The Circulatory System of Mammals

Question Why is diffusion not an adequate way to distribute food, oxygen etc. around the body?
Smaller organisms with a large SA:V, able to diffuse gases over the entire body service, distance materials have to travel small Complex organisms more materials moving in and out, distance to reach critical areas increase, diffusion too slow Diffusion alone is not adequate for transporting substances over long distances in animalsfor example, for moving glucose from the digestive tract and oxygen from the lungs to the brain of a mammal. Diffusion is inefficient over distances of more than a few millimeters, because the time it takes for a substance to diffuse from one place to another is proportional to the square of the distance. For example, if it takes 1 second for a given quantity of glucose to diffuse 100 m, it will take 100 seconds for the same quantity to diffuse 1 mm and almost 3 hours to diffuse 1 cm. The circulatory system solves this problem by ensuring that no substance must diffuse very far to enter or leave a cell. By rapidly transporting fluid in bulk throughout the body, the circulatory system functionally connects the aqueous environment of the body cells to the organs that exchange gases, absorb nutrients, and dispose of wastes. In the lungs of a mammal, for example, oxygen from inhaled air diffuses across a thin epithelium and into the blood, while carbon dioxide diffuses in the opposite direction. Bulk fluid movement in the circulatory system, powered by the heart, then quickly carries the oxygen-rich blood to all parts of the body. As the blood streams through the body tissues within capillaries, chemicals are transported between the blood and the interstitial fluid that directly bathes the cells. Open and Closed circulatory system In animals, two types of circulatory systems that overcome the limitations of diffusion have evolved: open and closed. Both have three basic components: a circulatory fluid (blood), a set of tubes (blood vessels) through which the blood moves through the body, and a muscular pump (the heart). The heart powers circulation by using metabolic energy to elevate the hydrostatic pressure of the blood, which then flows down a pressure gradient through its circuit and back to the heart. This blood pressure is the motive force for fluid movement in the circulatory system. In insects, other arthropods, and most molluscs, blood bathes the organs directly in an open circulatory system. There is no distinction between blood and interstitial fluid, and this general body fluid is more correctly termed hemolymph. In a closed circulatory system, blood is confined to vessels and is distinct from the interstitial fluid.

Blood vessel structure and function All blood vessels are built of similar tissues. The walls of both arteries and veins, for instance, have three similar layers. On the outside, a layer of connective tissue with elastic fibers allows the vessel to stretch and recoil (ttunica externa). A middle layer contains smooth muscle and more elastic fibers (tunica media). Lining the lumen of all blood vessels, including capillaries, is an endothelium, a single layer of flattened cells that provides a smooth surface that minimizes resistance to the flow of blood.

Structural differences correlate with the different functions of arteries, veins, and capillaries. Capillaries lack the two outer layers, and their very thin walls consist only of endothelium and its basement membrane. This facilitates the exchange of substances between the blood and the interstitial fluid that bathes the cells. Arteries have thicker middle and outer layers than veins. Blood flows through the vessels of the circulatory system at uneven speeds and pressures. The thicker walls of arteries provide strength to accommodate blood pumped rapidly and at high pressure by the heart, and their elasticity helps maintain blood pressure even when the heart relaxes between contractions. The thinner-walled veins convey blood back to the heart at low velocity and pressure. Blood flows through the veins mainly as a result of muscle action; whenever you move, your skeletal muscles squeeze your veins and push blood through them. Within large veins, flaps of tissue act as one-way valves that allow blood to flow only toward the heart.

Contracting skeletal muscles squeeze the veins. Flaps of tissue within the veins act as one-way valves that keep blood moving only toward the heart. If we sit or stand too long, the lack of muscular activity causes our feet to swell with stranded blood unable to return to the heart.

Structure of the heart In the human body, the heart is usually situated in the middle of the thorax with the largest part of the heart slightly offset to the left underneath the breastbone (sternum). The heart is enclosed by a sac known as the pericardium and is surrounded by the lungs. The two atria have relatively thin walls and serve as collection chambers for blood returning to the heart, most of which flows into the ventricles as they relax. Contraction of the atria completes filling of the ventricles. The ventricles have thicker walls and contract much more strongly than the atriaespecially the left ventricle, which must pump blood to all body organs through the systemic circuit.

