NOTES: Blood & the

Circulatory System (Ch 12-13)

BLOOD AND BLOOD CELLS
Blood can be separated into:
Formed elements:
-mostly red blood cells (RBCs)
-include white blood cells (WBCs) and platelets
Liquid portions = PLASMA
-transports water, gases, nutrients, hormones,
electrolytes, and cellular wastes
Red Blood Cells (RBCs)
contain HEMOGLOBIN,
which combines with oxygen
hemoglobin synthesis requires IRON
White Blood Cells (WBCs)
function in defense against disease
also called: LEUKOCYTES
WBCs include:
neutrophils monocytes
eosinophils lymphocytes
basophils
White Blood Cells (WBCs)
normal WBC count is 5,000 10,000 cells
per mm
3
of blood
! this number may vary in response to
infection, emotional disturbances, loss of
body fluids, leukemia
Platelets
fragments of larger cells
help close breaks in blood vessels / clot
the blood
PLASMA
Plasma transports gases and nutrients,
helps regulate fluid and electrolyte
balance, and helps maintain a stable pH.
PLASMA
! Gases in plasma:
-oxygen
-carbon dioxide
-nitrogen
! Plasma nutrients:
-simple sugars
-amino acids
-lipids
ABO Blood Group:
blood is grouped according to the presence or
absence of antigens A and B.
Type A = A antigens; plasma has anti-B antibodies
Type B = B antigens; plasma has anti-A antibodies
Type AB = A and B antigens; no antibodies
Type O = neither antigen; both anti-A and B antibodies
ABO Blood Group:
mixing RBCs that contain an antigen with
plasma that contains the corresponding
antibody results in a negative reaction
(AGGLUTINATION)
*the anti-A and anti-B
antibodies are too large
to cross the placenta,
so mother and child can
safely have different ABO blood groups
Rh Blood Group:
Rh-positive blood: RBCs possess the Rh
antigens
Rh-negative blood: RBCs do not possess
the Rh antigens, but DO possess anti-Rh
antibodies
! RESULT: mixing Rh-positive RBCs
with plasma that has the anti-Rh
antibodies can result in agglutination
Rh Blood Group:
*the anti-Rh antibodies are small enough to
cross the placenta
So, the anti-Rh antibodies in a mothers
blood could react with the RBCs of an Rh-
positive fetus
The Rh Issue Mom = Rh- Baby #1 = Rh+
The circulatory system
provides oxygen and nutrients to tissues
and removes wastes.
STRUCTURE OF THE HEART
Size:
! about 14 cm long and 9
cm wide
Location:
! 2/3 left of midline
! below 2nd rib and rests
on diaphragm
STRUCTURE OF THE HEART
Heart Covering:
! fibrous, outer pericardium:
parietal pericardium
! serous, inner pericardium:
visceral pericardium
! space between the layers =
pericardial cavity (cushions
and lubricates heart)
4 Heart Chambers:
(heart is divided into right and left sides)
! RIGHT:
!RIGHT ATRIUM receives blood
from the superior and inferior
venae cavae and coronary sinus
!pumps blood into the RIGHT
VENTRICLE
! right ventricle pumps blood out
of the heart into the
PULMONARY ARTERIES (take
blood to the lungs)
! LEFT:
! LEFT ATRIUM
receives blood from the
pulmonary veins (from
the lungs)
! pumps blood into the
LEFT VENTRICLE
! left ventricle pumps
blood out of the heart
into the AORTA (takes
blood to all of the body)
Heart Valves:
designed to prevent backflow of blood!
ATRIOVENTRICULAR
VALVES:
-TRICUSPID VALVE:
separates R atrium
from R ventricle
-BICUSPID VALVE
(a.k.a. MITRAL
VALVE): separates L
atrium from L ventricle
! Structure of AV valves:
-CHORDAE TENDINAE: strong fibrous
structures that attach to the flaps of the
valves
-PAPILLARY MUSCLES:
muscles embedded
in the endocardium;
attach to the
chordae tendinae
SEMILUNAR VALVES:
-PULMONARY VALVE:
separates R ventricle
from pulmonary arteries
-AORTIC VALVE:
separates L ventricle
from aorta
Path of Blood Through the Heart:
! blood low in oxygen and high in CO
2

