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The human circulatory system is really a two-part system whose purpose is
to bring oxygen-bearing blood to all the tissues of the body. When the heart
contracts it pushes the blood out into two major loops or cycles. In the
systemic loop, the blood circulates into the body’s systems, bringing oxygen to
all its organs, structures and tissues and collecting carbon dioxide waste. In
the pulmonary loop, the blood circulates to and from the lungs, to release the
carbon dioxide and pick up new oxygen. The systemic cycle is controlled by the
left side of the heart, the pulmonary cycle by the right side of the heart.
Let’s look at what happens during each cycle:
The systemic loop begins when the oxygen-rich blood coming from the lungs enters the upper left chamber of the heart, the left atrium. As the chamber fills, it presses open the mitral valve and the blood flows down into the left ventricle. When the ventricles contract during a heartbeat, the blood on the left side is forced into the aorta. This largest artery of the body is an inch wide. The blood leaving the aorta brings oxygen to all the body’s cells through the network of ever smaller arteries and capillaries. The used blood from the body returns to the heart through the network of veins. All of the blood from the body is eventually collected into the two largest veins: the superior vena cava, which receives blood from the upper body, and the inferior vena cava, which receives blood from the lower body region. Both venae cavae empty the blood into the right atrium of the heart.
From here the blood begins its journey through the pulmonary cycle. From the right atrium the blood descends into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. When the ventricle contracts, the blood is pushed into the pulmonary artery that branches into two main parts: one going to the left lung, one to the right lung. The fresh, oxygen-rich blood returns to the left atrium of the heart through the pulmonary veins.
Although the circulatory system is made up of two cycles, both happen at the same time. The contraction of the heart muscle starts in the two atria, which push the blood into the ventricles. Then the walls of the ventricles squeeze together and force the blood out into the arteries: the aorta to the body and the pulmonary artery to the lungs. Afterwards, the heart muscle relaxes, allowing blood to flow in from the veins and fill the atria again. In healthy people the normal (resting) heart rate is about 72 beats per minute, but it can go much higher during strenuous exercise. Scientists have estimated that it takes about 30 seconds for a given portion of the blood to complete the entire cycle: from lungs to heart to body, back to the heart and out to the lungs.
The blood cells are mainly red blood cells and white blood cells, including leukocytes and platelets. The most abundant cells in vertebrate blood are red blood cells. These contain hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein, which facilitates transportation of oxygen by reversibly binding to this respiratory gas and greatly increasing its solubility in blood. In contrast, carbon dioxide is almost entirely transported extracellularly dissolved in plasma as bicarbonate ion.
Animation:
This animation shows the red blood cell deform as it enters capillaries, as well as changing color as it alternates in states of oxygenation along the circulatory system.
References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0047056/
https://www.jfmed.uniba.sk/fileadmin/user_upload/editors/Fyziologia_Files/ulohy-22ZH.pdf
Let’s look at what happens during each cycle:
The systemic loop begins when the oxygen-rich blood coming from the lungs enters the upper left chamber of the heart, the left atrium. As the chamber fills, it presses open the mitral valve and the blood flows down into the left ventricle. When the ventricles contract during a heartbeat, the blood on the left side is forced into the aorta. This largest artery of the body is an inch wide. The blood leaving the aorta brings oxygen to all the body’s cells through the network of ever smaller arteries and capillaries. The used blood from the body returns to the heart through the network of veins. All of the blood from the body is eventually collected into the two largest veins: the superior vena cava, which receives blood from the upper body, and the inferior vena cava, which receives blood from the lower body region. Both venae cavae empty the blood into the right atrium of the heart.
From here the blood begins its journey through the pulmonary cycle. From the right atrium the blood descends into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve. When the ventricle contracts, the blood is pushed into the pulmonary artery that branches into two main parts: one going to the left lung, one to the right lung. The fresh, oxygen-rich blood returns to the left atrium of the heart through the pulmonary veins.
Although the circulatory system is made up of two cycles, both happen at the same time. The contraction of the heart muscle starts in the two atria, which push the blood into the ventricles. Then the walls of the ventricles squeeze together and force the blood out into the arteries: the aorta to the body and the pulmonary artery to the lungs. Afterwards, the heart muscle relaxes, allowing blood to flow in from the veins and fill the atria again. In healthy people the normal (resting) heart rate is about 72 beats per minute, but it can go much higher during strenuous exercise. Scientists have estimated that it takes about 30 seconds for a given portion of the blood to complete the entire cycle: from lungs to heart to body, back to the heart and out to the lungs.
The blood cells are mainly red blood cells and white blood cells, including leukocytes and platelets. The most abundant cells in vertebrate blood are red blood cells. These contain hemoglobin, an iron-containing protein, which facilitates transportation of oxygen by reversibly binding to this respiratory gas and greatly increasing its solubility in blood. In contrast, carbon dioxide is almost entirely transported extracellularly dissolved in plasma as bicarbonate ion.
Animation:
This animation shows the red blood cell deform as it enters capillaries, as well as changing color as it alternates in states of oxygenation along the circulatory system.
References:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmedhealth/PMH0047056/
https://www.jfmed.uniba.sk/fileadmin/user_upload/editors/Fyziologia_Files/ulohy-22ZH.pdf
corina marinescu
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