Mammalian Circulation The right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs via the pulmonary arteries. As the blood flows through capillary beds in the left and right lungs, it loads O2 and unloads CO2. Oxygen-rich blood returns from the lungs via the pulmonary veins to the left atrium of the heart. Next, the oxygen-rich blood flows into the left ventricle as the ventricle opens and the atrium contracts. The left ventricle pumps the oxygen-rich blood out to body tissues through the systemic circuit. Blood leaves the left ventricle via the aorta, which conveys blood to arteries leading throughout the body. The first branches from the aorta are the coronary arteries which supply blood to the heart muscle itself. There are then branches leading to capillary beds in the head and arms (forelimbs). The aorta continues in a posterior direction, supplying oxygen-rich blood to arteries leading to arterioles and capillary beds in the abdominal organs and legs. Within the capillaries, O2 and CO2 diffuse along their concentration gradients, with O2 moving from the blood to the tissues and CO2 produced by cellular respiration diffusing into the bloodstream. Capillaries rejoin, forming venules, which convey blood to veins. Oxygen-poor blood from the head, neck, and forelimbs is channeled into a large vein called the anterior (or superior) vena cava. Another large vein called the posterior (or inferior) vena cava drains blood from the trunk and hind limbs. The two venae cavae empty their blood into the right atrium, from which the oxygen-poor blood flows into the right ventricle.

The Cardiac Cycle The heart contracts and relaxes in a rhythmic cycle. When it contracts, it pumps blood; when it relaxes, its chambers fill with blood. The cardiac cycle refers to one complete sequence of pumping and filling. The contraction phase of the cycle is called systole, and the relaxation phase is diastole. The volume of blood per minute that the left ventricle pumps into the systemic circuit is called cardiac output. Cardiac output depends on two factors: the rate of contraction, or heart rate (number of beats per minute); and stroke volume, the amount of blood pumped by the left ventricle in each contraction. The average stroke volume in humans is about 75 mL. A person with this stroke volume and a heart rate at rest of 70 beats per minute has a cardiac output of 5.25 L/minabout equivalent to the total volume of blood in the human body. Cardiac output can increase as much as about fivefold during heavy exercise. This is equivalent to pumping an amount of blood matching an average persons body mass every 23 minutes.

The cardiac cycle. For an adult human at rest with a pulse of about 75 beats per minute, one complete cardiac cycle takes about 0.8 second. During a relaxation phase (atria and ventricles in diastole), blood returning from the large veins flows into the atria and ventricles. A brief period of atrial systole then forces all remaining blood out of the atria into the ventricles. During the remainder of the cycle, ventricular systole pumps blood into the large arteries. Note that seven-eighths of the timeall but 0.1 second of the cardiac cyclethe atria are relaxed and are filling with blood returning via the veins.

1. 2. 3. 4.

Atrial diastole Atrial systole Ventricular systole Ventricular diastole

Page 471 Cardiac cycle The heart sounds heard with a stethoscope are caused by the closing of the valves. (Even without a stethoscope, you can hear these sounds by pressing your ear tightly against the chest of a friend). The sound pattern is lub-dub, lub-dub, lub-dub. The first heart sound (lub) is created by the recoil of blood against the closed AV valves. The second sound (dub) is the recoil of blood against the semilunar valves. A defect in one or more valves causes a condition known as a heart murmur, which may be detectable as a hissing sound when a stream of blood squirts backward through a valve. Some people are born with heart murmurs; in others, the valves may be damaged by infection (from rheumatic fever, for instance). Most heart murmurs do not reduce the efficiency of blood flow enough to warrant surgery. Maintaining the hearts rhythmic beat The timely delivery of oxygen to the bodys organs is critical. For example, brain cells die within a few minutes if their oxygen supply is interrupted. Thus, maintaining heart function is crucial for survival. Several mechanisms have evolved that ensure the continuity and control of heartbeat. Some cardiac muscle cells are self-excitable, meaning they contract without any signal from the nervous system, even if removed from the heart and placed in tissue culture. Each of these cells has its own intrinsic contraction rhythm. How are their contractions coordinated in the intact heart? A region of the heart called the sinoatrial (SA) node, or pacemaker, sets the rate and timing at which all cardiac muscle cells contract. Composed of specialized muscle tissue, the SA node is located in the wall of the right atrium, near the point where the superior vena cava enters the heart. Because the pacemaker of the human heart (and of other vertebrates) is made up of specialized muscle tissues and located within the heart itself, the vertebrate heart is referred to as a myogenic heart. The SA node generates electrical impulses much like those produced by nerve cells. Because cardiac muscle cells are electrically coupled (by the intercalated disks between adjacent cells), impulses from the SA node spread rapidly through the walls of the atria, causing both atria to contract in unison. The impulses also pass to another region of specialized cardiac muscle tissue, a relay point called the atrioventricular (AV) node, located in the wall between the right atrium and right ventricle. Here the impulses are delayed for about 0.1 second before spreading to the walls of the ventricles. The delay ensures that the atria empty completely before the ventricles contract. Specialized muscle fibers called bundle branches (AV bundle and bundle of His) and Purkinje fibers then conduct the signals to the apex of the heart and throughout the ventricular walls.

The control of heart rhythm. The gold portions of the graphs at the bottom indicate the components of an electrocardiogram (ECG) corresponding to the sequence of electrical events in the heart. In step 4, the black portion of the ECG to the right of the gold spike represents electrical activity after the ventricles contract; during this phase, the ventricles become electrically re-primed and thus able to conduct the next round of contraction signals.

