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Arteries
Arteries are elastic vessels that transport blood away from the heart. The largest artery of the body is the aorta. The aorta originates from the heart and branches out into smaller arteries. The smallest arteries are called arterioles which branch into capillaries.
Veins
Veins are elastic vessels that transport blood to the heart. The smallest veins in the body are called venules. They receive blood from the arteries via the arterioles and capillaries. The venules branch into larger veins which eventually carry the blood to the largest veins in the body, the vena cava. The blood is then transported from the vena cava to the right atrium of the heart.
Most veins have one-way flaps called venous valves that prevent blood from flowing back and pooling in the lower extremities due to the effects of gravity. These are in-foldings of the tunica intima. The precise location of veins is much more variable from person to person than that of arteries.
Venous return
During physical exercise, muscles contract and expand laterally. The intramuscular pressure exerted on the veins by the surrounding muscle pushes blood through the one-way valves of the veins, returning it to the heart. This pumping action keeps blood from pooling in the lower limbs, and individuals that stand still for extended periods of time can experience reduced venous return to the heart and low blood pressure (hypotension) leading to dizziness or fainting (syncope).
Capillaries
Capillaries are extremely small vessels located within the tissues of the body that transport blood from the arteries to the veins. Capillary walls are thin and are composed of endothelium (a single layer of overlapping flat cells). Oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients and wastes are exchanged through the thin walls of the capillaries.
Capillary Exchange
The Starling equation is an equation that illustrates the role of hydrostatic and oncotic forces (the so-called Starling forces) in the movement of fluid across capillary membranes. Capillary fluid movement may occur as a result of two processes: diffusion filtration
Respiratory Diffusion
Sinusoids
The liver, spleen and bone marrow contain vessel structures called instead of capillaries. Similar to capillaries sinusoids are composed of endothelium. The individual endothelial cells however do not overlap as in capillaries and are spread out. Oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, proteins and wastes are exchanged through the thin walls of the sinusoids.
An average adult heart is about the shape and size of a closed fist. Like a valentine heart, yours is slightly pointed at the lower end. The pointed end is called the apex
Although your heart is hollow, it isn't empty. In an average adult, about 5 quarts (4.7 litres) of blood flow through the heart each minute.
Your heart's walls are made mostly of strong muscle, called the myocardium. The myocardium is the strongest, hardest-working muscle in your body. It continuously pumps your blood through 60,000 miles (96,560 kilometres) of blood vessels for a lifetime, without rest!
Heart Chambers
The hollow centre of your heart is divided into four sections, called chambers. Each chamber is like a separate room, with doors that let blood in and out.
The Atria
The two upper chambers in your heart are called the atria . The atria are the receiving chambers of your heart. When blood flows into your heart from the body or lungs, it always flows into either the right or left atriumnever anywhere else. (One upper chamber is called an atrium. Both upper chambers together are called the atria.)
The Ventricles
The two lower chambers in your heart are called ventricles. The ventricles are the pumping chambers of your heart. When blood leaves your heart, it is always pumped out from the ventriclesnever from anywhere else. The ventricles are very strong because they have to pump hard enough to push blood through your lungs and entire body.
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The superior vena cava is a large, yet short vein that carries de-oxygenated blood from the upper half of the body to the heart's right atrium. It is formed by the left and right brachiocephalic veins, (also referred to as the innominate veins) which receive blood from the upper limbs and the head and neck, behind the lower border of the first right costal cartilage. The azygous vein (which receives blood from the rib cage) joins it just before it enters the right atrium, at the upper right front portion of the heart.
The inferior vena cava (or IVC) is the large vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body into the heart. It is posterior to the abdominal cavity and runs along side of the vertebral column on its right side (i.e. it is a retroperitoneal structure). It enters the right atrium at the lower right, back side of the heart.
The right atrium (in older texts termed the "right auricle") is one of four chambers (two atria and two ventricles) in the human heart. It receives de-oxygenated blood from the superior and inferior vena cavae and the coronary sinus, and pumps it into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve.
