Cardiovascular System Essay

Lauren Zielinski

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Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system is essential for everyday life. It has a primary function which is transportation. The bloodstream transports many substances that essential to everyday life and health. This would include oxygen, nutrients, carbon dioxide and waste products. Cardiovascular transport is important because if the heart were to stop beating then unconsciousness would result within thirty seconds, which would cause irreversible damage to the brain (Cunningham and Klein 179). For this paper the important structure and functions of the three main components the blood, heart and blood vessels.

The blood is a connective tissue that consists of materials suspended in a nonliving liquid matrix called a plasma. It has three main functions transportation, regulation and protection. The blood is responsible for transporting oxygen and carbon dioxide from in between the lungs and tissues. Blood also transports absorbed nutrients from the gastrointestinal tract to the liver and other cells; hormones from the endocrine glands to target cells; waste products from cells to excretory sites including the liver, kidney and skin (Akers and Denbow 346). Heat is transported from the blood stream to the body surface in order to prevent overheating and dysfunction of tissues deep with the body. Hormones are also transported in the body by the bloodstream of the cardiovascular system. Hormones are synthesized and released into by the cells f one organ and then carried by the bloodstream cells in a different organs, where the hormone can they alter the function of the receiving cell. A good example of this would be insulin which is produced by the pancreas and then carried by the blood to ...

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... one way valves that point toward the heart. The contraction of skeletal muscle during movement and the increased thoracic pressure associated with the respiration system squeezes the veins, forcing the blood towards the heart. Once the skeletal muscle relaxes, the backflow of blood is prevented the venous valves (Akers and Denbow 369).

The cardiovascular system is made up of three major components the blood, the heart and blood vessels. Each one has its own crucial role in the cardiovascular system. Each one also has its own unique way of transporting special, essential nutrients and material throughout the blood. The cardiovascular system is important for everyday life and is a valuable tool for the body to get the nutrient it requires to survive. If one of this components is not functioning properly then the whole system could fail and the animal would die.