The Circulatory System

The Circulatory System is the main transportation and cooling system for the body. The Red Blood Cells act like billions of little UPS trucks carrying all sorts of packages that are needed by all the cells in the body. Instead of UPS, I'll call them RBC's. RBC's carry oxygen and nutrients to the cells. Every cell in the body requires oxygen to remain alive. Besides RBC's, there are also White Blood Cells moving in the circulatory system traffic. White Blood Cells are the paramedics, police and street cleaners of the circulatory system. Anytime we have a cold, a cut, or an infection the WBC's go to work. The highway system of the Circulatory System consists off a lot of one way streets. The superhighways of the circulatory system are the veins and arteries. Veins are used to carry blood *to* the heart. Arteries carry blood *away* from the heart. Most of the time, blood in the veins is blood where most of the oxygen and nutrients have already been delivered to the cells. This blood is called deoxygenated and is very *dark* red. Most of the time blood in the arteries is loaded with oxygen and nutrients and the color is very *bright* red. There is one artery that carries deoxygenated blood and there are some veins that carry oxygenated blood. To get to the bottom of this little mystery we need to talk about the Heart and Lungs. The Heart

After the blood is in the right ventricle, the right ventricle begins its contraction to push the blood out toward the lungs. Remember that this blood is deoxygenated. The blood leaves the right ventricle and enters the *pulmonary artery.* This artery and its two branches are the only arteries in the body to carry deoxygenated blood. Important: Arteries carry blood *away* from the heart. There is nothing in the definition that says blood has to be oxygenated. When the blood leaves the pulmonary arteries it enters *capillaries* in the lungs. Capillaries are very, very small blood vessels that act as the connectors between veins and arteries. The capillaries in the lungs are very special because they are located against the *alveoli* or air sacks. When blood in the capillaries goes past the air sacks, the RBC's pick up oxygen. The alveoli are like the loading docks where trucks pick up their load. Capillaries are so small, in some places, that only *one* RBC at a time can get through! When the blood has picked up its oxygen, it enters some blood vessels known as the *cardiac veins.* This is fully oxygenated blood and it is now in veins. Remember: Veins take blood to the heart. The cardiac veins empty into the *left atrium.* The left side of the heart is the high pressure side, its job is to push the blood out to the body. The left atrium sits on top of the *left ventricle* and is separated from it by the *mitral valve*. The mitral valve is named this because it resembles, to some people, a Bishop's Mitered Hat. This valve has the same function as the tricuspid valve, it prevents blood from being pushed from the left ventricle back up to the left atrium. The left ventricle is a very high pressure pump. Its main job is to produce enough pressure to push the blood out of the heart and into the body's circulation. When the blood leaves the left ventricle it enters the Aorta. There are valves located at the opening of the Aorta that prevent the blood from backing up into the ventricle. As soon as the blood is in the aorta, there are arteries called *coronary arteries* that take some of the blood and use it to nourish the heart muscle. Remember: the heart is like James Brown, it's the hardest working muscle in the body (in case you don't know, James Brown says he's the hardest working man in show business). The Aorta and the Arterial System The aorta leaves the heart and heads toward, what else, the head. We have to keep our brains well nourished so we can make good grades in school. The arteries that take the blood to the head are located on something called the *aortic arch.* After the blood passes through the aortic arch it is then distributed to the rest of the body. The *descending aorta* goes behind the heart and down the center of the body.

This is a subject that is near and dear to my heart. The heart is a two sided, four chambered pump. It is made up mostly of muscle. Heart muscle is very special. Unlike all the other muscles in the body, the heart muscle cannot afford to get tired. Imagine what would happen if every 15 minutes or so the pump got tired and decided to take a little nap! Not a pretty sight. So, heart muscle is always expanding and contracting, usually at between 60 and 100 beats per minute. The right side of the heart is the low pressure side. Its main job is to push the RBC's, cargo bays mostly empty now, up to the lungs (loading docks and filling stations) so that they can get recharged with oxygen. Blood enters the right heart through a chamber called the Right Atrium. Atrium is another word for an 'entry room.' Since the right atrium is located *above* the Right Ventricle, a combination of gravity and an easy squeeze pushes the blood though the Tricuspid Valve into the right ventricle. The tricuspid valve is a valve made up of three 'leaflets' that allows blood to go from top to bottom in the heart but closes to prevent the blood from backing up into the right atrium when the right ventricle squeezes.