The impulses that travel through cardiac muscle during the heart cycle produce electrical currents that are conducted through body fluids to the skin, where the currents can be detected by electrodes and recorded as an electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG). The SA node sets the tempo for the entire heart, but is influenced by a variety of physiological cues. Two sets of nerves affect heart rate: one set speeds up the pacemaker, and the other set slows it down. Heart rate is a compromise regulated by the opposing actions of these two sets of nerves. The pacemaker is also influenced by hormones secreted into the blood by glands. For example, epinephrine, the fight-or-flight hormone secreted by the adrenal glands, increases heart rate. Body temperature is another factor that affects the pacemaker. An increase of only 1C raises the heart rate by about 10 beats per minute. This is the reason your pulse increases substantially when you have a fever. Heart rate also increases with exercise, an adaptation that enables the circulatory system to provide the additional O2 needed by muscles hard at work.

Define pulse and blood pressure Pulse The rhythmic stretching of the arteries caused by the pressure of blood forced through the arteries by contractions of the ventricles during systole. It can be felt at the neck (carotid artery), at the wrist (radial artery), behind the knee (popliteal artery), on the inside of the elbow (brachial artery), near the ankle joint (posterior tibial artery), and a few other places. A normal pulse rate for a healthy adult, while resting, can range from 60 to 100 beats per minute (BPM). During sleep, this can drop to as low as 40 BPM; during strenuous exercise, it can rise as high as 200220 BPM. Blood pressure Blood pressure (strictly speaking: vascular pressure) refers to the force exerted by circulating blood on the walls of blood vessels. The term blood pressure generally refers to arterial pressure, i.e., the pressure in the larger arteries, arteries being the blood vessels which take blood away from the heart. Arterial pressure is most commonly measured via a sphygmomanometer, which uses the height of a column of mercury to reflect the circulating pressure. Although many modern vascular pressure devices no longer use mercury, vascular pressure values are still universally reported in millimetres of mercury (mmHg). The systolic arterial pressure is defined as the peak pressure in the arteries, which occurs near the beginning of the cardiac cycle; the diastolic arterial pressure is the lowest pressure (at the resting phase of the cardiac cycle). The average pressure throughout the cardiac cycle is reported as mean arterial pressure; the pulse pressure reflects the difference between the maximum and minimum pressures measured. Typical values for a resting, healthy adult human are approximately 120 mmHg (16 kPa) systolic and 80 mmHg (11 kPa) diastolic (written as 120/80 mmHg, and spoken as "one twenty over eighty") with large individual variations. These measures of arterial pressure are not static, but undergo natural variations from one heartbeat to another and throughout the day; they also change in response to stress, nutritional factors, drugs, or disease. Hypertension refers to arterial pressure being abnormally high, as opposed to hypotension, when it is abnormally low.

Factors affecting blood pressure Blood pressure may be influenced by physical factors such as heart rate, stroke volume, resistance etc. Each of these may in turn be influenced by physiological factors, such as diet, exercise, disease, drugs or alcohol, obesity, excess weight etc. In cardiac physiology, the rate and volume of flow are accounted for in a combined fashion by cardiac output which is the heart rate (the rate of contraction) multiplied by the stroke volume (the amount of blood pumped out from the heart with each contraction). It represents the efficiency with which the heart circulates blood throughout the body. 1. Rate of pumping. In the circulatory system, this rate is called heart rate, the rate at which blood is pumped by the heart. The higher the heart rate, the higher (potentially, assuming no change in stroke volume) the arterial pressure. 2. Volume of fluid or blood volume, the amount of blood that is present in the body. The more blood present in the body, the higher the rate of blood return to the heart and the resulting cardiac output. There is some relationship between dietary salt intake and increased blood volume, potentially resulting in higher arterial pressure, though this varies with the individual and is highly dependent on autonomic nervous system response. 3. Resistance. In the circulatory system, this is the resistance tto blood flow by the blood vessels (peripheral resistance). The higher the resistance, the higher the arterial pressure. Resistance is related to size (the larger the blood vessel, the lower the resistance), as well as the smoothness of the blood vessel walls. Smoothness is reduced by the buildup of fatty deposits on the arterial walls. Substances called vasoconstrictors can reduce the size of blood vessels, thereby increasing blood pressure. Vasodilators (such as nitroglycerin) increase the size of blood vessels, thereby decreasing arterial pressure. All such activity is controlled by a vasomotor centre in the medulla of the hind brain. Some types of omega-6 fatty acids, particularly from olive oil, have been known to increase vascular smoothness. 4. Viscosity, or thickness of the fluid. If the blood gets thicker, the result is an increase in arterial pressure. Certain medical conditions can change the viscosity of the blood. For instance, low red blood cell concentration, anemia, reduces viscosity, whereas increased red blood cell concentration increases viscosity. Viscosity also increases with blood sugar concentrationvisualize pumping syrup.