CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM

Blood Vessels
 Blood vessels form a closed
vascular system that transports
blood to the tissues and back to
the heart
 Vessels that carry blood
away from the heart
 Arteries and arterioles
 Vessels that play a role in
exchanges between tissues
and blood
 Capillary beds
 Vessels that return blood  Structural differences in
toward the heart arteries, veins, and capillaries
 Venules and veins  Arteries have a heavier,
stronger, stretchier tunica
Microscopic Anatomy of Blood media than veins to
Vessels withstand changes in
 Three layers (tunics) in blood pressure
vessels (except the capillaries)  Veins have a thinner
 Tunica intima forms a friction tunica media than
reducing lining arteries and operate
 Endothelium under low pressure
 Tunica media  Veins also have valves
 Smooth muscle and to prevent backflow of
elastic tissue blood
 Controlled by  Lumen of veins is
sympathetic nervous larger than that of
system arteries
 Tunica externa forms  Skeletal muscle
protective outermost “milks” blood in veins
covering toward the heart
 Mostly fibrous connective
tissue
 Supports and protects the
vessel
 Capillaries
 Only one cell layer thick
(tunica intima)
 Allow for exchanges
between blood and tissue
 Form networks called
capillary beds that consist
of:
A vascular shunt
True capillaries
 Blood flow through a
capillary bed is known as Gross Anatomy of Blood
microcirculation Vessels
 Major arteries of systemic
circulation
 Aorta
 True capillaries  Largest artery in the body
 Branch off a terminal  Leaves from the left
arteriole ventricle of the heart
 Empty directly into a  Regions
postcapillary venule Ascending aorta—
 Entrances to capillary leaves the left
beds are guarded by ventricle
precapillary sphincters Aortic arch—arches
to the left
Thoracic aorta—
travels downward
through the thorax
Abdominal aorta—
passes through the
diaphragm into the
abdominopelvic cavity
 Left internal and external
carotid arteries
 Left subclavian artery
branches into the:
Vertebral artery
In the axilla, the
subclavian artery
becomes the axillary
artery → brachial artery
→ radial and ulnar
arteries

▪ Arterial branches of the ascending

aorta  Arterial branches of the
thoracic aorta
 Right and left coronary
 Intercostal arteries
arteries serve the heart
supply the muscles of
the thorax wall
 Other branches of the
 Arterial branches of the thoracic aorta (not
aortic arch illustrated) supply the:
 Brachiocephalic trunk Lungs (bronchial
splits into the: arteries)
Right common carotid Esophagus
artery (esophageal arteries)
Right subclavian artery Diaphragm (phrenic
 Left common carotid artery arteries)
splits into the:  Arterial branches of the
abdominal aorta
  Celiac trunk is the first
branch of the abdominal
aorta.
o Three branches are:
1. Left gastric artery (stomach)
2. Splenic artery (spleen)
3. Common hepatic artery (liver)
 Superior mesenteric artery
supplies most of the small
intestine and first half of the
large intestine
 Left and right renal arteries
(kidney)
 Left and right gonadal arteries
Ovarian arteries in females
serve the ovaries
Testicular arteries in males  Major veins of systemic
serve the testes circulation
 Lumbar arteries serve muscles  Superior vena cava and
of the abdomen and trunk inferior vena cava enter the
 Inferior mesenteric artery right atrium of the heart
serves the second half of the Superior vena cava drains
large intestine the head and arms
 Left and right common iliac Inferior vena cava drains the
arteries are the final branches lower body
of the aorta
Internal iliac arteries serve
the pelvic organs
External iliac arteries enter
the thigh → femoral artery →
popliteal artery → anterior
and posterior tibial arteries
 Venous blood from the
arm via the axillary
vein
Venous blood from
skin and muscles via
external jugular vein
 Vertebral vein drains the
posterior part of the head
 Internal jugular vein drains
the dural sinuses of the brain
 Left and right
brachiocephalic veins
receive venous blood from
the:
Subclavian veins
Vertebral veins
Internal jugular veins
 Brachiocephalic veins join to
form the superior vena cava
→ right atrium of heart
 Veins draining into the
 Azygos vein drains the
superior vena cava
thorax
Radial and ulnar veins →
brachial vein → axillary
vein
Cephalic vein drains the
lateral aspect of the arm
and empties into the
axillary vein
Basilic vein drains the
medial aspect of the arm
and empties into the
brachial vein
Basilic and cephalic veins
are joined at the median
cubital vein (elbow area)