Sometimes, if you are lying flat on your back, you can look down toward your feet and actually see your abdomen pulsate with each heart beat. This pulsation is really the aorta throbbing with each heart beat. Do not be alarmed, this is normal. From the aorta, blood is sent off to many other arteries and arterioles (very small arteries) where it gives oxygen and nutrition to *every* cell in the body. At the end of the arterioles are, guess what, capillaries. The blood gives up its cargo as it passes through the capillaries and enters the venous system. The Venous System The venous system carries the blood back to the heart. The blood flows from the capillaries, to venules (very small veins), to veins. The two largest veins in the body are the *superior* and *inferior* vena cavas. The superior vena cava carries the blood from the upper part of the body to the heart. The inferior vena cava carries the blood from the lower body to the heart. In medical terms, *superior* means above and *inferior* means under. Many people believe that the blood in the veins is *blue*; it is not. Venous blood is really dark red or maroon in color. Veins do have a bluish appearance and this may be why people think venous blood is blue. Both the superior and inferior vena cava end in the right atrium. The superior vena cava enters from the top and the inferior vena cava enters from the bottom. This completes our little journey through the circulatory system. I hope the blood has continued to flow to your brain as you read this and you managed to stay awake. If you dozed off, it's o.k., I doze off myself from time to time when I read really boring stuff. There are lots of things that I did not talk about, such as how the cooling system works, but I thought that you might like to look some of this stuff up by yourself. As usual, I know you will have questions for me. I can't wait to hear from you. tory system are the veins and arteries. Veins are used to carry blood *to* the heart. Arteries carry blood *away* from the heart. Most of the time, blood in the veins is blood where most of the oxygen and nutrients have already been delivered to the cells. This blood is called deoxygenated and is very *dark* red. Most of the time blood in the arteries is loaded with oxygen and nutrients and the color is very *bright* red. There is one artery that carries deoxygenated blood and there are some veins that carry oxygenated blood. To get to the bottom of this little mystery we need to talk about the Heart and Lungs. ava carries the blood from the upper part of the body to the heart. The inferior vena cava carries the blood from the lower body to the heart. In medical terms, *superior* means above and *inferior* means under. Many people believe that the blood in the veins is *blue*; it is not. Venous blood is really dark

What is the respiratory system? Your respiratory system is made up of the organs in your body that help you to breathe. Remember, that Respiration = Breathing. The goal of breathing is to deliver oxygen to the body and to take away carbon dioxide. Parts of the respiratory system Lungs The lungs are the main organs of the respiratory system. In the lungs oxygen is taken into the body and carbon dioxide is breathed out. The red blood cells are responsible for picking up the oxygen in the lungs and carrying the oxygen to all the body cells that need it. The red blood cells drop off the oxygen to the body cells, then pick up the carbon dioxide which is a waste gas product produced by our cells. The red blood cells transport the carbon dioxide back to the lungs and we breathe it out when we exhale. Trachea The trachea (TRAY-kee-uh} is sometimes called the windpipe. The trachea filters the air we breathe and branches into the bronchi. Bronchi The bronchi (BRAHN-ky) are two air tubes that branch off of the trachea and carry air directly into the lungs. Diaphragm Breathing starts with a dome-shaped muscle at the bottom of the lungs called the diaphragm (DY-uh-fram). When you breathe in, the diaphragm contracts. When it contracts it flattens out and pulls downward. This movement enlarges the space that the lungs are in. This larger space pulls air into the lungs. When you breathe out, the diaphragm expands reducing the amount of space for the lungs and forcing air out. The diaphragm is the main muscle used in breathing. Excretory System: Poison Protection The primary organs of excretion are the lungs, kidneys, and skin. Waste gases are carried by blood traveling through the veins to the lungs where respiration takes place. Dead cells and sweat are removed from the body through the skin which is part of theintegumentary system. Liquid waste is removed from the body through the kidneys. Located beside the spine in your back within your ribcage, the kidneys are small (about 10 centimeters long) reddish-brown organs that are shaped like beans. During circulation, blood passes through the kidneys in order to deposit used and unwanted water, minerals, and a nitrogen-rich molecule called urea. The kidneys filter the wastes from the blood, forming a liquid called urine. The kidneys funnel the urine into the bladder along two separate tubes called ureters. The bladder stores the urine until muscular contractions force

