Circulatory System Flashcards
What is the circulatory system?
a series of tubes designed to carry
fluids from one part of the body to another
What are the two types of circulatory systems?
Cardiovascular
Lymphatic
What is the cardiovascular system?
distribute blood throughout the body utilizing the heart as pump
What is the function of the cardiovascular system?
major system for transporting gases, nutrients, wastes, hormones and
immune system components throughout body
What is the lymphatic system?
- independent of the pumping action of the heart (uses gravity and muscular contractions)
- collect surplus tissue fluid (lymph)
- returns lymph to cardiovascular system after first filtering lymph in nodes
What is the function of the lymphatic system?
1) collect surplus tissue fluid (lymph)
2) returns lymph to cardiovascular system after first filtering lymph in nodes
What are the 3 types of cardiovascular circulation?
Pulmonary
systemic
Portal
What is pulmonary circulation?
Deoxygenated blood is pumped from the right ventricle to the lungs where it
is oxygenated prior to returning to the left atrium
What is systemic circulation?
Oxygenated blood is pumped from the left ventricle to the tissues of the body
and subsequently the deoxygenated blood returns to the right atrium
What is portal circulation?
1) Situation where a vein or arteriole is positioned between two capillary beds
2) Occurs in the liver, pituitary gland and kidney
What What are the 3 layers that make up the blood vessel walls?
Tunica intima
Tunica media
Tunica adventitia
What is the tunica intima?
Innermost lining of the blood vessel wall closest to lumen
What is the tunica intima composed of?
1) endothelium - simple squamous epithelium
• one layer of flattened cells lining the lumen of each blood vessel
2) basement membrane
3) subendothelial CT (variable in thickness, unsually unseen)
4) fenestrated internal elastic lamina
Where are fenestrated internal elastic lamina found?
Tunica intima but only in arterial vessels
Tunica media
What is the function of fenestrated internal elastic lamina?
- fenestrations allow for diffusion from lumen
- elasticity is needed for accommodating increased hydrostatic pressure
What is the tunica media?
Middle layer of blood vessel wall
What is the tunica media composed of?
circular smooth muscle
• variable in thickness but always thicker in arteries than companion veins
fenestrated laminae of elastic fibers interspersed among smooth muscle cells
fenestrated external elastic lamina (not always obvious)
What is the tunica adventitia?
Outermost layer of blood vessel
What is the tunica adventitia composed of?
1) loose to dense irregular CT running mostly longitudinally along vessel wall
• blends with CT surrounding the vessel
• often thickest tunic in veins and venules
2) sometimes scattered smooth muscle cells mixed into the CT
3) Vasa vasorum
4) Nervi vascularis
What is vasa vasorum?
1)Supplies vascular needs to outer portion of vessel wall and the inner portion of the vessel wall is accomodated by luminal diffusion
2) Most prevalent in larger vessels
(large veins have more extensive vasa vasorum than arteries due to blood quality)
What is Nervi vascularis?
1) network of autonomic nerves regulating smooth muscle contraction
* vasoconstriction is active contraction of smooth muscle in tunica media
* vasodilation is generally passive and occurs in the absence of neural input
Where is most smooth muscle found?
walls of tubes and in hollow viscera
blood vessel walls, GI tract, urinary bladder, etc.
How is smooth muscle commonly arranged?
Arranged in sheets or layers surrounded by connective tissue
(one layer is circumferential and the other is longitudinal
Where is the neurovascular supply found in smooth muscle?
Found in surrounding connective tissue
What causes contractions in smooth muscle to occur?
Responses to mechanical, neural and chemical stimuli
What is the function of smooth muscle?
- Regulate luminal diameter of most body tubes
- Peristaltic contractions to move luminal contents distally in these tubes
What is the morphology (appearance) of smooth muscle?
- Long tapered cell (spindle-shaped); no striations
- Single central rod-shaped nucleus (elliptical
- most organelles located in area around nucleus (devoid of contractile filaments)
- no T system but sarcoplasmic reticulum is present
- gap junctions are widespread to facilitate spread of membrane excitation
What is different about smooth muscle contraction in comparison to skeletal muscle contraction?
- thin, thick and intermediate filaments are present but not in sarcomeres
- smooth muscle specific actin (has tropomyosin but no troponin
- Smooth muscle specific myosin - binds actin when phosphorylated
- No Z lines are present in smooth muscle cells
What happens upon excitation of smooth muscle?
Calcium is released from sarcoplasmic reticulum
What occurs after the calcium is released in smooth muscle?
Calcium binds to calmodulin
What occurs after the calcium binds with calmodulin in smooth muscle?
The calcium-calmodulin complex activates a myosin kinase
What occurs after the myosin kinase is activated in smooth muscle?
Myosin gets phosporylated and can bind to actin
True or false, Smooth muscle can maintain tonus almost indefinately?
True smooth muscle are able to have sustained ontraction
what is the latch state of smooth muscle?
ATPase activity of myosin is decreased when dephosphoylated
- comparable to rigor mortis in skeletal muscles
what are dense bodies in smooth muscle?
- Equivalent to Z lines in smooth muscle
Where are dense bodies (focal densities) of smooth muscle found?
Scattered throughout cytoplasm and some associated with cell membrane
What is the function of dense bodies in smooth muscle?
Thin and intermediate filaments extend between dense bodies
- strong cable-like system is created between dense bodies
- harnesses pull generated as as thin filaments slide past thick filaments
- transmits pull to cell membrane and cell shortens resulting in contraction
How do smooth muscle grow and regenerate?
- smooth muscle can hypertrophy in response to increased demand
- smooth muscle is mitotic and can increase its numbers (hyperplasia)