Human Body Structure & Function

Outcome 3 – The Cardiovascular System.

Outcome 3
1. Describe the different components of blood and explain
their role

2. Apply knowledge of cardiac output and peripheral

resistance to describe alterations in blood pressure

3. Describe and explain the role of various blood vessels

within the circulatory systems of the body and the
transport of materials.

4. Describe and explain the control of the cardiovascular

system.
Part 1: Blood
 Whole blood is composed of:
 55% plasma
 Water, electrolytes and proteins
 45% cells
 Erythrocytes, red blood cells
 Leucocytes, white blood cells
 Thrombocytes, platelets

 Blood is important for transportation, regulation and

protection
Components of Plasma
 Water 91.5%  Solutes 1.5%
 Electrolytes
 Na+, K+
 Proteins 7%
 Albumins 54%  Nutrients
 Amino acids, Glucose,
 Water balance
Fatty acids, Glycerol
 Transport
 Gases
 Globulins 38%
 O2, CO2, N2
 Antibodies
 Vitamins
 Transport
 Regulatory substances
 Fibrinogen 7%
 Enzymes and hormones
 clotting
 Waste products
 Urea, Creatinine
Erythrocytes – Red blood cells

 Each cell contains

approx. 280 million
haemoglobin molecules
 Each haemoglobin
molecule can carry four
oxygen molecules
 They do not use any of
the oxygen they transport
– no mitochondria
 Contain glycolipids that
determine blood type
 A, B or O
Erythrocytes
 The biconcave disc structure gives the cells a large
SA:Volume ratio, ideal for efficient gas exchange
 The cells are flexible so can pass through small
capillaries easily
 They have no nuclei so can contain more
haemoglobin
 They have a lifespan of 120 days so are
continuously formed in the long and flat bones
(Erythropoiesis).
 During low oxygen, Erythropoiesis is stimulated by
Erythropoietin, a hormone produced by the kidney.
Blood Groups
Leucocytes – White Blood Cell
 Granulocytes - Granular – from the bone marrow
 Neutrophils (60-70%) - kill bacteria, phagocytic
 Basophils (0.5-2%) – produce heparin and histamine
 Eosinophils (2%) – parasite infections
 Agranulocytes – mature in lymphatic tissue
 Lymphocytes (20-30% ) – make Antibodies (B cells) or kill
infected cells (T cells)
 Monocytes (2-8%) - phagocytes
Neutrophils and Macrophages
Antibody production
 Antibodies are produced in response to antigens

 They are synthesised by a special type of B

lymphocyte

 Antibodies bind to antigens and then the antibody

antigen complex is destroyed, usually by
phagocytosis
 mitosis mitosis
Plasma cells

Memory Cells

Free circulating
Antibodies
T lymphocytes
 Do not make antibodies

 Killer T cells – directly destroy cells coated in specific

antigens

 Helper T cells, produce chemicals which call on

other lymphocytes and phagocytes
Thrombocytes - Platelets
 Formed from small pieces of cytoplasm shed from
large cells called megakaryocytes
 Involved in blood vessel repair and the clotting
mechanism
 They release thromboplastin when injured, this
triggers the clotting cascade which eventually
coverts fibrinogen (soluble) to fibrin (insoluble)
 This forms a sticky web to trap other blood cells, a
clot is formed, haemostasis
Haemostasis
When a blood vessel is damaged 3 events take place
in order to minimise blood loss:

1. Vascular Spasm

2. Platelet Plug Formation

3. Blood Clotting
1. Vascular Spasm
Smooth muscle in the vessel wall contracts when
damaged

This reduces blood flow to minimise blood loss

Caused by damage to smooth muscle, substances

released by activated platelets and reflexes initiated y
pain receptors
2. Platelet Plug Formation
Platelets first adhere to the damaged part of the blood
vessel (collage fibres of damaged underlying
connective tissue) – Platelet Adhesion

Platelets then become activated where they being to

stick together and release enzymes and other
signalling molecules – Platelet Activation

