Analyzing the Cardiovascular System

Analyzing the Cardiovascular System

The Cardiovascular system consists of the heart, and a closed system

of vessels called arteries, veins, and capillaries.

The heart is the pump responsible for maintaining adequate circulation

of oxygenated blood around the vascular network of the body. The heart

provides the force necessary to circulate the blood to all the tissues

in the body. Its function is to give a continuous supply of oxygen and

nutrients, and remove any waste products. While blood gives the

transport to the oxygen, the heart is the organ that keeps the blood

moving through the vessels. The normal adult heart pumps an average of

about 5 litres of blood every minute throughout life. It is about the

size of an adult males closed fist. It is made up of three layers of

tissue. The outer layer of the heart wall is the epicardium, the

middle layer is the myocardium, and the inner layer is the

endocardium.

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The heart works as two pumps, one on the right and one on the left,

working simultaneously. Blood flows from the right atrium to the right

ventricle, and then is pumped to the lungs to receive oxygen. The

blood then flows to the left atrium, then to the left ventricle. From

there it is pumped round the circulatory system of veins and arteries,

to deliver oxygen and nutrients around the body.

The heart is divided into four chambers, the Right atrium, Right

ventricle, Left atrium, and the Left ventricle. The two atria are

chambers with thin-walls that receive blood from the veins, with the

right atrium receiving deoxygenated blood from systemic veins; and the

left atrium receiving oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins. The

two ventricles have thicker walls; they force blood out of the heart

and around the body. The chambers have different thicknesses of walls

because of the certain amount of force each chamber is required to

generate.

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The deoxygenated blood goes through the superior and the inferior vena