Cardiovascular System
The cardiovascular system is part of the circulatory system which circulates blood around the body transporting gases, nutrients, hormones, plasma protein etc. The blood, heart and blood vessels make up the cardiovascular system.
Blood consists of red blood cells, white blood cells and platelets which are little cell fragments. All of which are suspended in a fluid called plasma which is a pale yellow colour. Blood has many functions including: transporting gases, nutrients, waste products, etc around the body; maintains body temperature, keeps pH levels between 6.8 to 7.4, removes toxins from the body via kidneys and regulates body fluid electrolytes. The composition of blood plasma is 92% water, 6-8% proteins, 0.8% salts, 0.6 lipids and 0.1% glucose. Red blood cells (RBCs) aka erythrocytes “are the primary cells in human blood. They are biconcave discs, having a depressed center on both sides. These depressed centers allow the cells to have more cell membrane surface which can be exposed to diffusing oxygen while transiting the lungs. This structure also allows them to be more flexible when negotiating tight passages. RBCs are about 7.8 micrometers in diameter (A micrometer is 1/1,000,000 of a meter).
They have a flexible nature that allows them to bend and bounce back their original shape. This comes in handy when they must squeeze through the minute capillary alleyways between cells in the tissues” [ (Pendleton 2008) ]. White blood cells (WBC’s) are also known as leukocytes. They defend the body against bacterial and fungal infections, defends against parasitic infections, take care of allergic responses, provide immunity and act as the clean-up crew. Without haemoglobin WBC’s are colourless. It has an irregular shape and contains a nucleus and bigger than RBC’s. WBC’s can squeeze through the walls of the blood vessels into the inter-cellular spaces by easily changing their shape. Platelets function in the clotting of the blood. They are also known as thrombocytes. Platelets are not really cells but fragments that are pinched off from the large cells in bone marrow.
The Essay on Rafael, the Red Blood Cell
My name is Rafael, the Red Blood Cell, doctors call me erythrocyte and born in the bone marrow. My shape is bi-concave disk. Also do not possess a nucleus. I am one of trillions of red blood cells that live inside and travel through your body. I deliver oxygen to all the organs and tissues and transport wastes as carbon dioxide out of your body. Oxygen helps keep the body running and healthy. I ...
“Hemostasis or haemostasis (from the Ancient Greek: αἱμόστασις haimóstasis “styptic (drug)”) is a complex process which causes the bleeding process to stop. It refers to the process of keeping blood within a damaged blood vessel (the opposite of hemostasis is hemorrhage)”.”Hemostasis has three major steps: 1) vasoconstriction, 2) temporary blockage of a break by a platelet plug, and 3) blood coagulation, or formation of a clot that seals the hole until tissues are repaired.” [ (Wikipeadia Hemostasis 2009) ]
Blood can be put into blood groups and types. For a blood transfusion to be successful it depends on the blood groups. The transfer of blood cells, platelets or plasma from blood donors to recipients in need of blood are lifesaving and routine procedures. “Blood is typed on the basis of a specific antigens (specific proteins) on the surface of RBCs. When blood is not carefully matched, antibodies in the recipient’s blood attack RBCs in the transfused blood, causing them to agglutinate, or clump. This can result in hemolysis- in which RBCs rupture, releasing haemoglobin. Each type of antibody recognizes a specific antigen. Individuals with type A blood have type A antigen and anti-B antibodies. Individuals with type B blood have type B antigen and anti-A antibodies. People with type AB blood have both types of antigens and no antibodies to A or B blood. They are referred to as universal recipients because they can receive blood of any ABO type. Individuals with type O blood have neither type of antigen but both hey are universal donors.” [ (Solomon 2009, 182) ]
The Essay on High Blood Heart Chd Arteries
Introduction Some 7 million Americans suffer from coronary heart disease (CHD), the most common form of heart disease. This type of heart disease is caused by a narrowing of the coronary arteries that feed the heart. CHD is the number one killer of both men and women in the U. S. Each year, more than 500, 000 Americans die of heart attacks caused by CHD. Many of these deaths could be prevented ...