Platelets release serotonin and thromboxane A2 which

function as vasoconstrictors
Platelet Plug Formation cont.
Platelets also release ADP which makes platelets
sticky and able to recruit new platelets to the growing
platelet plug – Platelet aggregation

The platelet plug is usually strong enough to block

blood flow from small arterioles

However fibrin can become incorporated into the clot

to stabilise and provide strength to this initial plug
3. Blood Clotting
In order to form a fibrin containing clot plasma proteins
must be activated to form insoluble fibrin

This is initiated by 2 pathways:

Intrinsic pathway (within the plasma)
Extrinsic pathway (out with the plasma)

Both pathways lead to the formation of

Prothrombinase which converts inactive
prothrombin into thrombin
3. Blood Clotting
Thrombin converts soluble fibrinogen into insoluble
fibrin

Extrinsic pathway relies on the thromboplastin (also

known as tissue factor) released by platelets

Calcium ions and Vitamin K are very important for

blood clotting
 Questions?
1. The Heart
 Small muscular pump
 Function is to pump blood around the body 24 hours
a day
 Average 70-80 bpm
 The fitter a person is the lower the resting heart rate will be

 Each beat helps deliver life sustaining oxygen and

nutrients to 300 trillion cells
 Beats 100,000 times per day (pumping 6000 - 9,000
litres of blood per day)
 By 70 years = 2.5 billion times
The Heart
 The Heart is surrounded by a sac called the
pericardium
 Made from Loose connective tissue

 Other tissue layers include:

 Epicardium
 Myocardium (cardiac muscle)
 Endocardium
Components of the Heart
 4 chambers
 Right and left atria – seperated by the interatrial septum
 Right and left Ventricles – seperated by interventricular
septum
 Valves between the atria and ventricles (atrioventricular
valves)
 Bicuspid and tricuspid
 Semilunar valves (aortic and pulmanory)
 RIGHT Aorta LEFT

Pulmonary Artery
Superior

Vena Cava

Atrium
Pulmonary Veins

Left AV Valve
(Bicuspid)
Inferior

Ventricle
Right AV Valve
(Tricuspid)

Semilunar Valves
Chordae Tendineae
Heart Valves
 The tendinous cords (chordae tendineae) of the AV
valves prevent the cusps of the valve opening which
in turn prevents blood flow from the ventricles back
into the atria
 The chords are held in place by papillary muscles
 The semilunar valves work on the same principle to
prevent blood flow from the arteries to the ventricles
Topics to Explore

• Pericardial Effusion

• Pericardial Bleed

• Cardiac Tamponade

• Pericardiocentesis

• Endocarditis
2. The Cardiac cycle
 Diastole – relaxation
 Systole – contraction
 The function of the valves is to prevent back flow of
blood within the heart
 Right AV valve – Tricuspid valve
 Left AV valve – Bicuspid/Mitral valve
Heart Sounds
 Lubb-dubb sound heard with a stethoscope is due to
the turbulence caused by the closure of the heart
valves

 Lubb is the sound produced by the closing of the AV

valves

 Dubb is the sound produced by the closure of the

semilunar valves
Electrocardiogram
 Contraction in the heart is generated by an action
potential – discussed later.

 This electrical signal can be detected on the skin

surface – ECG

 Electrodes are placed on the arms, legs and chest

ECG
 P-wave
 Small upward deflection representing atrial depolarisation
– following this atria contract.
 QRS complex
 Begins as a downward deflection then a large upright
triangular wave and ends as a downward wave -
represents ventricular depolarisation.
 T wave – ventricular repolarisation.
ECG intervals
 You can measure the conduction time from the
beginning of atrial excitation to the beginning of
ventricular excitation (P-Q interval).
 Conductance of the fibres within the heart
 If a signal has to detour around scar tissue (from
damage) this interval is increased
ECG intervals
 S-T segment can change in heart acute myocardial
infarction