 Veins draining into the

superior vena cava
(continued)
 Subclavian vein receives:
 external iliac vein on its own
side

 Right gonadal vein drains the

right ovary in females and
right testicle in males
 Left gonadal vein empties
into the left renal vein
 Left and right renal veins
drain the kidneys
 Hepatic portal vein drains
the digestive organs and
travels through the liver
before it enters systemic
circulation
 Left and right hepatic veins
drain the liver

 Veins draining into the

inferior vena cava
 Anterior and posterior tibial
veins and fibial veins drain
the legs
 Posterior tibial vein →
popliteal vein → femoral vein
→ external iliac vein
 Great saphenous veins
(longest veins of the body)
receive superficial drainage
of the legs
 Each common iliac vein (left
and right) is formed by the
union of the internal and
 Arterial supply of the brain  Hepatic portal circulation is
and the circle of Willis formed by veins draining the
 Internal carotid arteries digestive organs, which empty
divide into: into the hepatic portal vein
Anterior and middle  Digestive organs
cerebral arteries  Spleen
These arteries supply  Pancreas
most of the cerebrum  Hepatic portal vein carries this
 Vertebral arteries join once blood to the liver, where it is
within the skull to form the processed before returning to
basilar artery systemic circulation
Basilar artery serves
the brain stem and
cerebellum

 Posterior cerebral arteries

form from the division of the
basilar artery
These arteries supply
the posterior
cerebrum
 Anterior and posterior blood
supplies are united by small
communicating arterial
branches
 Result—complete circle of
connecting blood vessels Physiology of Circulation
called cerebral arterial circle,  Vital signs
or circle of Willis  Measurements of arterial
pulse, blood pressure,
respiratory rate, and body
temperature
 Arterial pulse
 Alternate expansion and
recoil of a blood vessel wall
(the pressure wave) that
occurs as the heart beats
 Monitored at pressure points
in superficial arteries, where
pulse is easily palpated
  Pulse averages 70 to 76
beats per minute at rest, in a
healthy person

 Measuring blood pressure

 Two arterial blood pressures
are measured
Systolic—pressure in the
arteries at the peak of
ventricular contraction
Diastolic—pressure when
ventricles relax
Blood pressure  Expressed as systolic
 The pressure the blood pressure over diastolic
exerts against the inner walls pressure in millimeters of
of the blood vessels mercury (mm Hg)
 The force that causes blood For example, 120/80 mm
to continue to flow in the Hg
blood vessels  Auscultatory method is an
 Blood pressure gradient indirect method of
 When the ventricles measuring systemic arterial
contract: blood pressure, most often in
Blood is forced into the brachial artery
elastic arteries close
to the heart
Blood flows along a
descending pressure
gradient
 Pressure decreases in blood
vessels as distance from the
heart increases
 Pressure is high in the
arteries, lower in the
capillaries, and lowest in the
veins
 Effects of various factors on
blood pressure
 Arterial blood pressure (BP)
is directly related to cardiac
output and peripheral
resistance
 Cardiac output (CO; the
amount of blood pumped
out of the left ventricle
per minute)
 Peripheral resistance (PR;
the amount of friction
blood encounters as it
flows through vessels)
BP = CO × PR
 Neural factors: the
autonomic nervous system
 Parasympathetic nervous
system has little to no
effect on blood pressure
 Sympathetic nervous
system promotes
vasoconstriction
(narrowing of vessels),
which increases blood
pressure

