4

____________________________________________________________________________________________

CIRCULATION
Chapter Outline

4.1 A SHOCKING SAVE

4.2 CIRCULATORY SYSTEMS
Open and Closed Circulatory Systems
Evolution of Vertebrate Circulation
4.3 HUMAN CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
The Pulmonary Circuit
The Systemic Circuit
4.4 THE HUMAN HEART
The Cardiac Cycle
Setting the Pace for Contraction
4.5 VERTEBRATE BLOOD
Plasma
Cellular Components
Red Blood Cells
White Blood Cells
Platelets
4.6 ARTERIES AND ARTERIOLES
Rapid Transport in Arteries
Adjusting Flow at Arterioles
4.7 BLOOD PRESSURE
4.8 EXCHANGES AT CAPILLARIES
4.9 BACK TO THE HEART
4.10 BLOOD AND CARDIOVASCULAR DISORDERS
Altered Blood Cell Count
Cardiovascular Disease
Atherosclerosis
Hypertension
Rhythms and Arrhythmias
4.11 INTERACTIONS WITH THE LYMPHATIC SYSTEM
Lymphoid Organs and Tissues
Learning Objectives

After reading the chapter, students should be able to:

Examine the life-saving uses of CPR and automated external defibrillator.
Compare open and closed circulatory systems.
Illustrate the process of blood circulation in humans using diagrams.
Examine the pulmonary and the systemic circuits of the human cardiovascular system.
Describe the components of blood.
Examine the three-phase process of hemostasis.
Examine the significance of blood types.
Illustrate the process of a cardiac cycle using a diagram.
Examine the relationship between the structure and the functioning of the human heart.
Discuss the structure and functions of the different kinds of blood vessels involved in blood
circulation.
Examine how blood pressure is measured and regulated.
Examine how materials are exchanged between the blood and interstitial fluid.
Discuss the important functions of veins.
Examine the causes that affect the normal functioning of the circulatory system.
Examine the components of the lymphatic system.

Key Terms
aorta closed circulatory open circulatory system systemic circuit
arteries system plasma systole
arterioles diastole pulmonary artery systolic pressure
atrioventricular (AV) diastolic pressure pulmonary circuit vasoconstriction
node heart pulmonary veins vasodilation
atrium, atria hemolymph pulse veins
blood hemostasis red blood cells ventricle
blood pressure inferior vena cava (erythrocytes) white blood cells
capillaries lymph sinoatrial (SA) node (leukocytes)
cardiac cycle lymph nodes spleen
circulatory system lymph vascular system superior vena cava

Lecture Outline
4.1 A Shocking Save
A. An electrical signal generated by a natural pacemaker in the heart wall causes the heart
muscle to contract, creating the heart beat.
1. Sudden cardiac arrest is the cessation of the beat, which halts the flow of the blood.
2. CPR and defibrillation can restore the heart beat.
B. Matt Nader, a high school football player, went into cardiac arrest during a high school
game.
1. CPR and defibrillation using an automated external defibrillator (AED) saved his life.
2. Through his testimony, Texas legislators passed a law requiring high school athletic
events to have AEDs readily available.

4.2 Circulatory Systems

 A. Open and Closed Circulatory Systems
1. A circulatory system is an internal transport system with three components.
a. Blood is a fluid tissue composed of water, solutes, and formed elements.
b. Blood vessels are tubes of various diameters through which the blood is transported.
c. The heart is a muscular pump that generates pressure to keep the blood flowing.
2. Interstitial fluid “bathes” the cells of the body.
a. The volume, composition, and temperature of this fluid must be carefully
maintained.
b. Exchanges between interstitial fluid and blood keep the internal environment
tolerable.
3. Arthropods and most mollusks have an open system.
a. Hemolymph is pumped from a heart into large tissue spaces where organs are
“bathed.”
b. The hemolymph mixes with interstitial fluid, and after accessing cells, returns to the
heart via pores.
4. Vertebrates have a closed system.
a. All the vessels and the heart are connected so that blood remains enclosed.
b. Blood volume is constant and is equal to the heart’s output at any time.
c. Flow rate slows as blood moves through the fine capillaries of the capillary beds.
B. Evolution of Vertebrate Circulation
1. In fishes, blood flows in a single circuit, passing through a heart of two chambers.
2. In amphibians the three-chambered heart is partially partitioned into right and left
halves, permitting a partial separation into two circuits.
3. Birds and mammals have two separate circuits of blood flow.
a. The right half of the heart receives deoxygenated blood and pumps it to the lungs of
the pulmonary circuit.
b. The left half receives blood from the lungs and pumps the oxygen-rich blood to all of
the tissues and organs in the systemic circuit.