 Stress test may need to be performed to check

condition of the heart
 Cardiac output

The volume of blood pumped out of each ventricle per minute

is called the cardiac output, represented as litres per minute
Determined by the heart rate and the stroke volume
The stroke volume is the volume of blood ejected by each
ventricle per beat.
Rate of 75 beats per minute and ejects 70ml with each
beat the cardiac output is
75 X 70 = 5250 (~ all blood)
=5.25 Litres per minute
During vigorous exercise it can increase 6 or 7 fold
Question:

Calculate the Cardiac Output for this man in L/min

Question:

If a person’s cardiac output is 5.5 L/minute at a heart rate of 75

beats/minute, what is the stroke volume in mL? How many seconds
will it take for this person’s entire 4.9-Liter volume of blood to be
pumped through the heart?
Cardiac Output
 Individuals with a high level of fitness can achieve
the same level of output with a lower heart rate
 Stroke volume is higher
 This is the main benefit of aerobic fitness
 Other affecting factors
 Blood pressure and peripheral resistance (force of friction
as blood moves along the blood vessel)
Cardiac Output
 Another measure of CO is given by Mean arterial
pressure divided by resistance

 CO = Blood Pressure/Peripheral Resistance

 Blood pressure and CO depend on total blood

volume
 Loss of blood/fluid will reduce BP
 More blood will increase BP
Blood pressure
 Blood pressure is the pressure exerted on the wall of
a blood vessel
 Any increase in cardiac output will elevate BP
 BP is also affected by blood volume, if it increases
so does BP, and vice versa
 Peripheral resistance will also affect BP
What is peripheral resistance?

 Peripheral resistance is the opposition to blood flow

due to friction between blood and blood vessel walls

 The higher Resistance, the higher BP

 Resistance depends on:

 Blood viscosity
 Increase in viscosity gives increased resistance and
increased BP
 Dehydration or high number of RBC’s circulating increase
viscosity
 Anaemia decreases viscosity
 Blood vessel length
 Resistance is directly proportional to vessel length
 The longer a blood vessel, the greater the resistance as a
blood flows through it
 Often a problem in obesity
 Each extra kilogram of adipose tissue requires 650 km of
blood vessels
 Blood vessel radius
 The smaller the radius of a blood vessel, the greater the
resistance as blood flows it (R ∝ 1/d4)
 Vasodilation decreases resistance and increases blood flow
 Vasoconstriction increases resistance and decreases blood
flow
How do we measure BP?
 Using a sphygmomanometer
 Systolic pressure
 Maximum pressure reached peak ventricular ejection
usually 120mmHg
 Diastolic pressure
 Minimum pressure occurs just before ventricular
contraction usually 80mmHg
 Pulse pressure is the difference between systolic
and diastolic usually 40mmHg
BP throughout the systemic circulation
 Aorta 120mmHg
 high due to force exerted by contraction of ventricles
 Arteries 110mmHg
 Arterioles 40mmHg
 Rapid loss of pressure due to resistance offered by mainly
arterioles
 Capillaries 30-16mmHg
 Venules 16mmHg
 Veins 12mmHg
 Great veins 4mmHg
 BP of blood returning to right atrium virtually zero
Venous Return
 Return of blood to the right atrium

 Pressure difference between venules and right

ventricle is mostly responsible for venous return
Other factors affecting Heart rate
 Chemicals
 Adrenaline increase HR
 Potassium increases HR
 Temperature
 Increased body temp increases HR and vice versa
 Emotions
 Fear/anger increase HR, grief/depression decrease HR
 Sex, age
 female>male
 Birth>youth>adult>old
 Hormonal control
 Fight or flight response
Questions
3. Vessels of the Cardiovascular System
 Arteries
 Arteries carry blood away from the heart
 Arterioles
 Can undergo vasoconstriction/dilation, so regulate blood
flow into the capillaries and affect BP
 Capillaries
 Very thin walls, near every tissue cell, gas and nutrient
exchange occurs in capillaries
 Venules
 Very small veins, but venules and veins contain 60% of
blood volume !
 Veins
 The veins carry blood at low pressure back to the heart
Structure of Arteries and Veins
 Arteries have thick walls to cope with the high BP
exerted on them
 The two outer layers are thicker than in veins
 They have a largenarrower internal diameter
compared to veins
 Veins have valves to prevent backflow
Veins
 flow of blood in the veins is not only aided by the
valves, but also by the action of skeletal muscle
 Muscles in the legs squeeze the deep veins and
the valves ensure that the blood can only flow
upwards
 The action of inspiration increases pressure in
the abdominal cavity and aids venous return in
abdominal veins
Venous return
 Valve failure can lead to
varicose veins

