What Does Cardiovascular System do?

• Circulate blood throughout entire body for

– Transport of oxygen to cells
– Transport of CO2 away from cells
– Transport of nutrients (glucose) to cells
– Movement of immune system components (cells,
antibodies)
– Transport of endocrine gland secretions

Larry M. Frolich, Ph.D.,Human Anatomy

 The Heart
Location and Size
• Heart – size of a
person’s fist, weighs
less than a pound
• Oblique Position
• Apex = Left of
Midclavicular line
(5th Intercostal
Space)
 Coverings and Wall
• Pericardium – double sac of serous
membranes that encloses the heart
– A. Epicardium or Visceral Pericardium – (inner)
part of the heart wall
– B. Parietal Pericardium (outer)
• Pericardial/ Serous Fluid
– Produced by the serous pericardial membranes
– Allows the heart to beat easily in a relatively
frictionless environment
 Heart Walls
A. Epicardium – Visceral and parietal (outer)
»most superficial
B. Myocardium – thick bundles of cardiac MUSCLE
» the layer that CONTRACTS
C. Endocardium – sheet of endothelium that lines
the heart chambers
»continuous with the linings of blood
vessels
 Serous membrane

Continuous with
blood vessels
 4 Heart Chambers
• There are four (4) hollow chambers
– Each chamber is lined with endocardium
• Two ATRIA – receiving chambers
– Superior chambers
– Blood flows in the atria under low pressure from
the veins
• Two VENTRICLES – discharging chambers
– Inferior thick-walled chambers
– Actual pumps of the heart
• The septum that divides the heart
longitudinally is referred to as the
interventricular or interatrial septum,
depending on which chamber it divides
 Heart Valves
• Valves control flow of blood from one
chamber to another
• Atrioventricular (AV) Valves – located
between atria & ventricles
– Prevents backflow of blood into the atria when
ventricles contract
– A. Bicuspid or Mitral Valve - Left AV valve
– B. Tricuspid Valve – right AV valve
– Chordae Tendineae – anchor the flaps to the walls
of the ventricles
• Semilunar Valves
– Guards the bases of the two large arteries leaving
the ventricular chambers
– A. Pulmonary Semilunar Valve
– B. Aortic Semilunar Valve
 Operation of the Valves
• AV Valves – open during heart relaxation
– Closed during ventricular contraction

• Semilunar Valves – closed during heart relaxation

– Open during ventricular contraction
Coordination of chamber contraction, relaxation
 TWO CIRCULATORY PATHS
• Pulmonary Circulation –
– from the right side of the heart to the lungs & back to
the left side of the heart
– Carries blood to the lungs for gas exchange & return
to heart
• Systemic Circulation –
– from the left side of the heart through the body
tissues & back to the right side
– Supplies oxygen- and nutrient-rich blood to all body
organs
– Left ventricle is thicker than right ventricle – more
powerful pump
Two circulatory paths
Systemic Circulation

Pulmonary
Circulation

Larry M. Frolich, Ph.D.,Human Anatomy

The double pump
 Cardiac Circulation
CORONARY ARTERIES
• Supply blood to the wall of the heart.
• 2 coronary arteries originate from the base of the
aorta, these oxygenate and nourish the heart

• A. Left coronary artery from the left side of the aorta

supplying much of the anterior wall and most of the
left ventricle.
• B. Right coronary artery originates on the right side
supplying most of the wall of right ventricle.
 Cardiac Circulation
• The myocardium is drained by several Cardiac
Veins. Which empty into an enlarged vessel on
the backside of the heart called the Coronary
sinus
INTRINSIC CONDUCTION
SYSTEM OF THE HEART
 2 system act to regulate Heart
activity
1. Autonomic Nervous system
• Acts like brakes and accelerators to decrease or
increase the heart rate, depending on which
division is activated.

