BIO091

FOUNDATION BIOLOGY II

LABORATORY 4: CARDIOVASCULAR PHYSIOLOGY

Date Submitted: 31/3/2021

Prepared for: Sir Mohd Helmy Yusof

Prepared by:

No Name Student ID Group Group No

1 AHMAD MERZA BIN MOHD NASIR 2020826966 S27 4

2 DANIEL ASHRAF 2020818272 S27 4

3 NUR ALIA BINTI ZAMZURI 2020877984 S27 4

4 NURUL SYAHIRAH BINTI AIMISAHRIMAN 2020826696 S27 4

5 HUSNA FARISYA BINTI ABD MALIK 2020836312 S27 4

6 NUR KHAIRUNNADIA BINTI KHARUDIN 2020469564 S27 4

Introduction

The cardiovascular system helps to ensure that the blood has enough pressure to be transported across
all the body. There are two circulations that are involved in the system which are pulmonary circulation and
systemic circulation. Respectively, one involves the transportation of blood between the lungs and the heart
while the latter is for transporting the blood between all parts of the body (except the mentioned lungs) and
the heart. In order to maintain well circulation, the cardiovascular system has evolved with some unique
features. For example, the human heart has four chambers in which the left ventricle has the thickest muscle
segment. This helps to produce a high enough pressure to transport the blood to the body cells. In addition
the complimentary transportation duct , or the arteries are also thicker than the other blood transportation
duct (veins and capillaries). This is to maintain the structure when it is given a high pressure. This
cardiovascular system helps to maintain a good blood flow that helps our body to function at the optimal
condition. This is because the blood transports a lot of nutrients, hormone waste, red blood cells, white blood
cells, platelets which individually has its own use in the body. For example, nutrients keeps our body able to
have the energy to move on with our day while the transportation of waste prevents accumulation of waste
that would become toxic in our body.

Since our cardiovascular system is responsible for transporting multiple biological components in our
body, the rate by which it operates also varies on the condition. To easily measure the rate, the term used will
be heart rate. Heart rate by definition means the number of ventricular contractions per minute).
Multiplication of heart rate and the stroke volume (number of litre per strokes) would give you a cardiac
output. However it is much easier to measure heart rate by using physical sensors. Heart rate could be
increased or decreased depending on the situation. If the individual were to be doing vigorous activity then
the heart complimented the action by inducing more contraction and relaxation ( higher heart rate). This is
because the body requires more volume of blood to be transported to the cell to maintain a relatively optimal
homeostasis level. For example, a body with a high activity rate would produce a lot of waste. This waste
needs to be expelled or the body will become too toxic for the cell itself.

Objectives
1. To study the structure and function of the cardiovascular system.
2. To measure heart rate at rest.
3. To investigate the effect of exercise towards heart rate.
4. To observe different types of blood cells in prepared slides.
5. To identify different types of leukocytes in blood smear.
4.1 (Human Model and Prepared Slides)

Materials & Apparatus (4.1)

1. Human heart model
2. Artery and veins prepared slides
3. Smear of blood prepared slides

Procedure (4.1)
1. The structures of the human heart are observed and labelled.
2. The structures of artery and veins prepared slides are identified and labelled.
3. The different blood cells in the smear of blood prepared slides are identified and labelled.

Results (4.1)
Human Heart Model
Arteries and Veins
Blood Smear
Discussion(4.1)

4.1.1) Human Heart Model

Cardiovascular system is a part of the circulatory system which circulates blood in our body and it
consists of three parts of the heart, blood and blood vessels. The heart functions as a pump of blood through a
closed system which is called as blood vessels. The blood acts as a connective tissue consisting of cells and
cell fragments dispersed in plasma. The human heart is located in the thoracic cavity behind the sternum. It is
found between two lungs which slightly lie to the left of the middle of the chest.In addition,humans have a
closed circulatory system in which the blood travels in the vessel and can be differentiated from interstitial
fluid. Then, humans have double circulation - has 2 different separate circuits (pulmonary and systemic
circuit) and the blood will pass through the heart twice. In brief, the pulmonary circuit is between lungs and
heart while systemic circuit is between body cells and hearts.

The right ventricle pumps deoxygenated blood through the pulmonary semilunar valve and into the
pulmonary arteries in pulmonary circulation. The only artery that transports deoxygenated blood from the
heart to the lungs is the pulmonary artery. Deoxygenated blood flows from the lungs' pulmonary arteries to
capillary vessels.The alveolus in the lungs and the capillaries that envelop the alveolus share respiratory
gaseous. Via pulmonary veins, oxygenated blood returns to the bloodstream. The only vein that carries
oxygenated blood to the heart is the pulmonary vein.The oxygenated blood then flows into the left atrium.
The blood is carried to the left ventricle by the contraction of the left atrium, which passes through the mitral
valve. The left ventricle will pump high-pressure blood to the aorta, which will then pass through the aortic
semilunar valve and bring blood to all parts of the body except the lungs.

