Anatomy and physiology of heart

INTRODUCTION TO THE CIRCULATORY

SYSTEM
• BLOOD
•  Is a fluid connective tissue a specialized body fluid
•  Blood is a mixture of about 55 percent plasma and
• 45 percent blood cells
•  About 7 to 8 percent of total body weight is blood
•  It has four main components
• Plasma, Red blood cells
• White blood cells, Platelets
• Functions
•  Transport oxygen and nutrients to the lungs
and tissues
•  Form blood clots to prevent excess blood loss
•  Carry cells and antibodies that fight infection
•  Bring waste products to the kidneys and liver
to filter blood
•  Regulate body temperature
• PLASMA
• The liquid component of blood
•  Mixture of water sugar fat protein and salts
•  Transports blood cells throughout the body
•  Besides nutrients waste products antibodies
clotting proteins
•  Chemical messengers such as hormones and
proteins
•  That help maintain body fluid balance
• RED BLOOD CELLS ( Erythrocytes)
•  Bright red coloured cells
•  The most abundant cell in the blood
•  The shape of a red blood cell is a biconcave disc
• (looks like a donut)  Small size- Helps red blood cells pass through narrow
• capillaries
•  Flattened disc shape- Provides a large surface area, allowing
• rapid diffusion of oxygen
•  Contains special protein haemoglobin- It absorbs oxygen in
• the lungs and releases oxygen in the rest of the body
•  Does not contain a nucleus-Increases amount of space inside
• the cell for haemoglobin
•  Production of red blood cells is controlled by erythropoietin
• ( a hormone produced primarily by the kidneys
• White Blood Cells (Leukocytes)
•  White blood cells protect the body from infection
•  Much fewer in number than red blood cells
• (about 1 percent of blood)
•  The most common type of white blood cell is the
neutrophil
•  Account for 55 to 70 percent of the total WBC count
•  Each neutrophil lives less than a day
•  So bone marrow constantly makes new neutrophils
• Platelets (thrombocytes)
• Unlike red and white blood cells
• platelets are not actually cells
• Rather small fragments of cells
• Platelets help the blood clotting
• (coagulation)
•  Assemble at the site of an injury
•  Stick to the lining of the injured
• blood vessel
•  Form a platform on which blood
• coagulation can take place
• ARTERIES AND VEINS
•  Arteries
•  Red blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart
•  Arteries carry oxygenated blood with the exception of
• (pulmonary artery and umbilical artery)
•  Blood flows from the heart to various parts of the body
•  Thick, elastic muscle layer that can handle high pressure of
• the blood
•  Located deeper in the body walls
•  Arterial walls are more rigid
•  Valves aren't present
•  Except for semi-lunar valves
• Veins
•  Blue blood vessels that carry blood towards the heart
•  Veins carry deoxygenated blood with the exception of
• (pulmonary veins and umbilical veins)
•  Blood flows from various parts of the body to the heart
•  Thin elastic muscle layer with semi lunar valves
• that prevent
•  Blood from flowing in opposite direction
•  Located closer to the skin
•  Veins have collapsible walls
• ( Present mainly in limbs
• PRESSURE OF BLOOD IN ARTERIES AND VEINS
•  Blood is pumped at high pressure away from the heart in arteries
•  It travels through networks of thin capillaries
•  Where it can exchange materials with the tissues
•  It's then collected up and returned to the heart at low pressure
• in veins
•  ARTERIES
•  The blood in the arteries is under high pressure generated
• by the heart therefore
•  The arteries have
•  Thick outer walls
•  Thick layers of muscle and elastic fibers
• Veins
•  The blood in veins is under lower pressure
than the blood in the arteries therefore
•  The veins have Thin walls
•  Thin layers of muscle and elastic fibers
• SIZE AND LOCATION OF THE HEART
•  Heart is a hollow conical muscular organ
•  It is situated in the middle of the thoracic cavity above the
• diaphragm
•  Under the rib cage, under and to the left of the breastbone
• (sternum) between the lungs
•  It is of the size of a fist measuring 12cm from base to apex
•  8cm broad and 6cm anterio posteriorly
•  An adult human heart weighs between 250-350 grams
•  It is the most important muscle in the body
•  It beats more than a 100,000 times a day
•  It pumps about 2000 gallons of blood through a 60,000 times
• network of vessels in our body
• Human heart is a four chambered
structure
•  Two upper chambers called the
auricles (Pl: atria )
•  Two lower chambers called the
ventricles
•  The four chambers of the heart
are separated by means of
• a partition called the septum
•  In auricles this partition is called
inter auricular septum
