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Circulatory System
Functions of the circulatory system
• The circulatory
system is composed
of the heart and blood
vessels, including
arteries, veins, and
capillaries.
Blood Vessels
• Arteries
• Arteries are muscular
blood vessels that
carry blood away from
the heart All arteries,
(with the exception of
the pulmonary and
umbilical arteries),
carry oxygenated
blood.
Capillaries
• Branch throughout the
body
• Microscopic blood
vessels -capillaries are
very thin and fragile. The
capillaries are actually
only one epithelial cell
thick. They are so thin
that blood cells can only
pass through them in
single file
Capillaries
• The exchange of oxygen
and carbon dioxide takes
place through the thin
capillary wall. The red
blood cells inside the
capillary release their
oxygen which passes
through the wall and into
the surrounding tissue.
The tissue releases its
waste products, like
carbon dioxide, which
passes through the wall
and into the red blood
cells.
Veins
• In the circulatory
system, a vein is a
blood vessel that
carries blood toward
the heart. The
majority of veins in
the body carry low-
oxygen blood from
the tissues back to
the heart
The Heart- watch video
• Muscular organ about as
large as your fist
• The heart is the key
organ in the circulatory
system. As a hollow,
muscular pump, its main
function is to propel blood
throughout the body. It
usually beats from 60 to
100 times per minute
The Heart is divided into 4
chambers
Left ventricle: The left lower chamber of the heart that receives blood from the
left atrium and pumps it out under high pressure through the aorta to the body.
The chambers
• Right Atrium
• Left atrium
• Left ventricle
• Right ventricle
Blood flow through the Heart
• Deoxygenated blood
returns to the heart
• Deoxygenated Blood
collects in the right
atrium
Blood flow through the Heart
• Oxygenated blood
returns to the heart
from the lungs
• Pulmonary veins
return oxygenated
blood from the lungs
to the heart
Blood flow through the Heart
• Oxygenated blood
collects in the left
atrium
Blood flow through the Heart
• Oxygenated blood
passes into the left
ventricle
• Again the left ventricle
is a powerful pump
which must squeeze
the blood out into the
body
Blood flow through the Heart