4.3 Human Cardiovascular System

A. The general route of blood circulation is: heart  arteries  arterioles  capillaries 
venules  veins  heart.
B. The Pulmonary Circuit
1. In the pulmonary circuit, oxygen-poor blood is pumped to the lungs from the right side of
the heart, and oxygen-rich blood is returned from the lungs to the left side.
C. The Systemic Circuit
1. In the systemic circuit, oxygen-rich blood is pumped from the left side of the heart to all
the body.
2. Usually a given volume of blood in either circuit passes through only one capillary bed;
an exception is blood from the digestive tract, which passes through the liver before
entering the general circulation.

4.4 The Human Heart

A. Heart Structure and Function
1. The heart tissue is layered.
a. The outer covering of the heart is the pericardium, which is partially a fluid-filled sac
and the outer part of the heart wall.
b. The bulk of the heart wall is the heart muscle—myocardium—serviced by coronary
circulation.
c. The heart is lined with a smooth endothelium.
 2. Nutrients and oxygen are delivered to the heart tissues by the coronary arteries.
3. The heart has four chambers and four valves.
a. Each half of the heart consists of an atrium (receiving) and a ventricle (pumping)
separated by an atrioventricular valve.
b. Blood exits each ventricle through a semilunar valve.
B. The Cardiac Cycle
1. The cardiac cycle consists of a sequence of contraction (systole) and relaxation (diastole).
a. As the atria fill, the ventricles are relaxed.
b. Pressure of the blood in the atria forces the atrioventricular valves to open; the ven-
tricles continue to fill as the atria contract.
c. The ventricles contract, the atrioventricular valves close, and blood flows out
through the semilunar valves.
d. The heart sound “lub” is made by the closing of the AV valves; the “dup” sound is
the closure of the semilunar valves.
C. Setting the Pace for Contraction
1. Cardiac muscle has orderly arrays of sarcomeres, which contract by a sliding-filament
mechanism.
2. Because of the close junctions of cardiac muscle cells, they contract in unison.
3. Excitation for a heartbeat is initiated in the sinoatrial (SA) node (also known as the
cardiac pacemaker) then passes to the atrioventricular (AV) node for ventricular
contraction; this is the cardiac conduction system.
4. The nervous system adjusts rate and strength.

4.5 Vertebrate Blood

A. Functions of Blood
1. It carries oxygen and nutrients to cells, and it carries secretions and wastes away from
them.
2. It helps stabilize internal pH.
3. It contains phagocytic cells that fight infection.
4. It equalizes body temperature in birds and mammals.
B. Blood Volume and Composition
1. In humans, body size and the concentrations of water and solutes dictate blood volume.
a. On average, humans have about 5 liters (10 pints).
b. In vertebrates, blood is a viscous fluid, thicker than water and slower flowing.
c. Blood’s fluid portion is called plasma; the cellular portion consists of blood cells and
platelets.
d. Stem cells are unspecialized cells that retain the capacity for mitotic cell division.
2. Plasma
a. About 50–60 percent of blood volume is plasma, which is composed mostly of water.
b. Some plasma proteins transport lipids and vitamins; others function in immune
responses and blood clotting.
c. Plasma also contains ions, glucose, lipids, amino acids, vitamins, hormones, and
dissolved gases. It also acts as a solvent for hundreds of different plasma proteins.
3. Red Blood Cells (Erythrocytes)
a. In mammals, red blood cells are biconcave disks that transport oxygen.
b. Red blood cells contain hemoglobin—an iron-containing protein that binds with
oxygen.
c. They form from stem cells in bone marrow, lose their nuclei, and live about 120 days.
d. The number of cells per microliter (about five million) is called the cell count.
4. White Blood Cells
 a. White blood cells, or leukocytes, remove dead or worn-out cells and protect us
against invading microbes and foreign agents.
b. There are several types of white blood cells.
1) Granulocytes, named for their visible granules in the cytoplasm, are neutrophils,
basophils, and eosinophils.
2) Neutrophils undergo phagocytosis to capture bacteria.
3) Eosinophils can combat parasitic worms and are prevalent during allergy season.
c. Basophils are active in the inflammatory response.
4) Agranulocytes, white blood cells that lack granules in the cytoplasm, are
lymphocytes and monocytes.
5) Lymphocytes, the “B” and “T” cells, are involved in the immune responses.
6) Monocytes become macrophages that destroy foreign particles via phagocytosis.
5. Platelets
a. These are fragments of megakaryocytes produced by bone marrow stem cells.
b. They function in blood clotting and last only 5–9 days.

