University of Nairobi/NURSING/BNS321 STUDY NOTES
Cardiovascular System Summary Notes
The cardiovascular system includes:
The heart, a muscular pump
The blood, a fluid connective tissue
The blood vessels, arteries, veins and capillaries
Blood flows away from the heart in arteries, to the capillaries and back to the
heart in the veins
There is a decrease in blood pressure as the blood travels away from the heart
Arterial branches of the aorta supply oxygenated blood to all parts of the body
Deoxygenated blood leaves the organs in veins
Veins unite to form the vena cava which returns the blood to the heart
Pulmonary System
This is the route by which blood is circulated from the heart to the lungs and
back to the heart again
The pulmonary system is exceptional in that the pulmonary artery carries
deoxygenated blood and the pulmonary vein carries oxygenated blood
Hepatic Portal Vein
There is another exception in the circulatory system – the hepatic portal vein
Veins normally carry blood from an organ back to the heart
The hepatic portal vein carries blood from the capillary bed of the intestine to
the capillary bed of the liver
As a result, the liver has three blood vessels associated with it
Arteries and Veins
The central cavity of a blood vessel is called the lumen
The lumen is lined with a thin layer of cells called the endothelium
The composition of the vessel wall surrounding the endothelium is different in
arteries, veins and capillaries
Arteries carry blood away from the heart
Arteries have a thick middle layer of smooth muscle
They have an inner and outer layer of elastic fibres
Elastic fibres enable the artery wall to pulsate, stretch and recoil, thereby
accommodating the surge of blood after each contraction of the heart
Smooth muscle can contract or become relaxed
This contraction or relaxation brings about vasodilation or vasoconstriction to
control blood flow
During strenuous exercise the arterioles leading to the muscles undergo
vasodilation – the circular muscle in the arteriole wall is relaxed and the lumen is
wide
This allows an increased blood flow to the skeletal muscles
At the same time, the arterioles leading to the small intestine undergo
vasoconstriction
The circular muscles are contracted and the lumen is narrow
As a result, this reduces the blood flow to the gut
Veins carry blood back to the heart
The muscular layer and layers of elastic fibres in the vein wall are thinner than
those in an artery because blood flows along a vein at low pressure
The lumen of a vein is wider than that of an artery
Valves are present in veins, to prevent the backflow of blood
Following two slides compare an artery and vein
Capillaries and Exchange of Materials
Blood is transported from arterioles to venules by passing through a dense
network of blood vessels called capillaries
All exchanges of substances between blood and living tissue takes place through
capillary walls
Capillary walls are composed of endothelium and are only one cell thick
Plasma is a watery yellow fluid containing dissolved substances such as glucose,
amino acids, blood cells, platelets and plasma proteins
Blood arriving at the arteriole end of a capillary bed is at a higher pressure than
blood in the capillaries
As blood is forced into the narrow capillaries, it undergoes pressure filtration
and much of the plasma is squeezed out through the thin walls
This liquid is called tissue fluid
The only difference between plasma and tissue fluid is that plasma has proteins
Tissue fluid contains a high concentration of dissolved food, oxygen, useful ions
etc.
These diffuse, down a concentration gradient, into the surrounding cells
Carbon dioxide and other metabolic wastes diffuse out of the cells, down a
concentration gradient, into the tissue fluid to be excreted
Tissue fluid and Lymph
Much of the tissue fluid returns to the blood in the capillaries at the venule end
of the capillary bed
This is brought about by osmosis
Tissue fluid lacks plasma proteins so it has a higher water concentration than
the blood plasma
Some of the tissue fluid does not return to the blood in the capillaries
This excess tissue fluid is absorbed by thin-walled lymphatic vessels
When the tissue fluid is in the lymphatic vessel it is called lymph
Tiny lymph vessels unite to form larger vessels
Flow of lymph is brought about by the vessels being compressed when muscles
contract during breathing, movement etc.
Larger lymph vessels have valves to prevent backflow
Lymph vessels return their contents to the blood via two lymphatic ducts
These enter the veins coming from the arms
Structure and Function of the Heart
Continuous circulation of blood is maintained by a muscular pump, the heart
The heart is divided into 4 chambers, two atria and two ventricles
The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from all parts of the body via the
vena cavae
Deoxygenated blood passes into the right ventricle before leaving the heart
through the pulmonary artery
The pulmonary artery divides into two branches, each leading to a lung
Oxygenated blood returns to the heart by the pulmonary veins
It flows from the left atrium to the left ventricle before leaving the heart by
the aorta
The wall of the left ventricle is more muscular and thicker than that of the right
ventricle
The left ventricle is required to pump blood all around the body
The right ventricle only pumps blood to the lungs
Valves between the atria and ventricles are the atrio-ventricular (AV) valves
Valves prevent the backflow of blood
The presence of valves ensures the blood flows in one direction through the
heart
Semi-lunar valves are present at the origins of the pulmonary artery and the
aorta
These valves open during ventricular contraction allowing flow into the arteries
When arterial pressure exceeds ventricular pressure, they close
Cardiac Function
At each contraction the right ventricle pumps the same volume of blood through
the pulmonary artery as the left ventricle pumps through the aorta
Heart rate (pulse)
This is the number of heart beats per minute
Stroke volume
This is the volume expelled by each ventricle on contraction
Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped out of a ventricle per minute
It is summarised by the following equation –
CO = HR X SV
HR is heart rate, SV is stroke volume
Pulse, health indicator
If a person is fit, the quantity of cardiac muscle present in their heart wall is
greater and more efficient than that of an unfit person
A very fit person tends to have a lower pulse rate than an unfit person – the fit
person’s heart is larger and stronger
A fit person’s stoke volume is greater
A fit person’s heart does not need to contract as often to pump an equal volume
of blood round the body