2. Intrinsic Conduction system or Nodal system

• built into the heart tissue and sets it’s basic
rhymed
• it causes heart muscle depolarization in only
one direction from the atria to the ventricles.
 Sinoatrial (SA) Node
• Pacemaker of the heart
• Has the highest rate of depolarization
• The most important part of the intrinsic
conduction system.
• It is a crescent shaped node of tissue
located in the wall of the right atrium
near the mouth of the superior vena
cava
 CONDUCTION SYSTEM
b. ATRIOVENTRICULAR (AV) NODE
Located interatrial septum with slower rate of conduction

c. AV Bundle or BUNDLE OF HIS

Divides into left and right bundle branches to supply the left
and right ventricles

d. PURKINJE FIBERS
Located in the endocardial surface of the heart; rapidly
conducts impulse to the apex and to the remainder of
ventricular myocardium
 Electrocardiography
• The clinical procedure for mapping the electrical activity of
the heart.

Ischemia
• Lack of an adequate blood supply to the heart muscle

Fibrillation
• A rapid uncoordinated shuddering of the heart muscle

Tachycardia
• A rapid heart rate (100/min.)

Bradycardia
• Slower than normal (-60 beats/min.)
Electrocardiogram (ECG) can trace conduction
of electrical signals through the heart
Aberrant ECG patterns indicate damage
CARDIAC CYCLE
AND
HEART SOUNDS
Systole
• Heart Contraction

Diastole
• heart relaxation.
Cardiac Cycle
• Cardiac cycle refers to the events of one complete
heart beat, during which both atria and ventricles
contract and then relax
• Since the average heart beats approximately 75
times/min., the length of the cycle is normally about
0.8 seconds
 3 Periods in cardiac cycle
1.Mid-to-late diastole
→ At his point, the pressure
in the heart is low and
blood is flowing passively
into and through the
atria into the ventricles
from the pulmonary and
systemic circulation.
→ Semilunar valves are
closed, AV valves open
2. Ventricular systole
→ Shortly after,
ventricular
contraction (systole)
begins and the
pressure within the
ventricles increases
rapidly, closing the AV
valves.
3. Early diastole
→ at the end of the systole,
the ventricle relax, the
semilunar valves snap shut (
preventing blood flow) and for
a moment the ventricles are
completely close chambers.
→ during early diastole, the
intraventricular pressure
drops. When it drops, AV
valves are forced open
Heart sounds
• Often described by the two syllables “lub” and
“dup”
• Lub→ caused by the closing of AV valves
• Dup → occurs when the semilunar valves close
at the end of the systole
• First sound is longer and louder than the
second,and which tends to be short and sharp.
Cardiac output (CO)
• Is the amount out blood pumped out by each side at
the heart in 1 min.
• It is the product of the heart rate (HR) and the stroke
volume (SV)
• CO = HR x SV

Stroke Volume, is the volume of blood pump out by a

ventricle with each heart beat
– it increases as the force of ventricular contraction
increases
 Cardiac Output Regulation

Figure 11.7

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings Slide

FACTORS MODIFYING BASIC HEART
RATE
• Neural (ANS) Controls
→ during times of physical or emotional stress the
nerves of sympathetic division of the autonomic
nervous system more strongly stimulates the SA and
AV nodes in the cardiac muscle itself.

Parasympathetic nerves, primarily the vagus nerves,

slow and steady the heart, giving more time to rest
during non- crisis time.
Congestive Heart Failure
→ a condition which the heart is nearly
“worn out” due to age, hypertensive heart disease
or another pathological process the heart pumps
weakly.

Epinephrine which mimics the effect of the

sympathetic nerves and thyroxine both increase
heart rate.
Physical factors
• A number of physical factors including age,
gender, exercise and body temperature
influence heart rate
Fetus-(140 to 160 beats/ min.) and gradually
decreases through out life.
Female-(70- 80 beats/ min.)
Male-(64- 72 beats/ min.
BLOOD
VESSELS
 BLOOD VESSELS
• The blood vessels are part of the circulatory
system and function to transport blood
throughout the body.

