THE CIRCULATORY STSTEM

The transport system by which blood is carried to all parts of the body.
All other body systems depend on it functioning efficiently.

FUNCTIONS:
- transports water, oxygen and nutrients to cells
- removes carbon dioxide and other waste products
- circulates blood
- helps other systems to function e.g. blood to muscles
- helps fight disease / infection from germs
- maintains temperature and fluid levels
- carries hormones from hormonal (endocrine) glands to different parts of the body.

Flow Chart- Blood flow through the heart

Vena cava Pulmonary Artery

Body → Right Atrium → Right Ventricle →
Pulmonary vein Aorta
Lungs → Left Atrium → Left Ventricle → Body

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Types of Circulation
Systematic Circulation carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of the body.
Deoxygenated blood returns to the heart with waste products, which have to be removed
from the body.

Pulmonary Circulation carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs. Here
carbon dioxide is exchanged for oxygen. Oxygenated blood is then carried back to the
heart.

STRUCTURE AND WORKINGS

THE HEART-The organ which pumps blood around the body
- A hollow, muscular organ which serves as a pump to pump blood around body.
- A double pump for double circulation i.e. right side pumps blood to the lungs then
it returns to the heart and the left side pumps blood to the body and it also returns
to the heart.
- Made of special cardiac muscle which contracts regularly without tiring
- Not under conscious control
- Located between the lungs behind the ribs
- Divide into four chambers
 two upper chambers atria (1 atrium) and two lower chambers – ventricles
 a muscular wall down the middle divides the heart into two parts – the
right and left sides
- Valves prevent back flow of blood
 between the Right Atrium and Right Ventricle – tricuspid
valve
 between the Left Atrium and Left Ventricle – bicuspid
valve
 between the heart and arteries – semi – lunar valve
- At rest the average adult heart pumps about 72 times per minute
- The heart pumps about 5 liters of blood around the body in one minute

HOW THE HEART WORKS

(1) - Blood flows into the heart between beats when it is relaxed
- Deoxygenated blood from the body enters the right atrium through the vena cava
veins
- At the same time newly oxygenated blood from the lungs enters the left atrium
through the pulmonary veins

(2) - The right atrium muscles contract to pump blood through the tricuspid valve into
the right ventricle
- At the same time the left atrium muscles contract to pump blood through the
mitral \ bicuspid valve into the left ventricle

(3) - Right ventricle muscles contracts to pump blood through the semi lunar valves
into the pulmonary artery to travel to the lungs
- Left ventricle muscles contract to pump blood through the semi lunar valves into

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 the aorta to travel around the body again

HOW BLOOD MOVES AROUND THE BODY

The right hand side of the heart
- Blood returning from the body through the vena cava veins (largest vein)
- During its journey much of the oxygen has been given up
- It has picked up waste products including carbon dioxide
- Dull red colour
- The heart pumps blood to the lungs in the pulmonary artery (the only artery which
carries deoxygenated blood)

The left hand side of the heart

- Blood returning from the lungs in the pulmonary veins (only veins which carry
oxygenated blood)
- In the lungs carbon dioxide and other waste products are released and fresh
Oxygen is collected
- Bright red colour
- The heart pumps the blood into the aorta (largest artery) to travel around the body.

BLOOD VESSELS INCLUDE

- Arteries, arterioles, veins, venules and capillaries
- They carry blood to all parts of the body and back to the heart
- Arteries carry freshly oxygenated blood from the heart
- They become smaller and smaller. The smallest arteries are arterioles - they take
blood into the tissues where they join up with the smallest vessels-the capillaries
- The capillaries join up with the venules which increase in size to become veins
- Veins return deoxygenated blood to the heart.

ARTERIES → ARTERIOLES → CAPILLARIES → VENULES → VEINS

ARTERIES
- Thickest blood vessels
- Carry blood away from heart to rest of the body
- Carry oxygenated (bright red) blood (except pulmonary artery)

CAPILLARIES
- Microscopic vessels with extremely thin walls (one cell thick)
- Link arterioles and venules
- Allow food and oxygen to pass out to body tissues
- Allow carbon dioxide and other waste to pass into the blood from other body tissues

VEINS
- Thin walls
- Have valves to stop blood flow backwards
- Carry blood to the heart
- Carry deoxygenated (dark red) blood (except pulmonary veins)