 Inactivity can lead to

deep vein thrombosis
Circulation
 Pulmonary circulation
 Systemic circulation
 Hepatic Portal circulation
 Hepatic artery, hepatic vein
 Collateral circulation
 Anastomoses between arteries provide alternative routes
for blood to reach a tissue in the event of damage. The
junction of two or more blood vessels supplying the same
body region is called an Anastomosis
4. Control of the Cardiovascular System
 Cardiac output depends on heart rate and stroke
volume
 A change in cardiac output leads to a change in
blood pressure
 Changing the heart rate is the main way of
controlling cardiac output and BP in the short term
Conduction System of the Heart
 The heart contains an area of tissue which
demonstrates spontaneous electrical activity – this
area is called the pacemaker or the sinoatrial node
 Action potentials from the SA node spread through
the myocardial cells of the right and left atria,
causing them to contract
 The action potential is carried to the ventricles by
other specialised tissue
Conduction System of the Heart
 The action potential passes from the atria to the
atrioventricular node, down the bundle of His,
divides into left and right bundles and is conducted
up through the ventricles by the Purkinje fibres
 Stimulation of the Purkinje fibres causes both
ventricles to contract simultaneously
Autonomic Control of the Heart Rate
 Medulla of the brain contains 2 groups of neurones
which control heart rate
 CAC cardioaccelaratory centre
 CIC cardioinhibitory centre
 CAC has sympathetic fibres which when stimulated
increase heart rate
 CIC has parasympathetic fibres that innervate the
heart via the vagus nerve, stimulation of these
nerves slow heart rate
 CAC in medulla

Cardiac accelerator nerves –

sympathetic fibres

Noradrenaline released

Innervates SA node/AV node/Myocardium

Increased Heart rate and strength of contraction

 CIC in medulla

Vagus nerve – parasympathetic fibres

Acetylcholine released

This innervates SA node/AV node

Decreased Heart rate and strength of contraction

Circulatory homeostasis
 2 sets of receptors control circulation in the body

 Baroreceptors detect and responds to changes in

blood pressure

 Chemoreceptors detect and respond to changes in

CO2 concentration
 Baroreceptors are nerve cells capable of responding
to changes in BP
 Increase BP  increase baroreceptor impulses to brain
 increase parasympathetic activity which decrease HR
 Baroreceptors are found in the following locations:
 Carotid sinus reflex
 Responds to BP in brain
 Aortic reflex
 Responds to systemic BP
 Right Heart (Atrial) reflex
 Responds to venous BP, if right atrium distended this reflex
makes HR increase to speed up emptying of atrium
Vasomotor centres also control BP
 Sympathetic nerve stimulation causes
vasoconstriction (remember blood vessels have
smooth muscle) and a rise in BP
 Parasympathetic nerve stimulation causes
vasodilation and a drop in BP
 So if baroreceptors detect a rise in BP, vasodilation
will occur to lower it
Chemoreceptors
 Situated in aortic and carotid arteries, monitor levels
of O2, CO2 and H+
 If O2 falls or CO2/H+ rise vasomotor centre will
increase sympathetic impulses to cause
vasoconstriction, increased HR and BP
 This will ensure that more blood is delivered to the
lungs to pick up O2 and excrete CO2
 Chemoreceptors also directly change breathing rate
(more pronounced effect on lungs than heart)
Questions?