4.6 Arteries and Arterioles

A. Blood is distributed by means of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins.
1. Blood pressure is fluid pressure of the blood due to ventricular contractions.
a. The flow rate is directly proportional to the pressure gradient between the start and
end of the vessel; it is high in contracting ventricles and in the beginning of the
arteries, and low in relaxed atria.
2. The flow rate is inversely proportional to the vessel’s size or resistance to flow.
B. Rapid Transport in Arteries
1. Arteries are large-diameter vessels that present low resistance to flow as they conduct
blood away from the heart.
2. Because of their elastic walls, arteries tend to “smooth out” the pulsations associated with
the discontinuous pumping cycle of the heart.
C. Adjusting Flow at Arterioles
1. Blood flow to organs, except the brain, is a function of activity.
a. The brain gets a constant supply.
b. When you exercise, blood flow to the kidneys and gut slows.
2. Neural and endocrine signals cause changes in arteriole diameter by stimulating the
muscle cells in the walls.
a. If the blood pressure increases, the arterioles are instructed to relax (vasodilation).
b. If the pressure decreases, the diameter of the arterioles decreases (vasoconstriction).
3. Arterioles serve as control points where adjustments can be made in blood volume
distribution.
D. Following arterioles, the blood enters capillary networks.
1. The oxygen is given up to the tissues in the capillary network.
2. The blood from several capillaries flows into a venule.
3. After the venules, the blood enters veins and travels back to the heart.

4.7 Blood Pressure

A. A special instrument with a cuff surrounding the upper arm is connected to a pressure-
measuring device.
1. The peak pressure (systolic) is recorded when the ventricles are contracting—120mm is
typical.
2. The lowest pressure (diastolic) is reached when the ventricles are relaxing—80mm.
B. Blood pressure is related to blood volume, constriction of the arterioles.
 1. Receptors on the aorta and in carotid arteries of the neck alert a control center in the brain
when blood pressure drops or increases.
2. In response the brain calls for changes in cardiac output and arteriole diameter.

4.8 Exchanges at Capillaries

A. Capillary Function
1. Capillaries are diffusion zones for exchanges between blood and interstitial fluid.
a. A capillary is the smallest tube (red blood cells travel single-file) in the path of circu-
lation.
b. Total resistance is less than in arterioles, so the drop in blood pressure is not as great.
c. Its wall consists of a single layer of endothelial cells, which facilitates diffusion to and
from the interstitial fluid.
2. Movement across the capillary is by several modes: diffusion (of oxygen and carbon
dioxide), endocytosis and exocytosis (of proteins), between the cells (of ions), and bulk
flow (of water).
a. At the beginning of a capillary bed, there is a movement of plasma out into the
interstitial fluid in a process known as ultrafiltration.
b. Further on, some tissue fluid moves into the capillary through clefts between its
endothelial walls in a process known as reabsorption.