 Renal factors: the kidneys

 Kidneys regulate blood
pressure by altering blood
volume
 If blood pressure is too
high, the kidneys release
water in the urine
 If blood pressure is too
low, the kidneys release
renin to trigger formation
of angiotensin II, a
vasoconstrictor
 Angiotensin II stimulates
release of aldosterone,
which enhances sodium
(and water) reabsorption
by kidneys

 Temperature
 Heat has a vasodilating
effect
 Cold has a
vasoconstricting effect
  Chemicals  Warns of increased
 Various substances can peripheral resistance
cause increases or
decreases in blood  Capillary exchange of gases and
pressure nutrients
 Epinephrine increases  Interstitial fluid (tissue fluid)
heart rate and blood is found between cells
pressure  Substances move to and
 Diet from the blood and tissue
 Commonly believed that cells through capillary walls
a diet low in salt,  Exchange is due to
saturated fats, and concentration gradients
cholesterol prevents Oxygen and nutrients
hypertension (high blood leave the blood and move
pressure) into tissue cells
Carbon dioxide and other
wastes exit tissue cells
and enter the blood
 Substances take various
routes entering or leaving
the blood
1. Direct diffusion through
membranes
2. Diffusion through intercellular
clefts (gaps between cells in the
capillary wall)
3. Diffusion through pores of
fenestrated capillaries
 Variations in blood pressure
4. Transport via vesicles
 Normal human range is
variable
 Systolic pressure ranges
from 110 to 140 mm Hg
 Diastolic pressure ranges
from 70 to 80 mm Hg
 Hypotension (low blood
pressure)
 Low systolic (below 100
mm Hg)
 Often associated with
illness
 Acute hypotension is a
warning sign for
circulatory shock
 Hypertension (high blood
pressure)
 Sustained elevated
 Fluid movements at capillary
arterial pressure of
beds
140/90 mm Hg
  Fluid movement out of or blood by week 4 of
into a capillary depends pregnancy
on the difference  The heart becomes a four-
between the two chambered organ capable of
pressures acting as a double pump
over the next 3 week.
1. Blood pressure forces fluid and
solutes out of capillaries  Umbilical cord
2. Osmotic pressure draws fluid  Carries nutrients and oxygen
into capillaries from maternal blood to fetal
blood
 Blood pressure is higher  Fetal wastes move from fetal
than osmotic pressure at blood to maternal blood
the arterial end of the  Houses:
capillary bed  One umbilical vein, which
 Blood pressure is lower carries nutrient- and
than osmotic pressure at oxygenrich blood to the
the venous end of the fetus
capillary bed  Two umbilical arteries,
 Thus, fluid moves out of which carry wastes and
the capillary at the carbon dioxide–rich blood
beginning of the bed and from the fetus to placenta
is reclaimed at the
opposite (venule) end

Developmental Aspects of the

Cardiovascular System
 Shunts bypassing the lungs and
liver are present in a fetus
Developmental Aspects of the
 Blood flow bypasses the liver
Cardiovascular System
through the ductus venosus
 In an embryo and enters the inferior vena
 The heart develops as a cava → right atrium of heart
simple tube and pumps
 Blood flow bypasses the
lungs
 Blood entering right
atrium is shunted directly
into left atrium through
foramen ovale (becomes
fossa ovalis at or after
birth)
 Ductus arteriosus
connects aorta and
pulmonary trunk
(becomes ligamentum
arteriosum at birth)
 Age-related problems
associated with the
cardiovascular system include:
 Weakening of venous valves
 Varicose veins
 Progressive arteriosclerosis
 Hypertension resulting from
loss of elasticity of vessels
 Coronary artery disease
resulting from fatty, calcified
deposits in the vessel