Republic of the Philippines

Commission on Higher Education

UNIVERSITY OF EASTERN PHILIPPINES
University Town, Northern Samar

COLLEGE OF EDUCATION
Secondary Teacher Education Department
SY: 2023-2024

Module in Major 18:

Anatomy and Physiology

BLOOD
VESSELS AND
CIRCULATION

This module is prepared by:

RICA MAE TIZON

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 Module in Major 18: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Lesson 13 Blood Vessels and

Circulation
Overview

In the previous lessons, you have learned about the heart. You learned that
heart is the incredible organ that pumps blood throughout the body. The heart
also has 4 chambers: (1) right atrium, (2) left atrium), (3) right ventricle and (4)
the left ventricle. In this part of the module, let us talk about another part of the
circulatory system which plays a vital role in blood circulation so that cells
receive adequate nutrients and so that waste products are remove, blood vessels.

Blood vessels and circulation play a vital role in maintaining the health and
functionality of the body by delivering essential substances to various tissues and
organs and facilitating the removal of waste products. The heart, a muscular
organ, serves as the central pump of the circulatory system. It contracts
rhythmically to propel blood through a network of blood vessels, including
arteries, capillaries, and veins.

Circulation plays a vital role in maintaining the body's equilibrium by

distributing vital substances and removing waste products. The continuous flow
of blood through the blood vessels ensures that every cell receives the necessary
oxygen and nutrients for energy production and tissue repair.

Learning Outcomes

Upon completion of the topic, you should be able to:

 Define blood vessels

 Identify the functions of the blood vessels.
 Describe the structure and function of arteries, capillaries, and veins.
 Distinguish the blood vessels of the pulmonary and systemic circulation
 Demonstrate how to determine the blood pressure.
 Value the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle to keep your blood vessels in
good shape.

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Knowledge Check! (Pretest)

Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answers on a separate
sheet of paper.

1. It is a muscle organ that pumps blood through the body?

a. Liver
b. Heart
c. Kidney
d. Lungs

2. A blood vessel that carry oxygen-rich blood away from the

heart to various parts of the body is _______________.
a. Arteries
b. Veins
c. Capillaries
d. Arterioles

3. The site of exchange between the blood and body tissues.

a. Arteries c. Capillaries
b. Veins d. Arterioles

4. A blood vessel that carry blood toward the heart.

a. Arteries c. Capillaries
b. Veins d. Arterioles

5. It consists the heart, blood and blood vessels.

a. Circulatory system b. Respiratory system
b. Muscular system d. integumentary system

II. Enumerate the following:

1. Four chambers of the heart
2. Three main types of blood vessels
3. Two classes of blood circulation

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ABSTRACTION
Have you ever thought about what does the blood move through in order to get
around?

I. BLOOD VESSELS

Blood vessels, circulation, blood, and the heart are integral components of the
cardiovascular system, working together to ensure the delivery of oxygen and
nutrients to tissues and the removal of waste products
from the body. Blood vessels carry blood to within two
or three cell diameters of nearly trillions of cells that
make up the body. Blood vessels outside the heart are
divided into two classes: (1) the pulmonary vessels
which transport blood from the right ventricle of the
heart through the lungs and back to the left atrium, and
(2) the systemic vessels, which transport blood from the
left ventricle of the heart through all parts of the body
and back to the right atrium. Together, the pulmonary
vessel and the systemic vessels constitute the circulatory
system.
Five (5) Major Functions of the Blood Vessels
1. Carries Blood – Blood vessels carry blood from the heart to all the tissues of the
body and back to the heart.
2. Exchanges nutrients, waste products, and gases with tissues – Nutrients and O2
diffuse from blood vessels to cells in essentially all areas of the body. Waste products
and CO2 diffuse from the cells, where they are produced, to blood vessels.
3. Transport Substances – Blood transport hormones, components of the immune
system, molecules required for coagulation, enzymes, nutrients, gases, wastes
products, and other substances to and from all areas of the body.
4. Helps regulate blood pressure – the circulatory system and the heart work together
to regulate blood pressure within a normal range.
5. Directs blood flow to the tissues – the circulatory system directs blood to tissues
when increased blood flow is required to maintain homeostasis.