4.9 Back to the Heart

A. Capillaries merge into venules then into veins.
1. Blood pressure and resistance to flow are both low; valves prevent backflow.
a. When valves become damaged, varicose veins (in the legs) or hemorrhoids (in the
anus) form.
b. Clots may develop in a leg vein from valve damage or inactivity.
1) A clot may dislodge from the leg and travel to the heart or lungs.
2. Veins are blood volume reservoirs (50–60 percent of blood volume) because their walls
can distend or contract.
3. The movement of skeletal muscles squeezes the veins and pushes the blood along against
the forces of gravity.

4.10 Blood and Cardiovascular Disorders

A. Altered Blood Cell Count
1. Anemias are conditions in which there are too few, or deformed, RBCs.
a. Hemorrhagic (sudden) and chronic (slow) anemias follow blood loss.
b. Certain bacteria and protozoans replicate in RBCs and cause hemolytic anemias.
c. Insufficient iron causes iron deficiency anemia.
d. Sickle-cell anemia and thalassemias arise from mutations that either alter the
hemoglobin or stop its synthesis altogether.
2. Polycythemias (far too few RBCs) and blood doping make blood flow sluggish.
3. Infectious mononucleosis is a viral disease in which too many monocytes and
lymphocytes form; it may last several weeks with a gradual recovery.
4. Leukemias are cancers of the bone marrow, which impair WBC formation.
5. Lymphomas are cancers that originate from B or T lymphocytes, producing tumors in
lymph nodes and the lymphatic system.
B. Cardiovascular Disease
1. Major risk factors for cardiovascular disease are genetics, smoking, obesity, lack of
exercise, hypertension, high cholesterol level, and diabetes mellitus.
 2. Atherosclerosis
a. In this condition, lipids such as cholesterol build up in the arterial wall.
b. Low-density lipoproteins (LDLs) infiltrate the walls, causing an atherosclerotic
plaque to form.
c. High-density lipoproteins (HDLs) also bind cholesterol, but are more desirable since
the liver is able to metabolize them.
d. Platelets gather at the site and initiate clot formation.
e. Enlarging plaques and blood clots narrow or block arteries.
f. With coronary bypass surgery, doctors stitch a section of blood vessel from another
part of the body to the aorta and coronary artery below a clogged area.
g. Laser angioplasty uses lasers to vaporize the plaques.
h. During balloon angioplasty, a small balloon is inflated inside a blocked artery to
flatten the plaques.
3. Hypertension
a. Hypertension refers to chronically high blood pressure, even at rest.
b. It is referred to as the silent killer because people are often unaware they have it.
c. Hypertension tends to run in families.
d. Diet, lack of exercise, and salt intake increase risk.
e. The heart may enlarge enough to pump less efficiently and interfere with the
delivery of oxygen to the brain, heart, and other vital organs.
4. Rhythms and Arrhythmias
a. Electrocardiograms (ECGs) can reveal arrhythmias, an abnormal heartbeat.
1) Bradycardia is a below-average resting cardiac rate, which may be the result of
ongoing exercise.
2) Tachycardia, fast heartbeat, is caused by exercise or stress.
b. Atrial and ventricular fibrillation are repeated contractions that disrupt the normal
cardiac cycle.

4.11 Interactions with the Lymphatic System

A. Lymph Vascular System
1. The lymph vascular system includes lymph capillaries and lymph vessels.
2. It returns excess water and proteins (lymph) to the bloodstream, transports fats, and
brings foreign materials to the lymph nodes for disposal.
3. Lymph capillaries begin blindly in the tissues of the body; they lead to lymph vessels,
which in turn lead to ducts that return the fluid to the bloodstream.
B. Lymphoid Organs and Tissues
1. Lymph nodes are strategically located at intervals along lymph vessels.
a. Before entering blood, lymph trickles through at least one node and gets filtered.
b. Masses of white blood cells are located inside the nodes and attack nonself items.
2. The organs and functions include:
a. The lymph nodes (with resident cells) located along the lymph vessels help remove
bacteria and cellular debris.
b. The spleen is the largest lymphoid organ and it removes spent RBCs, holds
macrophages, and produces red blood cells in human embryos.
c. The thymus secretes hormones that regulate the activity of lymphocytes and is a site
where they multiply and mature.