According to the human heart model above, the form of blood that needs to be pumped, the left
septum is thicker and more muscular than the right ventricle.Since the left ventricle pumps oxygenated
blood, it requires more force and pressure to ensure that the blood can be transferred across the body. In
systemic circulation, the blood from arteries enters the capillary in tissue and organs of the body. The
exchanges of gases between the cells and the capillaries. Then, the deoxygenated blood will return to the
heart by superior vena cava (deoxygenated blood from upper body) and inferior vena cava (deoxygenated
blood from lower body).Blood eventually enters the right atrium and when the contraction of right atrium
happened, the blood will be carried to the right ventricles, passes through the tricuspid valve. The cycle of
blood flow continues.
4.1.2) Artery and Veins

Arteries are blood vessels which are responsible for carrying oxygen rich blood away from the heart to
the body. On the other hand, veins are blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood from the body back to the
heart. Arteries and veins are two of the body’s main types of blood vessels. The cardiovascular system supply
the body with continuous O2 by pumping the blood through pulmonary circuit and systemic circuit. The
pulmonary circuit is a short loop which connects the heart to the lung while the systemic circuit is a longer
loop which connects the heart to all body parts except the lungs.

Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart under high pressure. In order to withstand this pressure,
arteries have thick and elastic walls. Arteries have smaller lumens that help to maintain the pressure of the
blood through the system. Besides, it also does not have valves except the semilunar valve in the aorta and
pulmonary artery. Veins on the other hand have thin-walled vessels with large lumen. This is because veins
carry deoxygenated blood towards the heart, away from tissues at low pressure so the lumen is large. Blood
moves more slower and often against gravity so valves and a larger lumen ensure it is still transported
efficiently. Veins can widen as the amount of blood in them increases. In addition, veins also have valves to
prevent back flow of low pressure blood and to maintain unidirectional blood flow.

For the blood vessels, there are three layers which consist of tunica intima, tunica media and tunica
adventitia/externa. Tunica intima is the inner lining composed of endothelium wrapped by a thin layer of
connective tissue called basal lamina. The function of this layer is to provide a smooth inner surface that
minimizes resistance to the flow of blood. Next is the middle muscular and elastic layer which is tunica
media. It consists of smooth muscle and elastic fibre. The smooth muscle allows vessels to constrict and
dilate, and also regulate blood flow while the elastic fibre allows blood vessels to stretch and recoil to
maintain blood pressure. The last layer also known as the outer layer is tunica adventitia/externa which
consists of collagen and connective tissues. The main function of the collagen is to make the wall of blood
vessels strong and durable for blood flowing.
4.1.3) Smear of blood

Blood is one of the parts of the cardiovascular system which consists of plasma and blood cells. Blood
is also known as a connective tissue consisting of cells suspended in plasma. Components of blood have 55%
of plasma and 45% of cellular elements that contain blood cells and cell fragments. Plasma has water that is
used to dissolve other components as well as give blood its fluidity. Proteins, nutrients, ions and other
components also contained in plasma for the use of internal systems. While in cellular elements, it consists of
different types of blood cells and cell fragments which are erythrocytes, leukocytes and platelets.

As for cellular elements, as well as shown in the smear of blood above, it is rich with erythrocytes or
red blood cells (RBC) which can reach millions of cells. Erythrocytes main function is to transport oxygen
and some carbon dioxide to the whole body. Erythrocytes have a shape of small biconcave disks which are
thinner in the center than at the edges. Surface area increases due to the shape itself which leads to enhance
the rate of diffusion of oxygen across their plasma membrane. The mature RBC lacks nuclei that leaves more
space for the hemoglobin (Hb), enabling the RBC to transport more oxygen. RBC also lacks mitochondria
and generates ATP by anaerobic metabolism as RBC carries oxygen which it would not want the oxygen to
be consumed if it was aerobic. Erythrocytes are formed in the bone marrow every second and released into
the circulation. Erythrocytes circulated in the blood for three to four months before they got worn out.
Iron-rich food would be good as iron is necessary for the making of RBC. According to the picture of the
smear blood, there are tiny cells which are called platelets or thrombocytes. They are pinched-off
cytoplasmic fragments of specialized bone marrow cells. Platelets lack nuclei and play a central role in blood
clotting along with stimulating the immune system.