• The most important vessels in the system are

the capillaries, the microscopic vessels which
enable the actual exchange of water and
chemicals between the blood and the tissues,
while the conduit vessels, arteries and veins
• Arteries carry blood away from the heart and
through the capillaries
– Largest artery is the AORTA
• Veins carry blood back towards the heart
– Largest veins are the Vena Cavae

• Blood circulate inside the blood vessels, which

form a closed transport system, that so-called
vascular system
• A venule is a small blood vessel that allows
deoxygenated blood to return from the c beds
pillary to the larger blood vessels called veins.
• Venules are blood vessels that drain blood
directly from the capillary beds. Many venules
unite to form a vein.
MICROSCOPIC
ANATOMY OF
BLOOD VESSELS
Tunics
• Except for the microscope capillaries, the walls of
blood vessels have three coats or tunics:

A. Tunica Intima
→The tunica intima is the innermost layer of an
artery or vein.
• It is made up of one layer of endothelial cells.
The endothelial cells are in direct contact with
the blood flow.
B. Tunica Media
→ is the bulky middle coat.
– It is mostly smooth muscle and elastic tissue
– The smooth muscle , contolled by the sympathetic
nervous system, is active in changing the diameter
of the vessels.
– Vasoconstriction and Vasodilation
Tunica Externa

• Is the outermost tunic,

• it is composed largely of fibrous
connective tissue.
• Its function is basically to support and
protect the vessels.
 The Vascular System

Figure 11.8b

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings Slide

STUCTURAL DIFFERENCES
BETWEEN ARTERIES, VEINS,
and CAPILLARIES
Arteries
→The walls of arteries are usually much thicker
than walls of veins.

→Which is closer to the pumping action of the

heart must be able to expand as the force into
them and then recoil passively as the blood flows
off into the circulation during diastole

→Their walls must be strong and stretchy enough

to take this continuous change in pressure.
Veins
→ Are far from the heart in the circulatory pathway, and the
pressure in them tends to be low at all time.
→ Has thinner wall modified to ensure that he amount of blood
returning to the heart (venous return) equals the amount
being pump out of the heart (cardiac output)
→ Has larger lumen
→ Larger veins have VALVES that prevent backflow of blood
Capillaries

→ the smallest and most numerous of the blood

vessels, form the connection between the vessels
that carry blood away from the heart (arteries) and
the vessels that return blood to the heart (veins). The
primary function of capillaries is the exchange of
materials between the blood and tissue cells.
 Movement of Blood Through
Vessels

• Most arterial blood is

pumped by the heart
• Veins use the milking
action of muscles to
help move blood

Figure 11.9

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings Slide

 Capillary Beds
→The tiny capillaries tend to form interweaving
networks.
Microcirculation
→the flow of blood from an arteriole to a venule- that
is through a capillary bed.
 Capillary Beds

• Capillary beds
consist of two
types of vessels
1. Vascular shunt –
directly connects an
arteriole to a venule

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings Figure 11.10 Slide
 Capillary Beds

2. True capillaries –
exchange vessels
• Oxygen and
nutrients cross to
cells
• Carbon dioxide
and metabolic
waste products
cross into blood

Copyright © 2003 Pearson Education, Inc. publishing as Benjamin Cummings Figure 11.10 Slide
Major Arteries
Major Veins
See pp. 351-
359 for all
circuits
SPECIAL CIRCULATIONS
 Arterial supply of the Brain and
Circle of Willis
→ A continuous blood supply to he brain is crucial,
since a lack of blood for even a few minutes causes
the delicate brain cells to die. The brain is supplied
by two pairs of arteries, the internal carotid arteries
and the vertebral arteries.
• The anterior and the posterior blood
supplies of the brain are united by small
communicating arterial branches. The result
is a complete circle of connecting blood
vessels called circle of Willis, which
surrounds the base of the brain, the circle of
Willis protects the brain by providing more
than one route for blood to reach brain
tissue in case of a clot or impaired blood
flow anywhere in the system
Hepatic Portal Circulation

• The vein of the hepatic portal circulation

drain the digestive organs, spleen and
pancreas and deliver this blood to the liver
through the hepatic portal brain
Fetal Circulation
• Since the lungs and digestive system are not
yet functioning in a fetus all nutrient,
excretory and gas exchanges occur in through
the placenta.
 3 Blood Vessels of the Umbilical
Cord
→Large umbilical Vein, carries blood rich in
nutrients and oxygen to the fetus.
→Two smaller umbilical arteries, carry
carbon dioxide and debris- laden blood
from the fetus to the placenta

DUCTUS VENOSOUS
→most of the blood bypasses the immature
liver through ductus venosus
• Foramen ovale
→A flap like opening in the interartrial
septum.

• Ductus arteriosous
→A short vessel that connects the aorta and
the pulmonary trunck.
→Converted into ligamentum arteriosum at
birth
END