UNIT 8
The Cardiovascular System
8.3-Blood vessels
8.4- Blood
1. Blood vessels
a/ Arteries
Function:
-Arteries carry blood away from the heart.
-Arteries carry oxygenated blood.
-Blood in the arteries is under high pressure as
it is pumped by the heart every time it beats.
Structure:
In order for arteries to withstand this pressure
they have special design features:
-Thick and elastic muscular wall that allows
the artery to stretch under pressure.
-Narrow lumen maintains a high pressure
and ensures the blood flows quickly to all parts
of the body.
b/ Veins
Function:
-Carry blood back to the heart.
-Carry deoxygenated blood .
-The blood returning from the body is at a
lower pressure than that being pumped
from the heart.
Structure:
- Veins are wider than arteries
-Veins have thinner walls.
-Since the blood pressure is low, veins
have valves which prevent backflow of
blood. These valves only open in one
direction.
-Veins are surrounded by lots of muscle
and when these muscles contract they
squeeze the veins helping to push the
blood back to the heart.
Artery Vein
c/ Capillaries
Function:
-Capillaries carry blood to and from the body’s
cells.
-Capillaries are the site at which exchange of
oxygen, carbon dioxide and nutrients takes
place.
Structure:
- Capillaries are very narrow.
- Capillaries have only one cell thick wall. This
means that substances can diffuse out of them
very easily.
Blood supply to the liver
The liver is connected to two
large blood vessels:
-the hepatic artery (carries
blood from the aorta to the
liver)
-the portal vein (carries blood
containing the digested
nutrients from the entire
gastrointestinal tract to the
liver)
d/ Coronary arteries
2.Blood components
The body contains
approximately 5 liters of blood
and this is a mixture made up
of:
red blood cells
white blood cells
platelets
All are suspended in a liquid
called plasma.
a/ Plasma
Blood plasma is a
yellowish liquid that holds
the blood cells in
suspension.
It is mostly water (up to
95% by volume), and
contains dissolved
proteins, glucose, ions
(Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3−,
Cl−, etc.), hormones,
carbon dioxide and oxygen.
b/ Red Blood
MadeCells
in the(Erythrocytes)
bone marrow.
(4.5-6.0 million/mcL)
-Carry oxygen from lungs to all cells of the body.
-Contain oxygen carrying protein molecule
called hemoglobin (Hb)which combines with oxygen to
give oxyhemoglobin.
Hemoglobin + Oxygen => Oxyhemoglobin
Hemoglobin is responsible for the red color of blood.
-Biconcave shape providing a large surface area to absorb
the maximum amount of oxygen.
-Have no nucleus, therefore more surface area to carry
hemoglobin and hence oxygen
-Small and flexible so can pass easily through blood vessels
c/ White Blood Cells (Leukocytes)
(5 000 – 10 000/ mcL of blood)
-Made in the bone marrow.
-Defend the body against infection and disease
-Have a large nucleus
-Bigger than red blood cells
-Have a flexible shape so that they can engulf
microorganisms
Lypmhocytes:
B-lymphocytes: secrete special proteins called
antibodies which block the activity of antigens.
T-lymphocytes recognize and attack foreign or
infected cells and kill them.
Phagocytes:
Destroy virus and bacteria by engulfing them in a
process known as phagocytosis.
B-lymphocytes
T-lymphocytes
Phagocytes
d/ Platelets (Thrombocytes)
( 150,000 to 400,000 per mcL)
-Small fragments of cells, with
no nucleus.
- Made in the bone marrow.
-Involve in blood clotting:
form blood clot, which stop
blood loss at a wound and
prevent the entry of germs
into the body.
3. Blood clotting
When an injury causes a blood vessel wall
to break, platelets are activated.
They change shape from round to spiny,
stick to the broken vessel wall and each
other, and begin to plug the break.
The platelets also interact with fibrinogen,
a soluble plasma protein, to form insoluble
fibrin. Fibrin strands form a net that
entraps more platelets and other blood
cells (red cells and white cells), producing a
clot that plugs the break.