Leukocytes or white blood cells are also one of the cellular elements that contain the least number of
cells. There are different types of leukocytes which are neutrophils, eosinophils, basophils, lymphocytes and
monocytes as shown in the blood smear. Leukocytes are also synthesized in the bone marrow and the number
of cells increases temporarily whenever the body is fighting an infection. Neutrophils are one of the granular
leukocytes and also known as phagocytic cells in the blood that comprise the first line of host immune
response against invading pathogens. Eosinophils have large granules and increase in number during allergic
reactions and during parasitic infestations. Another granular leukocyte is basophil, which exhibits deep blue
granules. As for the agranular leukocytes, there are monocytes and lymphocytes. Monocytes are the largest
leukocytes and differentiate or mature into macrophages which engulf bacteria, dead cells and debris.
Monocytes can differentiate into dendritic cells as well that are important for the immune system. While
lymphocytes function to produce immune responses against foreign substances in the body as well as
produce antibodies to attack foreign invaders like bacteria and viruses.
Conclusion(4.1)

In conclusion, the cardiovascular system has three important parts which are the heart, blood and
blood vessels. The cardiovascular system is one of the most important systems in the human body that
transport blood across all the body. During this experiment, we could identify the structure and the function
of the cardiovascular system based on the human heart model and the pictures of arteries and veins along
with the smear of blood. The types of blood cells and leukocytes have been discovered as well in this
experiment. The structure and functions of every part or element has been observed and identified. From the
experiment, we could conclude that every element and cell has their own structure, type and function that are
all necessary for the cardiovascular system.
4.2 (Measurement of Heart Rate)

Materials & Apparatus (4.2)

1. Three subjects (Participating Students)
2. Stopwatch

Procedure (4.2)
4.2.1 - Heart Rate Before Exercise

1. Find the artery

2. Place the tips of the first two fingers of one hand on the palm side of the wrist.
3. Press quite firmly to feel the pulse of blood which each heartbeat sends through the artery
4. Count the pulse for 15 seconds. Record the pulse
5. Multiply the amount by four to get beats per minute (heart rate)
6. Repeat the same procedure twice.
7. Replicate the procedure for another two subjects
8. Record the value of the heart rate and calculate the mean values

4.2.2 - Heart Rate After Exercise

1. The subject must engage in a physical activity for 2-5 minute

2. Immediately measure the heart rate following the steps in experiment 4.2.1
3. Record the data
4. Compare the data and results of the heart rate before and after exercise for all three subjects.
Results (4.2)
Discussion(4.2)

We can see that three of them have a higher heart rate when we look at the results of this experiment.
During exercise, the leg muscle contracts and requires more energy to maintain the contraction. This causes
the heart to beat faster, allowing oxygenated blood to reach the muscle more quickly. Respiration is a process
that produces energy.Respiration will consume oxygen and produce energy. Moreover, exercise also will
increase the stroke volume by increasing the amount of blood that will fill the left ventricle. Because of this,
more oxygenated blood will be pumped away from the heart to the target muscles.The lungs will also
function harder as the diaphragm expands and contracts faster. The gaseous exchanges will be increased. The
cardiac output improved as the stroke volume and heart rate increased, indicating an increase in the volume
of blood pumped by each ventricle per minute.

They have fast breathing during exercise to absorb more oxygen, and their oxygen levels in the body
return to normal. The pulse can be felt in the wrist artery. We measured the heart rate with the tips of our first
two fingers in this experiment, which is every beat per minute.We don't use our thumbs because they have
their own rhythm, which we can sense. The radial artery was the artery that was felt in this experiment. Since
the transport of oxygen increases during exercise, the pulse rate increases as well.

Conclusion(4.2)
In conclusion,we could identify where our radial artery that we could use to count our pulse. After the
subjects finished exercise, we noticed that the heart rate of these three subjects increased because their hearts
needed to pump more blood so the oxygen could diffuse into the cell body faster to be used in cell
respiration. During this experiment, we could conclude that every kind of person does have a different heart
rate and the heart rate is increased as we do vigorous exercise.
References

● Charles Patrick Davis (2020 April 15), How the Heart Works: Sides, Chambers, and

Function, Retrieved from https://www.medicinenet.com/heart_how_the_heart_works/article.htm

Gaea Marelle Miranda (2021 February 22), Structure and Function of the Heart,

● Retrieved from https://www.news-medical.net/health/Structure-and-Function-of-the-Heart.aspx

Health Engine (2008 Jan 03), Blood function and composition, Retrieved from

https://healthengine.com.au/info/blood-function-and-composition#C11

● Health Engine (2006 June 26), Cardiovascular system (heart) anatomy, Retrieved

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em%20can%20be,are%20like%20the%20delivery%20routes

● Solomon, E, at al (2018) Biology (11th ed), Cengage Learning