CIRCULATORY SYSTEM

[image:http://i.imgur.com/KWTOksA.jpg?1] '''The Circulatory System''' The circulatory system (also called the ''cardiovascular system'') is an organ system that transports blood around around the body. It is comprised of... •Blood •Blood vessels •The Heart Blood is a transport medium that carries substances such as nutrients and oxygen around the body. The Heart is a hollow, muscular pump that pushes blood around the body through a series of branching tubes, called blood vessels. Our organs are '''not''' floating in a pool of blood, rather the blood is confined to the blood vessels and travels around the body in a closed circuit. The heart is sometimes referred to as a "double pump" as each half (left & right) of the heart pumps blood through an independent circuit. ''Pulmonary Circulation'': The right side of the heart consists of two chambers that forces blood through a short loop from the heart to the lungs and back again. ''Systemic Circulation'': The right side of the heart consists of two chambers that sends blood from the heart to all the other parts of our bodies and back again. ''Coronary Circulation'': This right side of the heart also drives a tiny circuit that supplies blood to the myocardium (heart muscle) ==Functions of Circulatory System:== The circulatory system plays a vital role in delivering nutrients from the digestive system or nutrient storage tissues such as the liver or adipose (fat) tissue to our body cells. Energy stored within nutrient molecules is released by cells in a process known as cellular respiration. To effectively release the energy stored in nutrient molecules cells require oxygen and carbon dioxide is generated as a waste product. The circulatory system transports oxygen from the lungs to our tissues and carries carbon dioxide back from the tissues to the lungs. In this way, the digestive system, respiratory system (lungs) and circulatory system all work together to enable cellular respiration, which generates the energy needed for virtually all life processes. ===Some key function of the circulatory system:=== *Supply of oxygen to tissues *Supply of nutrients such as glucose, amino acids, and fatty acids *Removal of waste such as carbon dioxide, urea, and lactic acid *Immunological functions, including circulation of white blood cells, and detection of foreign material by antibodies *Coagulation, the conversion of blood from a liquid to a semi-solid gel to stop bleeding from a broken blood vessel *Messenger functions, including the transport of hormones and the signalling of tissue damage *Regulation of body pH *Regulation of core body temperature