•  In ventricles it is called inter
ventricular septum
• The chambers on the left are the
left auricle (atrium) and the
• left ventricle
•  The chambers on the right are
called the right auricle(atrium)
• and the right ventricle
•  The right atrium and right
ventricle are often referred to as
• the right heart
•  similarly the left atrium and left
ventricle are often referred to
• as the left heart
BLOOD VESSELS OF THE HEART
• BLOOD VESSELS OF THE HEART
•  Aorta – It is a largest artery in the human body .It leaves
• the left side of the heart and supplies oxygenated blood to
• the body tissues (Systemic Circulation)
•  Pulmonary Veins - They are the blood vessels that deliver
• oxygenated blood from the lungs to heart. Two pulmonary
• veins enter the left side of the heart from each lung
•  Pulmonary Artery - It is a blood vessel that carries
• deoxygenated blood from right side of the heart to the
• lungs (Pulmonary Circulation)
•  Venacavae - (Latin :hollow veins) These are two large
• veins that return deoxygenated blood from body tissues to
• the right side of the heart
• Inferior Venacava (IV) - It is the largest vein in the human body It carries
deoxygenated blood from lower and middle body into the right atrium It
is formed by joining of the right and left Iliac veins The Iliac veins drain
blood from the pelvis and the lower limbs and come together in the
abdomen
• Superior venacava(SVC) - Returns deoxygenated blood from the systemic
circulation to right atrium of the heart It has a large diameter 24mm It
receives blood from the upper half of the body (upper limbs eyes neck
and head) Large valveless venous channel formed by the union of the
brachiocephalic veins (internal jugular and subclavian veins)
• Coronary sinus- Is a collection of veins joined together to
• form a large vessel It collects blood from myocardium (the heart muscle)
Delivers blood to the right atrium as do the IVC and SVC
• DOUBLE CIRCULATION
•  Mammals have a double circulatory system which means
• One circuit links the heart and lungs
• The other circuit links the heart with the rest of the body
•  During a single cycle blood goes twice in the heart
•  This means that there are two loops in our body in
• which blood circulates
•  One is oxygenated blood ( oxygen rich)
•  The other is deoxygenated blood (it has little or no oxygen
• but a lot of carbon dioxide)
• IMPORTANCE OF DOUBLE CIRCULATION
• It is necessary to separate oxygenated and de-
oxygenated blood It makes the circulatory
system more efficient
•  Higher blood pressure so a greater flow of
blood to the tissues
•  Helps to maintain a constant body
temperature
• WALLS OF AURICLES AND VENTRICLES
• The myocardium has four chambers
• two atria superiorly
• two ventricles inferiorly
• The atria are blood collection chambers
• The ventricles are blood pumping chambers
•  The right hand side of the heart is smaller than the left
•  The muscle of the left ventricle is 2-3 times thicker than that
• of the right
•  Although the size of the cavity is about the same as the right
•  The ventricles have thicker muscular walls than the atria
•  Because blood is pumped out of the heart at greater pressure
• from the ventricles compared to the atria
• The left ventricle also has a thicker muscular wall than
the right
• ventricle
•  Because the left ventricle has to pump blood all
around the body
•  But the right ventricle has to pump blood only to the
lungs
•  Higher force is needed to pump blood through the
systemic circuit
• compared to the pulmonary circuit
• VALVES OF THE HEART
• There are two types of valves in the
• heart
• THE ATRIOVENTRICULAR VALVES
• Separate the atria from the ventricles
•  tricuspid valve (right
• atrioventricular valve)
•  bicuspid or mitral valve ( left
• atrioventricular valve)
• THE SEMI LUNAR VALVE
• •Found at the base of the aorta and
• the pulmonary artery
• •Also called the aortic semi lunar valve
• and the pulmonary semi lunar valve
• Bicuspid valve- Mitral valve has two
cusps
• flaps or leaflets
• Tricuspid valves- Tricuspid, Pulmonary
and
• Aortic valve have three cusps Leaflets of
the mitral and tricuspid valves s Are
attached to and supported
•  By a ring of tough fibrous tissue
(Annulus)
•  Annulus helps to maintain the proper
• shape of the valve
• Also
• Each valve has a set of flaps called
leaflets or cusps
•  Supported by tough fibrous string
• (chordae tendenae)
•  Which extend from valve leaflets to small
• muscle (papillary muscles)
•  Papillary muscles are part of the inside
• walls of ventricles
• OUTER COVERING OF THE HEART
• The heart is a large muscular organ comprised
of four different
• layers (from the outside to the inside)