The coronary sinus is a collection of veins joined together to form a large vessel that collects blood from the myocardium of the heart The atria do not have valves at their inlets
Tricuspid Valve
The tricuspid valve prevents the blood from returning to the right atrium when the right ventricle contracts The tricuspid valve is composed of tough connective tissue covered in endocardium (thin layers of cells lining the entire heart.) The tricuspid valve has three cusps and is Y shaped. It is one of the ATROVENTRICUALR valves.
The right ventricle is one of four chambers (two atria and two ventricles) in the human heart. It receives deoxygenated blood from the right atrium via the tricuspid valve, and pumps it into the pulmonary artery via the pulmonary valve. It is triangular in form, and extends from the right atrium to near the apex of the heart.
The pulmonary arteries carry blood from the heart to the lungs. They are the only arteries (other than umbilical arteries in the fetus) that carry deoxygenated blood.
In the human heart, the pulmonary trunk (pulmonary artery or main pulmonary artery) begins at the base of the right ventricle. It is short and wide - approximately 5 cm (2 inches) in length and 3 cm (1.2 inches) in diameter. It then branches into two pulmonary arteries (left and right), which deliver deoxygenated blood to the corresponding lung.
The pulmonary valve, also known as pulmonic valve, is the semilunar valve of the heart that lies between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery and has three cusps
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The pulmonary veins carry oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart. They are the only veins in the post-fetal human body that carry oxygenated (red) blood. The pulmonary veins return the oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart. They are four in number, two from each lung, and are without valves. They are right inferior right superior left inferior left superior
The left atrium is one of the four chambers in the human heart. It receives oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins, and pumps it into the left ventricle.
Normal left atrium may be up to 5.5cm in maximum diameter; any larger than this is a sign of cardiac failure
The mitral valve (also known as the bicuspid valve or left atrioventricular valve), is a dual flap (bi = 2) valve in the heart that lies between the left atrium (LA) and the left ventricle (LV).
In Latin, the term mitral means shaped like a miter, or bishop's cap. The mitral valve and the tricuspid valve are known collectively as the atrioventricular valves because they lie between the atria and the ventricles of the heart and control flow.
The left ventricle is one of four chambers (two atria and two ventricles) in the human heart. It receives oxygenated blood from the left atrium via the mitral valve, and pumps it into the aorta via the aortic valve.
The aortic valve has three cusps. These cusps are half moon shaped hence also called aortic semilunar valve. Dilatation of the wall of the aorta behind these cusps is called aortic sinus. When the aortic valve is open, the normal size of the orifice is 3-4 cm in adults.
The aorta is the largest artery in the human body, originating from the left ventricle of the heart and bringing oxygenated blood to all parts of the body in the systemic circulation. The aorta is an elastic artery, and as such is quite distensible. When the left ventricle contracts to force blood into the aorta, the aorta expands. This stretching gives the potential energy that will help maintain blood pressure during diastole, as during this time the aorta contracts passively.
Ascending aorta the section between the heart and the arch of aorta
Arch of aorta the peak part that looks somewhat like an inverted "U" Descending aorta the section from the arch of aorta to the point where it divides into the common iliac arteries
Thoracic aorta the half of the descending aorta above the diaphragm
Abdominal aorta the half of the descending aorta below the diaphragm
Heart Valves
What Makes the Sound of Your Heartbeat?
When you listen to your heartbeat through a stethoscope ("lubb-dubb lubbdubb"), you hear the sound of your heart valves closing. Although your heart has four valves, the valves open and close two at a time. That's why you hear only two thumps (one "lubb-dubb") per heartbeat, rather than four.
Systemic circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygenated blood away from the heart, to the body, and returns deoxygenated blood back to the heart In the systemic circulation, arteries bring oxygenated blood to the tissues. As blood circulates through the body, oxygen diffuses from the blood into cells surrounding the capillaries, and carbon dioxide diffuses into the blood from the capillary cells. Veins bring deoxygenated blood back to the heart.
Pulmonary circulation is the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart. The term is contrasted with systemic circulation.