The heart is located between the lungs in the thorax. About two thirds of the heart lies to the left of the bodies midline. The heart wall consists of three layers, the inner layer is the endocardium, the middle layer is the myocardium and the outer layer is the epicardium. The hert lies in the pericardium cavity. The heart has four chambers. The left and right atriums and the left and right ventricles. The left and right sides of the heart is separated by septum. The heart has four valves to stop backflow of blood, they are: the tricuspid valve which is between the right atrium and ventricle, the bicuspid valve located between the left atrium and ventricle, the aortic semilunar valve located between the left ventricle and the aorta and the pulmonary semilunar valve between the right ventricle an pulmonary artery. The heart wall has its own blood vessels. The coronary arteries transport blood to the heart wall. The coronary veins bring blood back to the coronary sinus, which unloads into the right atrium.
Cardiac (Heart) muscle tissue “is a unique tissue found only in the walls of the heart. Cardiac (Heart) Muscle Tissue shows some of the characteristics of smooth muscle and some of skeletal muscle tissue. Its fibres , like those of skeletal muscle, have cross-striations and contain numerous nuclei. However, like smooth muscle tissue, it is involuntary. Cardiac muscle differ from striated muscle in the following aspects: they are shorter, the striations are not so obvious, the sarcolemma is thinner and not clearly discernible, there is only one nucleus present in the centre of each cardiac fibre and adjacent fibres branch but are linked to each other by so-called muscle bridges. The spaces between different fibres are filled with areolar connective tissue which contains blood capillaries to supply the tissue with the oxygen and nutrients. Cardiac muscle tissue plays the most important role in the contraction of the atria and ventricles of the heart. It causes the rhythmical beating of the heart, circulating the blood and its contents throughout the body as a consequence” (Muscle Tissues n.d.)
The Essay on Cord Blood And Tissue
1. Would you consider banking your baby’s cord blood and tissues? Explain your decision. Yes I would consider banking my baby’s cord blood and tissues. It is said that Cord blood has been used to treat many life-threatening diseases including leukemia, other cancers, blood disorders, metabolic disorders, and immune diseases (CBR Systems, 1995-2014). I think it would be worth the try. 2. What are ...
Te conduction system consists of specialized cardiac muscle. If the heart is removed from the body it can continue to beat for a few hours provided it has sufficient nutrients and salts. It can do this because it has its own conduction system and can beat separate of its nerve supply. The route taken by the electrical impulse through the heart is as follows: SA node – atria contract – AV node – AV bundle – right and left branches – purkinje fibres – ventricles contract. The cardiac cycle includes contraction and relaxation phases. The cardiac cycle is a sequence of events that occurs during one complete heartbeat. The contraction part of the phase is called systole; the relaxation part of the phase is called diastole. The electrical activity spread throughout the body after being generated in the heart as action potentials is measured by the electrocardiogram (ECG).
“The cardiac output is the volume of the blood pumped by the left ventricle into the aorta in one minute. The volume of blood is pumped by one ventricle during one beat is called the stroke volume. By multiplying the stroke volume by the number of times the left ventricle beats per minute, the cardiac output can be computed” [ (Solomon 2009, 191) ].
-Blood vessels: structure and function of blood vessels
Blood vessels deliver blood to the tissues. The main types of blood vessels are the arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and the veins. The arteries transport oxygenated blood away from the heart (except pulmonary artery with carries deoxygenated blood).
He arterioles transport blood from the arteries to the capillaries, they are the main regulator of blood flow and pressure. The capillaries function is to supply tissues with nutrients and take wastes from surrounding cells, they exchange carbon dioxide, oxygen, water, salts, etc between blood and tissue. Venules take blood from capillaries to veins. Veins act as a reservoir of blood, the take blood from the venules to heart. Veins transport deoxygenated blood only (except for the pulmonary vein).
The pulmonary circulation carries blood to and from the lungs. The systemic circulation carries blood to and from the tissues.
The Essay on If a Patient Develops a Blood Clot in the Femoral Vein
If a patient develops a blood clot in the femoral vein of the left lower limb and a portion of the clot breaks loose, where is the blood flow likely to carry the embolus? What symptoms are likely? To add to your thoughts, the blood flow is likely to carry the embolus to the patient’s lungs. This is called a pulmonary embolism. Pulmonary embolisms usually originate in the legs, like in this case. ...
The force of the blood against the inner walls of the blood vessels is called blood pressure. Blood pressure is the blood flow times the resistance to that flow. The flow depends on cardiac output. “Peripheral resistance is the resistance to blood flow caused by the viscosity of the blood and by the friction between the blood and the wall of the blood vessel causes a big change in blood pressure. The blood pressure is regulated mainly by vasoconstriction, narrowing of the diameter of the arterioles, or vasodilatation, expansion of the diameter of the arterioles” [ (Solomon 2009, 213) ].