enters the RIGHT SIDE through the venae
cavae and is then pumped into
pulmonary circulation (to the lungs)
Path of Blood Through the Heart:
! after blood is oxygenated
in the lungs, it returns to
the LEFT SIDE through
the pulmonary veins and
is then pumped into
systemic circulation via
the aorta (to the body)
Heart Blood Supply:
! the CORONARY ARTERIES supply blood
to the myocardium
! blood returns to the R atrium through the
cardiac veins and coronary sinus
**500,000 Americans die per year of
coronary artery disease
**3.5 million Americans have coronary
problems
Cardiac Cycle
! ATRIAL SYSTOLE: atria contract
while the ventricles relax
(VENTRICULAR DIASTOLE)
! VENTRICULAR SYSTOLE:
ventricles contract while the atria
relax (ATRIAL DIASTOLE)
! all chambers relax for a brief
period; cycle repeats!
Diastole Systole
Initiation of Cardiac Cycle:
! electrical impulses originate in the SA
node: stimulate the atria to contract
! impulses pass slowly to the AV node, then
to the Purkinje fibers: stimulate the
ventricles to contract
ELECTROCARDIOGRAM (ECG):
! records the electrical changes in the
myocardium during a cardiac cycle
! the pattern has several characteristic
waves:
1) P wave: atrial depolarization
2) QRS complex: ventricular
depolarization
3) T wave: ventricular repolarization
Regulation of Cardiac Cycle:
! heartbeat is affected by:
-physical exercise
-body temperature
-concentration of ions (calcium, potassium)
Blood Vessels and
Blood Pressure
Blood vessels form
a closed circuit of
tubes that carry
blood from the
heart to body cells
and back again.
ARTERIES and ARTERIOLES
! Arteries are adapted to carry blood under
HIGH PRESSURE away from the heart.
! Arteries eventually
branch into smaller
structures called
ARTERIOLES
CAPILLARIES
! smallest diameter
blood vessel
! connect arterioles to
venules
! capillary wall = a
single layer of cells;
forms a
semipermeable
membrane
RBCs in a
capillary!
CAPILLARIES
! tissues that use more energy/
oxygen have the most
capillaries (i.e. muscle tissue,
nerve tissue)
! tissues that use less energy/
oxygen have the fewest
capillaries (i.e. epidermis,
cartilage)
Exchanges in Capillaries:
! blood in capillaries drops off
their nutrients and oxygen in
exchange for metabolic
wastes (CO
2
, etc.)
! large molecules (e.g. plasma
proteins) remain in the blood
! most materials move across
the capillary wall by
DIFFUSION
VEINS and VENULES
! VENULES continue from
capillaries and merge with
VEINS
! veins carry blood
TOWARD THE HEART
! venous walls are similar in
structure to artery walls,
but thinner and contain
less muscle tissue
ARTERIES
-carry blood
away
from heart
-largest artery =
AORTA
ARTERIOLES
CAPILLARIES
-walls are only
1 cell thick
VENULES
VEINS
-carry blood to the
heart
-thinner walls
-are less muscular
than arteries
BLOOD PRESSURE:
Blood pressure is the force blood exerts
against the sides of blood vessels.
BLOOD PRESSURE:
! SYSTOLIC PRESSURE:
pressure produced in the
arteries when the
ventricles contract; highest
pressure
! DIASTOLIC PRESSURE:
pressure in the arteries
when the ventricles are
relaxed
Venous blood pressure is much lower than arterial
blood pressurehow does blood flow through
veins (in some cases, against gravity?)
! skeletal muscle contraction
squeezes blood from one segment
to the next
! breathing movements change
pressure in thoracic and abdominal
cavities pulling/pushing blood
upward toward the heart
! VALVES prevent blood from
flowing backward into a previous
segment
2 MAJOR PATHS OF CIRCULATION:
! PULMONARY CIRCUIT: vessels that
carry blood from the heart to the lungs
and back

R ventricle ! pulmonary trunk ! R and L
pulmonary arteries ! arterioles and
capillaries in the R and L lungs ! venules
! veins ! pulmonary veins ! L atrium
2 MAJOR PATHS OF CIRCULATION:
! SYSTEMIC CIRCUIT: carries
blood from the heart to all
other body parts and back
again; includes coronary
circulation
L atrium ! L ventricle ! aorta !
various arteries, arterioles,
capillaries in body tissues !
venules ! veins ! superior
and inferior venae cavae ! R
atrium