the urine out of the body through the urethra. Each day, your kidneys produce about 1.5 liters of urine. All of it needs to be removed from your system. This occurs through urination. If your kidneys are diseased and not working properly, the buildup of waste in your system will eventually lead to death. Some kidney diseases can be treated with medication. Severe kidney diseases require more intense treatment. One treatment is called dialysis. The patient's blood is pumped through a dialysis machine which filters the waste from the blood and returns the clean blood. A dialysis patient has to spend nearly sixty hours each week attached to the machine. The most radical treatment for kidney disease is a kidney transplant. Healthy people can live comfortably with only one kidney. Therefore, their other kidney can be donated to a person with kidney disease. The donor and patient must have very similar genetic structures in order for the patient to accept the new kidney without complications. The patient also receives antirejection drugs. During a kidney transplant operation, the healthy kidney is placed in the abdomen of the patient and attached to the blood vessels and bladder. The patient's original kidneys are not removed. The integumantary system contains the largest organ in the human body, the skin. It is also comprised of such extensions of the skin as hair and fingernails. The skin, however, is the most important of these. The skin protects and cushions the body's delicate organs. It also provides the body a physical barrier to keep out foreign materials and to prevent the body from drying out. The skin is made of three separate layers, each with its own particular function. The Integumentary System What Is the Endocrine System? Although we rarely think about the endocrine system, it influences almost every cell, organ, and function of our bodies. The endocrine system is instrumental in regulating mood, growth and development, and sexual tissue function, and metabolism, function The dermis is the second layer of skin, directly beneath the epidermis. Unlike the epidermis, the dermis has its own blood supply. Because of the presence of this blood supply, more complex structures are able to exist here. Sweat glands are present to collect water and various wastes from the bloodstream, and excrete them through pores in the epidermis. The dermis is also the site of hair roots, and it is here where the growth of hair takes place. By the time hair reaches the environment outside of the skin, it is completely dead. The dermis also contains dense connective tissue, made of collagen fibers, which gives the skin much of its elasticity and strength. TheSubcutaneousLayer Beneath the dermis lies the final layer of skin, the subcutaneous layer. The most notable structures here are the large groupings of adipose tissue. The main function of the subcutaneous layer is therefore to provide a cushion for the delicate organs lying beneath the skin. It also functions to insulate the body to maintain body temperature. TheDermis

reproductive processes.

In general, the endocrine system is in charge of body processes that happen slowly, such as cell growth. Faster processes like breathing and body movement are controlled by the nervous system. But even though the nervous system and endocrine system are separate systems, they often work together to help the body function properly.

TheEpidermis The epidermis, as its name suggests, is the outermost layer of the skin. It is comprised of four separate layers of epithelial tissue. The outermost layer of the epidermis is the stratum corneum. It is approximately 20-30 cells thick. The cells here are completely keratinized and dead, and this is what gives the skin its waterproof quality. The next two layers, the stratum granulosum and the stratum lucidum, are siimilar in that they represent an intermediate stage of keratinization. The cell here are not fully keratinized yet, but as the growth of the skin pushes them outward, they will increasingly move towards that state. The deepest layer of the epidermis is the stratum germinativum. The cells here are mitotically active-- that is, they are alive and reproducing. This is where the growth of skin takes place.

The foundations of the endocrine system are the hormones and glands. As the body's chemical messengers, hormones(pronounced: hormoanz) transfer information and instructions from one set of cells to another. Many different hormones move through the bloodstream, but each type of hormone is designed to affect only certain cells.

A gland is a group of cells that produces and secretes, or gives off, chemicals. A gland selects and removes materials from the blood, processes them, and secretes the finished chemical product for use somewhere in the body. Some types of glands release their secretions in specific areas. For instance, exocrine (pronounced: ek-suhkrin) glands, such as the sweat and salivary glands, release secretions in the skin or inside the mouth. Endocrine glands, on the other hand, release more than 20 major hormones directly into the bloodstream where they can be transported to cells in other parts of the body. The major glands that make up the human endocrine system include the: hypothalamus pituitary gland thyroid parathyroids adrenal glands pineal body reproductive glands (which include the ovaries and testes)

called the brain stem. The brain stem is the link to the spinal cord and it also controls digestion, breathing, and heartbeat.

Spinal Cord The spinal cord is a tube of neurons that runs up the spine and attaches to the brain stem. Information from nerves that branch out to the rest of the body goes to the spinal cord. Some messages are processed by the spinal cord but most information is sent on to the brain.

What is the nervous system?

Your nervous system is the control and communication system of the body. Its job is to send and receive messages. Your nervous system controls all your thoughts and movements. Parts of the nervous system Neurons The cells that make up the nervous system are calledneurons. Long, stringy neurons are perfect for carrying the electrical messages that are the "language" of the nervous system. Brain The brain is the command center of your entire body. The brain is the body's main information center. It is made of billions of neurons. The brain helps the body respond to the information it receives from the senses. The brain also processes thoughts. When you think, neurons in your brain are working. The brain has three main parts. The largest is the cerebrum, which controls vision, touch, and other senses. It also handles movements you have control over. Thinking takes place in the cerebrum. The cerebellum is another section of the brain. The cerebellum helps control balance and coordination. Another part of the brain is