Introduction to the Cardiovascular System Flashcards
What is the CVS composed of?
- Heart
- Blood vessels
- Blood
Principle function of CVS
To pump the blood through the system of blood vessels (vascular system).
What does blood transport?
The blood transports gases, nutrients, electrolytes, wastes, and hormones maintaining homeostasis in the body.
What vessels is the vascular unit divided into?
The vascular system is divided into veins and arteries, with the former carrying the blood towards the heart and the latter carrying the blood from the heart to the tissues.
What circuits is the vascular system divided into?
The pulmonary circuit: Carries the blood between the heart and lungs
The systemic circuit: Carries the blood between the heart and the periphery
Define pulmonary circulation.
A system of arteries and veins that carries deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs and vice versa; the flow of oxygenated blood from the lungs to the hear
Define systemic system.
A system of arteries and veins that conveys oxygenated blood from the heart to peripheral tissues, and vice versa; deoxygenated blood from the periphery to the heart
Define coronary circulation.
A subsection of the systemic system that provides arterial supply and venous drainage of the heart
What are the three types of blood vessels?
Arteries: Carry blood away from the heart
Veins: Carry blood to the heart
Capillaries: transfer station between the two
Arterioles are mini artereis that branch out into the capillaries.
Venules: the smallest vein components that suck blood out of the capillaries.
Discuss the tunica media in relation to the autonomic nervous system
The tunica media is made of smooth muscle cells and sheets of the protein elastin.
Smooth muscle tissue is regulated in part by the nerve fibres of the autonomic nervous system which can decrease the diameter of the lumen by contracting the middle layer during vasoconstriction or expand it by relaxing during vasodilation.
What part of the blood vessel plays an important role in blood flow and blood pressure?
Tunica media plays key role in blood flow because the smaller the diameter of the blood vessel, the harder it is for blood to move through it.
What do muscular arteries do?
They distribute blood to specific body parts and account for most of your named arteries.
Less elastic - more muscular.
What are examples of muscular arteries?
Examples of muscular arteries include the radial artery, femoral artery and the splenic artery.
Why do muscular arteries have the thickest tunica media of any blood vessels?
To allow them to contract or relax through vasoconstriction and vasodilation.
Discuss how arteries keep tampering down.
Arteries keep tapering down until they turn into nearly microscopic arterioles that feed into the smallest of your blood vessels, tiny, extremely thin-walled capillaries which serve as a sort of exchange or bridge between your arterial and venous systems.