The three main types of blood vessels are arteries, capillaries, and veins.
Arteries (ar'ter-ēz) carry blood away from the heart; usually, the blood is oxygenated
(oxygen-rich). Blood is pumped from the ventricles of the heart into large, elastic
arteries, which branch repeatedly to form progressively smaller arteries. As they
become smaller, the artery walls undergo a gradual transition from having more
elastic tissue than smooth muscle to having more smooth muscle than elastic tissue.

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The arteries are normally classified as elastic arteries, muscular arteries, or arterioles,
although they form a continuum from the largest to the smallest branches.
a. Elastic arteries – the largest-diameter arteries and have thickest walls. A
greater proportion of their walls is elastic tissue, and as smaller proportion
is smooth compared with other arteries. The elastic arteries are stretch
when the ventricle of the heart pump blood into them.
b. Muscular arteries – include medium size and small arteries. Medium-
sized arteries are frequently called distributing arteries because the smooth
muscle tissue enables these to control blood flow in blood vessels.
Contraction of the smooth muscle in blood vessels, called
vasoconstriction, decreases blood vessel diameter and blood flow.
Relaxation of the smooth muscle in blood vessels, called vasodilation,
increases blood vessel diameter and blood flow.
c. Arterioles – is the smallest of the three types of arteries. It receives and
transport blood from small muscular arteries to capillaries.
Blood flows from arterioles into capillaries (kap'i-lār-ēz). It is at the capillaries
where exchange of substance s such as O 2, CO2, nutrients, and other waste products
occurs between the blood and the tissue fluid. Capillaries have thinner walls than do
arteries. Blood flows through capillaries more slowly, and there are far more of them
than of any other blood vessel type. From the capillaries, blood flows into veins.
Veins (vānz) carry blood toward the heart; usually,
the blood is deoxygenated (Oxygen-poor). Compared to
arteries, the walls of veins are thinner and contain less
elastic tissue and fewer smooth muscle cells. Starting at
capillaries and proceeding toward the heart, small-diameter
veins come together to form larger-diameter veins, which
are fewer in number. Veins increase in diameter and
decrease in number as they progress toward the heart, and
their walls increase in thickness. Veins may be classified as
venules, small veins, medium-sized veins, or large veins.
Except in capillaries and venules, blood vessel walls consist of three layers, or tunics
(too'niks). From the inner to the outer wall, the tunics are (1) the tunica intima, (2) the
tunica media, and (3) the tunica adventitia, or tunica externa. The tunica intima (tooʻni-
kă in'ti-mă), or innermost layer, consists of an endothelium composed of simple
squamous epithelial cells, a basement membrane, and a small amount of connective
tissue. In muscular arteries, the tunica intima also contains a layer of thin elastic
connective tissue. The tunica media, or middle layer, consists of smooth muscle cells
arranged circularly around the blood vessel. It also contains variable amounts of
elastic and collagen fibers, depending on the size and type of the vessel. In muscular
arteries, a layer of elastic connective tissue forms the outer margin of the tunica
media. The tunica adventitia (ad-ven-tish ă) is composed of dense connective tissue
adjacent to the tunica media; the tissue becomes loose connective tissue toward the
outer portion of the blood vessel wall.

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 Capillaries – it is where exchange of substances such as O 2, CO2, nutrients,

and other waste products occurs between the blood and the tissue fluid. The
thin walls of capillaries facilitate diffusion between the capillaries and
surrounding cells. Blood flow from arterioles into capillaries, where exchange
occurs between the blood and tissue fluid. As the blood flow through
capillaries, blood give up oxygen and nutrients to the tissue spaces and takes
up carbon dioxide and other by-products of metabolism
 Veins – carry blood toward the heart, usually the blood is deoxygenated. Their
walls are much thinner than the arteries and contain less elastic tissue and
fewer smooth muscle cells. Going from capillaries towards the heart, small-
diamter veins called venules come together to form larger-diamter veins,
which are fewer in number. Veins increase in diameter and decrease in
number as they project towards the heart, and their walls increase in
thickness.

“Blood vessels may be tiny, but they are mighty.”

