so that it makes life easier when we
dive deeper into the heart structure later.
Heart structure and function
Structure of the heart

It is extremely important you familiarize yourself with the different structures of the heart
and the direction of blood flow through it

Vena cava → Right atrium → Atrioventricular valve → Right ventricle →

Semilunar valve → Pulmonary artery → Lungs →Pulmonary vein → Left atrium
→ Atrioventricular valve → Left ventricle → Semi-lunar valve → Aorta → Body
→ Vena cava
Functions of the different structures

Atrium

The right and left atrium contracts to pump blood into the right and left ventricles
respectively

Ventricles

The right ventricle contracts to pump blood to the lungs (to become oxygenated).

The left ventricle contracts to pump blood to the rest of the body. It has a thicker wall than
the right ventricle because it needs to pump blood further, and therefore needs more force.

Atrioventricular valves

The aterioventricular valves separate the atrium and ventricles on both sides of the heart.

These valves prevent the backflow of blood, thus ensuring a one way flow of blood from the
atria to the ventricles.

Semilunar valves

Semilunar valves are found within the pulmonary arteries and the aorta. They prevent the
backflow of blood and ensures unidirectional blood flow in the arteries.

Pulmonary artery

The pulmonary artery carries blood from the right ventricle to the lungs

Pulmonary vein

The pulmonary vein carries blood from the lungs to the left atrium
Aorta

The aorta is a large artery which carries blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the
body

Vena cava

The vena cava is a large vein which carries deoxygenated blood from the body back to the
heart (right atrium)

Septum

The septum is a thick muscular wall which separates the right and left side of the heart.
This separation is important to ensure that oxygenated and deoxygenated blood does not
mix.

Activity of the heart

Physical activity increases heart rate

Heart rate is the rate at which the heart beats. The most common way to measure heart
rate is by measuring the pulse rate.

The pulse rate is exactly equal to the heart rate, as the contractions of the heart cause the
increases in blood pressure in the arteries that lead to a noticeable pulse.

Physical activity increases the energy demand in muscles such as the arms and legs. With
an increased rate of respiration, blood must be travel quicker to the muscles to supply
them of oxygen/nutrients whilst also removing waste products such as carbon dioxide. The
heart rate therefore increases to meet these demands.
Electrocardiogram (ECG)

An electrocardiogram is a device which can track heart activity. It can accurately measure
pulse rates via the opening and closing of heart valves.

Details regarding the electrocardiogram is not required

Coronary heart disease

What is coronary heart disease

So far we know that the heart functions as a pump which delivers blood to the rest of the
body. However, the heart muscles themselves also need a blood supply because they too,
are respiring muscles.

The coronary artery is the very important artery which provides the heart muscles with
blood.

Coronary heart disease is when the coronary artery becomes blocked, leading to blood (and
oxygen) starvation in the heart muscles. This leads to a heart attack.
Causes

Blockage of the coronary artery begins by the narrowing of the artery due to cholesterol
build up on the inner walls.

Total blockage can occur when a blood clot gets ‘stuck’ in these narrow arteries.

Risk factors

There are certain factors that increase the risk of an individual developing coronary heart
disease:

• Poor diet
• Stress
• Smoking
• Genetics
• Age
• Gender
Treatment with medications

Blood thinning medications are used to reduce the chances of a blood clot forming

Treatment with surgery

• Stents are a tube shaped device which is placed inside the coronary arteries to
physically hold it open

• Angeioplasty is a stent with a balloon which can be inflated once the stent is
inserted to even further increase the diameter of the artery
• Bypass is the process of making a separate ‘new’ artery to allow for an
alternative blood path that the heart can use to receive blood (rather than
relying only on the coronary artery)
Blood vessels
Blood vessels are a tubular structures carrying blood through the tissues and organs.
Starting from the heart, the pathway of blood is as follows:

[HEART] → Artery → Arteriole → Capillary → Venule → Vein → [HEART]

You do not need to know all the details of this diagram. Just concentrate on the
arrangement of the vessels i.e. how the artery branches out into arterioles which branch
further into capillaries. Also notice how capillaries join to form venules which join further to
become the vein.

Arteries

Arteries take blood away from the heart. They have several important structural features:

• Thick muscular walls to withstand blood being carried at high pressures

• Narrow lumen which expands as blood pulsates through to maintain blood
pressure
• Valves absent since high blood pressures prevent back flow
Arterioles

Arterioles are smaller branches of an artery. They eventually branch further to form
capillaries.

• Arterioles have muscular/elastic walls that can constrict & dilate in order to
regulate blood flow.

Capillaries

Capillaries are fine branching blood vessels that form a network between the arterioles and
venule.

They allow for the nutrient & waste exchange between the blood and the tissues of the
body. The features of capillaries are as follows:

• Walls are one cell thick to allow for quick diffusion of diffuse rates of
nutrients/wastes
• Luman has a diameter of just one RBC to allow blood cells to pass closely to
the walls for faster diffusion rates
• Valves are absent since the narrow capillary lumen ensures unidirectional blood
flow

Venules

Venules are small vessels formed from the joining of the capillaries. Venules combine to
establish a vein.

Veins

Veins take the blood towards the heart. Their structural features are as follows:

• Thin walls with little muscle & elastic fibres (thick muscles not required since
blood is carried at low pressure)
• Large lumen to reduce blood flow resistance
• Valves present to prevent blood back flow
Shunt vessels

Shunt vessels are blood vessels that connect blood directly from the arterioles to the
venules. This allows for an alternative route for blood flow (i.e. blood bypasses the
capillaries).

Like arterioles, shunt vessels have walls that can construct & dilate in order to regulate
blood flow.

Tissue fluid

Tissue fluid is the fluid which bathes most body tissues.

The fluid is the mode of nutrient & waste exchange between the blood and respiring
tissues.

For example:

• Waste products (such as carbon dioxide) from cells diffuse into the tissue fluid
first before diffusing in the blood
• Nutrients (such as glucose) diffuse into the tissue fluid first before diffusing
into the cells
Tissue fluid is produced by leakage of certain substances from blood capillaries, and
drained out by the lymphatic vessels of the lymphatic system.

Details of tissue fluid production and drainage are NOT required. Just understand that
blood capillaries LEAK tissue fluid and the tissue fluid is DRAINED by lymphatic vessels.
The tissue fluid inside lymph vessels are called LYMPH.

The lymphatic system is composed of lymphatic vessels which carry “lymph” and lymph
nodes which produce lymphocytes for immunity.

Blood
Blood is a mixture of several components such as:

• Red blood cells (RBCs)

• White blood cells (WBCs)
• Platelets
• Plasma
Plasma

Blood plasma makes up about 50% of the blood. It is a yellowish liquid that carries the
other blood components such as RBCs/WBCs/platelets.

Red blood cells

Red blood cells contain hemoglobin which binds to oxygen for transportation around the
body.

White blood cells

White blood cells are part of the immune system that helps to destroy foreign organisms
such as bacteria.

There are two types of white blood cells that you need to be aware of:

• Phagocytes are types of WBCs which engulf and digest pathogens via
phagocytosis
• Lymphocytes are WBCs which produce antibodies

More will be learnt about phagocytosis and antibodies in the next chapter

Platelets

Platelets are substances that form blood clots which is a protective mechanism to
prevent blood loss during an injury.

At the site of damage, platelets immediately stick together and release chemical signals
which attract other nearby cells and clump them together.

A series of of chemical reactions take place. Fibrinogen is converted into fibrin and this
forms a thread which traps RBCs to establish a thick clot. The clot seals off the site of
damage.