The Cardiovascular System

The cardiovascular system is comprised of the heart and circulatory system. The heart serves as the pump and transports blood to the various organs, tissues, and cells of the body. The blood is the carrier of oxygen and nutrients to every cell in the body. It also helps in the elimination of carbon dioxide, toxins, and other waste products.

The blood is pumped from the heart to the rest of the body. The arteries, arterioles, and capillaries play an important role in the cardiovascular system. The veins and venules return the deoxygenated blood back to the heart.

If all the vessels of the Cardiovascular system were placed end-to-end, nearly 60000 miles would be covered. This would encircle the earth more than a couple of times.

The circulatory system carries oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to and from various parts of the body. This flow of blood within the body is called circulation. Arteries carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the various organs, whereas veins carry deoxygenated blood from the various organs to the heart.

These roles change when we consider pulmonary circulation. The pulmonary artery carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs, whereas the pulmonary vein carries oxygenated blood back to the heart.

Most diagrams that depict the circulatory system show oxygenated-blood carriers as red, while the deoxygenated blood carriers as blue.

There are nearly twenty different arteries that make a way through the body tissue. These arteries branch out into smaller vessels known as arterioles. These arterioles branch out further into capillaries, which are the real deliverers of oxygen and nutrients to the cells. The majority of capillaries are finer than a strand of hair. Many of them are so small that only one blood cell can pass through them at a time.

After the capillaries are done with transporting oxygen and nutrients they pick up carbon dioxide and other waste for elimination. They transport the blood through wider vessels known as venules. Venules lead to the formation of veins. This delivers deoxygenated blood back to the heart to purify.