II. PULMONARY AND SYSTEMIC CIRCULATION

The vessels make up two closed systems of tubes that begin and end at the
heart. One system, the pulmonary circulation is the system of blood vessels that
carries blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs and back to the left
atrium of the heart. Blood from the right ventricle is
pumped into a short vessel called the pulmonary trunk.
The pulmonary trunk then branches into the right and
left pulmonary arteries, which extend to the right and left
lungs, respectively. These arteries carry deoxygenated
blood to pulmonary capillaries in the lungs, where the
blood takes up O2, releases CO2. Blood rich in O, flows
from the lungs to the left atrium. Four pulmonary veins
(two from each lung) exit the lungs the oxygenated blood
to the left atrium.

The other system, the

systemic circulation, the system of blood vessels that
carries blood from the left ventricle of the heart to the
tissues of the body and back to the right atrium.
Oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins passes from
the left atrium into the left ventricle and from the left
ventricle into the aorta. Arteries distribute blood from the
aorta to all portions of the body.

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The deoxygenated blood from the tissues of the body

returns to the heart through veins. The superior vena cava
returns blood from the head, neck, thorax and upper limbs
to the right atrium of the heart, and the inferior vena cava
returns blood from the abdomen, pelvis, and lower limbs to
the right atrium.

III. PHYSIOLOGY OF CIRCULATION

(BLOOD PRESSURE)
The function of the circulatory system is to maintain adequate blood flow to
all body tissues. Adequate blood flow is required to provide nutrients and oxygen, to
the tissues and to remove the waste products of metabolism from the tissues. Blood
flows through the arterial system primarily as a result of the pressure produced by
contractions of the heart ventricles.

Blood pressure is a measure of the force blood exerts against the blood vessel
walls. In arteries, blood pressure values go through a cycle that depends on the
rhythmic contractions of the heart. When the ventricles contract, blood is forced into
the arteries, and the pressure reaches a maximum value called the systolic pressure.
When the ventricles relax, blood pressure in the arteries falls to a minimum value
called the diastolic pressure. The standard unit for measuring blood pressure is
millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). For example, if the blood pressure is 100 mm Hg,
the pressure is great enough to lift a column of mercury 100 mm.

Health professionals most often use the

auscultatory method to determine blood pressure. A
blood pressure cuff connected to a sphygmomanometer
is wrapped around the patient's arm, and a stethoscope
is placed over the brachial artery. The blood pressure
cuff is then inflated until the brachial artery is
completely blocked. Because no blood flows through
the constricted area at this point, no sounds can be
heard through the stethoscope. The pressure in the cuff is then gradually lowered.
As soon as the pressure in the cuff declines below the systolic pressure, blood flows
through the constricted area each time the left ventricle contracts. The blood flow is
turbulent immediately downstream from the constricted area. This turbulence
produces vibrations in the blood and surrounding tissues that can be heard through
the stethoscope. These sounds are called Korotkoff sounds, and the pressure at
which the first Korotkoff sound is heard is the systolic pressure.

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As the pressure in the blood pressure cuff is lowered still more, the
Korotkoff sounds change tone and loudness. When the pressure has dropped
until the brachial artery is no longer constricted and blood flow is no longer
turbulent, the sound disappears completely. The pressure at which the
Korotkoff sounds disappear is the diastolic pressure. The brachial artery
remains open during systole and diastole, and continuous blood flow is
reestablished.

The systolic pressure is the maximum pressure produced in the large arteries.
It is also a good measure of the maximum pressure within the left ventricle. The
diastolic pressure is close to the lowest pressure within the large arteries. During
relaxation of the left ventricle, the aortic semilunar valve closes, trapping the blood
that was ejected during ventricular contraction in the aorta. The pressure in the
ventricles falls to 0 mmHg during ventricular relaxation. However, the blood
trapped in the elastic arteries, and the pressure falls more slowly, reaching the
diastolic pressure.

Blood Pressure for Adults Guidelines

Normal: less than 120 mmHg systolic and 80 mmHg diastoli

Prehypertension: from 120 mmHg systolic

ACTIVITY TIME

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 Module in Major 18: ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY

Activity 1. COMPLETE ME!