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WHAT HAPPENS IN THE CAPILLARIES
- Capillary network extremely large
- Very dense in active tissues (e.g. muscles)
- Arterioles bring oxygen and nutrients to the capillaries
- In muscle tissue the oxygen and nutrients squeeze out through the thin capillary
walls, enables muscle to work
- As a muscle contracts it produces waste products including carbon dioxide which
squeeze back into the capillary
- The capillaries then join up with venules, which lead to veins and back to the heart
- Carbon dioxide is then removed by the kidneys
- Other waste is removed by the kidneys

MAKE UP OF THE BLOOD

The volume of blood in the body depends on body size.
MEN 5-6 litres WOMEN 4-5 litres

BLOOD
55% PLASMA
45% FORMED ELEMENTS – Red Blood Cells- Erythrocytes
White Blood Cells – Leucocytes
Platelets – Thrombocytes

PLASMA:
- mainly water
- contains dissolved substances e.g. proteins, salts, glucose, fats, antibodies, waste
products from cells and some oxygen and carbon dioxide.

RED BLOOD CELLS:

- very tiny and numerous
- gives blood its colour
- contains haemoglobin which carries oxygen from the lungs to the body cells and
carbon dioxide away for the cells

PLATELETS
- tiny fragments of special large cells
- job to stop body from losing blood by forming clots when blood vessels are damaged

WHITE BLOOD CELLS

- main job to engulf and destroy foreign particles or harmful bacteria which get into
tissue or blood
- colourless cells which are fewer than red blood cells
- when fighting infection many white blood cells are killed forming pus in wounds

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IMPORTANT DEFINITIONS
HEART RATE
The number of times the heart beats per minute or pulses in one minute.
Normal adult resting heart rate 72beats per minute.

- At each heart beat blood is pumped out of the heart into the arteries. Arteries are
forced to expand and then contract – THE PULSE.
- A pulse can be felt at the points where arteries are near the skin.

STROKE VOLUME
The amount of blood pumped by the heart in each beat.
- When we exercise stroke volume increases
∙ Working muscles squeeze blood in veins forcing more blood back to the heart
∙ The heart stretches as it fills with the extra blood and it then contracts more strongly
∙ This results in more blood being pumped out of the heart for each beat.

CARDIAC OUTPUT
The amount of blood pumped out of the heart per minute:
- controlled by heart rate and stroke volume
heart rate х stroke volume = cardiac output

- In sport we want to increase the amount of blood going to the working muscles or
cardiac output. This can be done by increasing stroke volume, heart rate or both.

BLOOD PRESSURE
The force of the blood against the walls of the blood vessels
- Different in different blood vessels
- Depends on how much blood is flowing into the blood vessels and how easily it
can flow out

- In arteries the blood pressure is high because arteries are narrow and a lot of
blood is being forced into them from the heart
- Blood flows slowly in the wider veins, which are a long way from the heart.
Pressure is low. Valves are needed to prevent blood from flowing backwards.

MEASURING BLOOD PRESSURE

- A special instrument is needed
- Measured in upper arm
- Should be taken when relaxed and resting when it will be at its lowest
- The blood pressure in the artery rises when the heart contracts and falls
when it is relaxes. Both values are measured
- Systolic pressure measured when the left ventricle contracts
- Diastolic pressure measured when the left ventricle relaxes
- Blood pressure is expressed as a fraction, systolic pressure/diastolic pressure

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 - Normal blood pressure 120/80

WHAT HAPPENS TO THE CIRCULATORY SYSTEM WHEN WE EXERCISE

 Adrenaline is released even before we start to exercise. It prepares the body for
action
 Adrenaline in the bloodstream causes the heart to beat more quickly- heart rate
increases
 The heart contracts more powerfully. It sends out a greater amount of blood with
each contraction. Stroke volume increases
 Blood circulation speeds up and greater amounts of oxygen-carrying blood reach
the working muscles. Cardiac output increases
 The pumping action of muscles forces more deoxygenated blood back to the heart
more quickly
 Blood flow to the areas of the body not in urgent need of oxygen (the digestive
system) is reduced
 Blood flow to the areas in greatest need of oxygen (the skeletal muscles) is
increased
 Blood vessels to skin areas become enlarged to allow excess heat from muscles
and organs to be lost more easily from the skin
 During very hard exercise even these blood vessels will be reduced in size. Body
temperature will rise very quickly. Can cause overheating and fatigue
 The oxygen going to muscles can be up to three times the resting amount
 Blood flow can increase up to 30 times. The working muscles can receive up to
90 times the amount of oxygen they receive at rest