Circulatory system heart | Circulatory system of the heart
The circulatory system is one of several organ systems in the body, essentially encompassing the vast network of vessels that loops around the body to the heart. This system’s primary responsibility is maintaining homeostasis, a proper balance, throughout the body by regulating blood, nutrients, and wastes to and from cells. The circulatory system further assists in maintaining homeostasis by regulating temperature by modifying how much blood flows to certain areas of the body, such as the skin. Although the circulatory system has traditionally been limited to the heart, blood, and blood vessels, the manner by which the system becomes supplied suggests a stronger role of interdependence. For example, in order to constantly renew the body’s supply of oxygen, the circulatory system has to go through the lungs to exchange gases. This pathway, known as the pulmonary circulation, is necessary for the circulatory system to maintain homeostasis of both pH and oxygen concentration in the blood. Additionally, the digestive system is necessary for the absorption of nutrients and its storage until transported to the right areas of the body. The immune, endocrine, lymphatic, and urinary systems are also dependent on the circulatory system, or more specifically, the blood that it transports.
The average adult will carry approximately 5 liters of blood. The blood itself is composed of plasma, red blood cells, platelets, and white blood cells. The constant flow of blood is crucial to ensure an adequate supply of resources throughout the day. Although a large percent of the blood volume is composed of water, most of the water is found in plasma (90%) making up about 55% of the blood volume. The other 45% is made of blood, which is broken into three additional parts: red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.
The red blood cells, erythrocytes, are created in the bone marrow and are the primary means of oxygen delivery in the body. The red blood cells turn red only when oxygen has bound to its hemoglobin. Blood cells are unique in that they do not have a nucleus, as seen by their tubular-like shape.
One hundred billion platelets, thrombocytes, are created each day in an average person. These platelets, created in the bone marrow, play a key role forming blood clots and are a source of growth factors. While the clots themselves can be formed by an aggregation of platelets, the growth factors assist by initiating the repair and regeneration of damaged connective tissue.
White blood cells make up the smallest part of the blood but are one of the key components of the immune system. White blood cells, also known as leukocytes, are found in both the circulatory system and the lymphatic system. These cells are also created in the bone marrow but grow in different ways to combat against specific threats to the body.
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A labelled diagram of the human heart
Below is a labelled diagram of the human heart. It comes in many sizes and formats. Please let us know if there is a specific type of labelled diagram of the human heart that you would like.
A labelled diagram of the human heart #1
A labelled diagram of the human heart #2
If you would like any other diagrams of the human heart in hi-res or any other angles i will do my best to get something sorted, please drop me a comment and i’ll endeavour to crate something based on the majority of comments I get…
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How does the heart work?
The heart is the single most important organ in the human body, it is expected to cope with all manner of things during a humans life and needs to work for 70+ years. In this article we will cover exactly how does the heart work so you can understand all the intricacies of this amazing organ.
How does the heart work | How the heart works
In a healthy person the heart is responsible for providing the body with blood that has been resupplied with oxygen, so that the body can continue to function. It’s a continuous process. On the right side of the heart, the right atrium, the heart receives de-oxygenated blood from the body. The blood passes through the Tricuspid Valve into the Right Ventricle and then is pumped through the Pulmonary Valve into the Pulmonary Artery which takes the de-oxygenated blood to the lungs where it picks up oxygen. This oxygen rich blood comes back into the Left Atrium of the heart through the Pulmonary Veins, the blood passes through the Mitral Valve into the left ventricle which pumps the blood out through the Aortic Valve into the Aorta. This is the main artery that takes this oxygen rich blood to all the different parts of the body.
Once the body has used all the oxygen from the blood it is pumped back into the rights side of the heart and the process continues. Within the healthy heart there is a partition called the Septum that divides the two sides of the heart and prevents the oxygenated blood and the de-oxygenated blood from mixing. With every heart beat the valves in the heart open to allow the blood to flow freely in one direction but they then close completely to prevent any blood from leaking backwards
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