Directions: Complete each statement using a term or terms from the
list below. Write your answers on a separate sheet of paper.

capillaries veins blood vessels

arteries auscultatory stethoscope

sphygmomanometer oxygen

(1) _________ serve as the channel that carry blood throughout the
body. Like blood, blood vessels also come in either (2) ________ that carry
blood away from the heart, (3) __________ that carry blood towards the heart and
(4) _______ that connects the arteries and veins. These blood vessels are
essentials to ensure that cells receive adequate nutrients and (5) ________.
Scientists use (6) _______________ method to determine the blood pressure of
a man, which uses (7) ________________ and (8) ____________________.

Activity 2. Compare and Contrast Pulmonary from Systemic

Circulation

Pulmonary Systemic

Activity 3. Let’s demonstrate it!

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Directions: The class will be divided into five (5) groups. Each groups
will be given 10 minutes to manipulate, practice, and demonstrate
auscultatory method to know how to determine blood pressure.

APPLICATION
Performance Task: Make your own Telescope!

This activity will help you apply whatever learnings you have obtained from
the above discussion about blood vessels. Using materials that you can see around
you, improvise or build your own stethoscope and sphygmomanometer. A
telescope is an optical instrument used in viewing far objects, it is the instrument
that astronomers use in observing the sky, especially at night. Now, imagine
yourself as a budding astronomer who lived during the time that technology has
not flourished yet.

Young Galileo, please note that your version of telescope will be assessed with the
following criteria:

Creativity 30%
Functionality 30%
Application of Scientific Knowledge 40%
Total 100%
Now young Galileo, it’s time for you to build your own telescope!

SUMMARY

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 The first ancient scientists started experimenting and trying to decipher the secrets of
life, universe and the world we live in, one specific question became apparent to
them. During the life of the great Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia with the creation
of first crude lenses.
 From that point on, scientists from all major cultures in Asia, Middle East, Africa, and
Europe started working tirelessly on testing, hypothesizing, and building test
instruments with a goal of depicting light behavior, properties and the way it interact
with matter. Finally, after more than 2 thousand years, discoveries in many fields of
science enabled engineers and inventors to start testing “modern optics”, which
focuses on the research of brand-new areas such as wave optics and quantum optics.
 A lens is an optical device that transmits light by refraction. The incident beam is
either converged or diverged, based on the nature of the lens.
 The two types of lenses are converging (convex) and diverging (concave). Converging
lenses have thicker centers and thinner edges. They refract light rays inward to meet
at a single point. On the other hand, diverging lenses have thinner centers and
thicker edges, allowing light rays to spread out and seem to diverge away from a
single point.

 A real image and a virtual image are different forms of image. The main
difference between real and virtual images lies in the way in which they are
produced. A real image is formed when rays converge, whereas a virtual
image occurs when rays only appear to diverge. Real images can be
produced by concave mirrors and converging lenses, only if the object is
placed further away from the mirror/lens than the focal point, and this real
image is inverted.
ASSESSMENT
Directions: Choose the letter of the correct answer. Write your answers on a separate
sheet of paper. (2pts. Each)

1. What type of lens is used in a magnifying glass?

c. Converging lens
d. Diverging lens
e. Focusing lens
f. None of the above.

2. Convex lenses are used in _______________.

a. magnifying smaller objects

b. camera
c. microscopes
d. all of the above

3. As per the Law of Reflection measured through the normal line, the angle of
incidence is ____________ to the angle of reflection.

a. equal C. less than

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b. greater than D. both a and b

4. What type of lens produces smaller and upright images?

a. concave lens C. convex lens

b. converging lens D. cannot be determined

5. What type of lens is use to correct nearsightedness?

a. concave B. convex C. parabolic D. plane

6. The sun’s rays are observed to focus at a point behind a lens. What kind of lens
was used?

A. converging lens b. diverging lens

c. focusing lens d. none of the above

Test 2. Enumeration
Direction: Enumerate the application of a concave lens and convex lens.
(4pts.)

CONVEX LENS CONCAVE LENS

1. ________________ 1. _________________
2. ________________ 2. _________________

FEEDBACK

Provide your suggestions or inquiries regarding this topic. Write them

in the space provided.

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REFERENCES
https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/articles/17060-how-does-the-blood-flow-through-your-heart

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