Cardiovascular system Flashcards
What is the general description of the cardiovascular system?
A continuous, completely closed system of endothelial tubes.
What is the purpose of the cardiovascular system?
Perfusion of the capillary beds providing all organs with fresh blood over a narrow range of hydrostatic pressures.
What are the parts of the blood circulatory system?
Arterial, capillary, venous. and heart.
What is the common histological structure of vessels?
Tunica intima, tunica media, tunica adventitia.
What is the general structure of the tunica intima?
Endothelia, subendothelial connective tissue, and internal elastic lamina.
What is the general structure of the tunica media?
Smooth muscle fibres, connective tissue, and an external elastic membrane.
What is tunica adventitia?
A layer of connective tissue.
Name the types of arteries and give some examples of each type:
Elastic (aorta, common carotid, subclavian…), muscular (radial, femoral, cerebral…), arterioles (terminal branches before capillaries).
Describe how function and morphology go hand in hand in the large elastic arteries:
Yellow, because of lots of elastic fibres, thin walls in comparison to the diametre.
What happens in large elastic arteries during systole and diastole and why?
Because large elastic arteries receive very high pressure blood intermittently but they must keep blood moving all the time, they distend during systole and recoil during diastole.
What are the functions of the lymphatic vessels?
- Conduct immune cells and lymph to lymph nodes
- Remove excess fluid from interstitial spaces
- Transport chylomicrons (lipoproteins) through lacteal lymphatic vessels
What are the three types of lymphatic vessels?
Lymphatic capillaries, precollecting and collecting lymphatic vessels and large lymphatic vessels.
What are the functions of lymphatic capillaries?
To collect tissue fluid.
What are the main histological features of the lymphatic capillaries?
Larger in diametre, but thinner endothelium in comparison to blood capillaries, discontinuous or absent basal lamina.
Where lymphatic capillaries can be found?
In most tissues except cartilage, bone, epithelia, CNS, bone marrow and placenta.
