CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
organs that I find in cavities
closed circuit system (inside the organs I find the blood, it does not come out of the organs that make up the system)
the cardiovascular system includes:
1. blood. smooth connective tissue
2. blood vessels. system of vessels through which blood flows under the pressure of the heart
3. heart. organ responsible for the heart
BLOOD VESSELS are classified according to the direction in which the blood flows (it is incorrect to classify them
according to whether they carry oxygenated or deoxygenated blood):
ARTERIES. vessels originating from the heart carry blood away from the heart. Their wall consists of 3 layers:
- tunica intima, more internally made up of endothelium
- medium tunic
- external tunic
smooth muscle in the artery wall is able to contract (vasoconstriction) and relax (vasodilation)
VEINS. vessels to the heart carry blood to the heart. They differ from arteries for a less important muscular component
and for the presence of dovetail valves that prevent the downward flow of blood.
CAPILLARIES are very thin ducts whose wall is made up of a single layer of endothelial cells, at the level of the
capillaries exchanges of material take place between the blood and the interstetial tissue
HEART. defined as a pump because through its rhythmic contractions it is able to make the blood flow inside the hollow
structures which are the blood vessels.
location: lies within a ventral body cavity (chest cavity, cavity that lies above the diaphragm). located in the center and
slightly shifted to the left between the two lungs, in a space called the mediastinum.
tip or apex of the heart (left and anterior)
base of the heart (widest part, where the great vessels originate) upper and posterior and
central part
The major axis of the heart is therefore oblique
from the heart (which is a hollow organ), the great vessels originate and arrive:
• PULMONARY CIRCULATION
right heart - lungs - gas exchange - left heart
APICE
the right half contains venous blood.
pumps its contents within a series of vessels that form the pulmonary circulation which has
the function of oxygenating the blood
from the right side (right ventricle) originate oxygen-poor pulmonary arteries (from the right
heart to the lungs)
the pulmonary veins instead carry blood from the lungs to the left heart, rich in oxygen
, SYSTEMIC CIRCULATION
left heart - extremities - right heart
the left half contains arterial blood, rich in oxygen
Blood is pumped through a series of hollow structures towards the body's tissues
and organs.
the aorta originates from the left ventricle and runs at the thoracic and abdominal
level branching out (the branches vascularize all the tissues).
the deoxygenated blood is collected from the superior and inferior vena cava and
drained towards the right heart
the heart is made up of cells capable of inducing and maintaining involuntary contraction.
despite being composed of striated musculature (which is generally voluntary), it is an involuntary organ.
The walls of the heart chambers are made up of:
- endocardium (innermost layer)
- myocardium (striated cardiac muscle tissue)
it is surrounded by the pericardium (membranous structure of connective tissue that surrounds the heart). composed of
two components:
- fibrous, fixes the heart to the diaphragm
- serous, mesothelium (in the body they make up the pericardium, pleura, peritoneum). near the heart wall. sac that
externally covers the myocardium and has two layers (visceral and parietal)
between the two sheets I have a space containing the pericardial fluid whose function is to lubricate the cardiac
contraction (pericardial cavity). the pericardium also covers where the great vessels emerge from the heart.
between the atria and ventricles, in a groove (called coronary) externally I find adipose tissue. in this sulcus the
coronary arteries run which deal with the vascularization and nourishment of the heart wall.
There is another sulcus between the ventricles and it is the anterior interventricular sulcus (coronaries flow here too)
posteriorly I recognize the posterior interventricular sulcus. I see vessels that have direction towards the heart (veins).
on the right I see superior and inferior vena cava (point of arrival of the systemic circulation in the right atrium). on the
left there are 4 vessels that transport oxygenated blood (pulmonary veins)
the heart comprises four cavities. The two upper ones are called the right atrium and the left atrium respectively and are
separated by a thin wall called the interatrial septum.
the lower two are cavities the right ventricle and the left ventricle separated by the interventricular septum.
The right atrium is in communication with the right ventricle through a valve (formed by connective tissue), called the
tricuspid valve (because it is made up of three flaps), which allows blood to pass from the atrium to the ventricle, but not
in the opposite direction.