• the Pericardium
• the Epicardium
• the Myocardium
• the Endocardium
• Pericardium
•  A tough double layered fibro serous sac
•  Contain the heart and the roots of the great vessels
• The pericardial sac has two layers
• 1. serous layer
• 2. fibrous layer
•  The space between the two layers of serous pericardium is
•  Pericardial cavity which is filled with serous fluid
•  The pericardial fluid
•  It protects the heart from any kind of external jerk or shock
• Fibrous Pericardium- It is the most external
layer made of dense connective tissue
• Functions
•  It protects the heart
•  Anchor it to the surrounding walls
•  Prevent it from over filling with blood
• Serous Pericardium- It has two layers parietal
pericardium
• (combined to and inseparable from the fibrous
pericardium)
• • visceral pericardium (part of the epicardium)
•  The visceral layer extends till the opening of the great
vessels
• It joins with the parietal layer where
•  the aorta and pulmonary arteries leave the heart
•  the venacavae and pulmonary veins enter the heart
• FUNCTION
• Help to lubricate heart to avoid friction
• during heart activity
•  EPICARDIUM
•  A thin layer of connective tissue and fat
•  Provide an extra layer of protection for
• the heart
•  It is considered an extension of serous
• pericardium
•  MYOCARDIUM
•  Muscle tissue of the heart
•  Composed of cardiac muscle cells
• (cardiomyocytes)
•  Receives nervous stimulation from the
• sinoatrial node (SA) and atrioventricular
• (AV) node via purkinje fibres
• ENDOCARDIUM
•  Innermost layer of tissue
•  Simple squamous
• endothelial
•  Is continuous with
•  Endothelial lining
• of great blood vessels
• FUNCTION
•  Lines the inside of the heart
•  Offer a smooth lining
• for chambers of the heart
•  Cover the valves
• STRUCTURE OF THE CARDIAC MUSCLE
• Cardiac muscles are Involuntary and striated The cells that
make up the cardiac muscle are cardiomyocytes Muscle fibers
are shorter in length and larger in diameter Show branching
therefore individual fibre looks Y-shaped A typical fibre is 50-
100μm long Has a diameter of about 14μm Usually
mononucleated Rarely two or four nuclei can be present Cells
are interconnected by intercalated discs
The sarcoplasm(the cytoplasm of striated muscles) is
abundant Mitochondria are large and numerous Actin
filaments are thin and myosin filaments are thick Cardiac
muscle does not fatigue Cannot be repaired when damaged
Regulated by the Autonomic Nervous System
• Intercalated discs
•  Are located between
cardiac
• muscles cells
•  Anchoring structures of
• cardiac muscle cells
•  Hold gap junctions
•  Which allow cells to
contract
• as a unit
• (synchronized contraction
• BLOOD FLOW THROUGH THE HEART
• The right and left sides of the heart work together causing blood
• to flow continuously to the heart lungs and body
•  Right side of the heart
•  Blood enters the heart through two large veins
•  The inferior and superior vena cava emptying oxygen-poor blood
• (from the body) into the right atrium
•  As the right atrium contracts blood flows into right ventricle
• (through the open tricuspid valve)
•  When the ventricle is full the tricuspid valve shuts
•  Prevents blood from flowing backward into the right atrium while
• the right ventricle contracts
•  As the ventricle contracts blood leaves the heart
• (through the pulmonic valve)
•  Into the pulmonary artery and to the lungs where it is oxygenated
• The oxygenated blood then returns to the heart through the
• pulmonary veins
•  Left side of the heart
• Pulmonary veins empty
•  Oxygen-rich blood from the lungs into the left atrium
•  As the atrium contracts
•  Blood flows from atrium into the ventricle
• (through the open mitral valve)
• • When the ventricle is full
• (the mitral valve shuts)
•  Prevents blood from flowing backward into the atrium
• (while the ventricle contracts)
• • As the ventricle contracts
•  Blood leaves the heart
• (through the aortic valve)
•  Into the aorta and to the body
• Blood Flow Through Lungs
•  Blood travels through the pulmonic valve enters the lungs
• (pulmonary circulation)
• From the pulmonary valve
•  Blood travels to the pulmonary arteries
•  Finally to small capillary vessels in the lungs
•  Oxygen passes into the blood through
•  Capillaries located in the walls
•  Of tiny air sacs in the lungs (alveoli)
• At the same time
•  Carbon dioxide (waste product of metabolism)
•  Passes from the blood into the alveoli
•  Carbon dioxide leaves the body as we exhale
•  As the blood is oxygenated
•  It travels back to the left atrium through the pulmonary veins
•  Lastly from left ventricle to the body tissues through aorta
• (Systemic circulation)