The left atrium communicates with the left ventricle through the bicuspid valve or mitral valve (because it is formed by
two flaps whose shape resembles that of the mitre, the bishop's headgear). the two flaps of these two valves are
held by thin strands of connective tissue, called tendinous cords that insert into the myocardium of the ventricles
organs that I find in cavities
closed circuit system (inside the organs I find the blood, it does not come out of the organs that make up the system)
the cardiovascular system includes:
1. blood. smooth connective tissue
2. blood vessels. system of vessels through which blood flows under the pressure of the heart
3. heart. organ responsible for the heart
BLOOD VESSELS are classified according to the direction in which the blood flows (it is incorrect to classify them
according to whether they carry oxygenated or deoxygenated blood):
ARTERIES. vessels originating from the heart carry blood away from the heart. Their wall consists of 3 layers:
- tunica intima, more internally made up of endothelium
- medium tunic
- external tunic
smooth muscle in the artery wall is able to contract (vasoconstriction) and relax (vasodilation)
VEINS. vessels to the heart carry blood to the heart. They differ from arteries for a less important muscular component
and for the presence of dovetail valves that prevent the downward flow of blood.
CAPILLARIES are very thin ducts whose wall is made up of a single layer of endothelial cells, at the level of the
capillaries exchanges of material take place between the blood and the interstetial tissue
HEART. defined as a pump because through its rhythmic contractions it is able to make the blood flow inside the hollow
structures which are the blood vessels.
location: lies within a ventral body cavity (chest cavity, cavity that lies above the diaphragm). located in the center and
slightly shifted to the left between the two lungs, in a space called the mediastinum.
tip or apex of the heart (left and anterior)
base of the heart (widest part, where the great vessels originate) upper and posterior and
central part
The major axis of the heart is therefore oblique
from the heart (which is a hollow organ), the great vessels originate and arrive:
• PULMONARY CIRCULATION
right heart - lungs - gas exchange - left heart
APICE
the right half contains venous blood.
pumps its contents within a series of vessels that form the pulmonary circulation which has
the function of oxygenating the blood
from the right side (right ventricle) originate oxygen-poor pulmonary arteries (from the right
heart to the lungs)
the pulmonary veins instead carry blood from the lungs to the left heart, rich in oxygen
, SYSTEMIC CIRCULATION
left heart - extremities - right heart
the left half contains arterial blood, rich in oxygen
Blood is pumped through a series of hollow structures towards the body's tissues
and organs.
the aorta originates from the left ventricle and runs at the thoracic and abdominal
level branching out (the branches vascularize all the tissues).
the deoxygenated blood is collected from the superior and inferior vena cava and
drained towards the right heart
the heart is made up of cells capable of inducing and maintaining involuntary contraction.
despite being composed of striated musculature (which is generally voluntary), it is an involuntary organ.
The walls of the heart chambers are made up of:
- endocardium (innermost layer)
- myocardium (striated cardiac muscle tissue)
it is surrounded by the pericardium (membranous structure of connective tissue that surrounds the heart). composed of
two components:
- fibrous, fixes the heart to the diaphragm
- serous, mesothelium (in the body they make up the pericardium, pleura, peritoneum). near the heart wall. sac that
externally covers the myocardium and has two layers (visceral and parietal)
between the two sheets I have a space containing the pericardial fluid whose function is to lubricate the cardiac
contraction (pericardial cavity). the pericardium also covers where the great vessels emerge from the heart.
between the atria and ventricles, in a groove (called coronary) externally I find adipose tissue. in this sulcus the
coronary arteries run which deal with the vascularization and nourishment of the heart wall.
There is another sulcus between the ventricles and it is the anterior interventricular sulcus (coronaries flow here too)
posteriorly I recognize the posterior interventricular sulcus. I see vessels that have direction towards the heart (veins).
on the right I see superior and inferior vena cava (point of arrival of the systemic circulation in the right atrium). on the
left there are 4 vessels that transport oxygenated blood (pulmonary veins)
the heart comprises four cavities. The two upper ones are called the right atrium and the left atrium respectively and are
separated by a thin wall called the interatrial septum.
the lower two are cavities the right ventricle and the left ventricle separated by the interventricular septum.
The right atrium is in communication with the right ventricle through a valve (formed by connective tissue), called the
tricuspid valve (because it is made up of three flaps), which allows blood to pass from the atrium to the ventricle, but not
in the opposite direction.
The left atrium communicates with the left ventricle through the bicuspid valve or mitral valve (because it is formed by
two flaps whose shape resembles that of the mitre, the bishop's headgear). the two flaps of these two valves are
held by thin strands of connective tissue, called tendinous cords that insert into the myocardium of the ventricles
