The Circulatory System In The Human Body

The heart, blood, and blood vessels all form the circulatory system, also known as the cardiovascular system. As one of the most important systems in the human body, the circulatory system transports oxygen, nutrients, and hormones and removes any waste products. Without the circulatory system, your organs wouldn't be able to function, causing death. With the blood vessels taking blood around the body, the heart pumps all this blood.

According to Ballard, "Inside the heart there are four spaces called chambers. A thick wall, the septum, separates the two sides the heart. Each side has an upper chamber (atrium) and a lower chamber (ventricle)" (6). Blood flows into the heart from the atria, and leaves from the ventricles, creating the heartbeat

Although plasma is formed mostly of water, plasma also contains solutes, which are like plasma proteins (Ballard, 32). "All nutrients and waste products dissolve in the plasma and are transported all around the body," replies Ballard (32). Erythrocytes, which are well known as red blood cells, are bowl-shaped with concave, or curved inward, top and bottom surfaces (Ballard, 32). According to Ballard, "Their narrow shape allows them to squeeze through narrow capillaries without being damaged. They are simple fluid-filled sacs, each containing about 280 million molecules of hemoglobin, the protein that gives blood its red color and that carries oxygen" (32). Red blood cells, which are formed in bone marrow, remain for about 120 days (Ballard, 32). After the deadline, they become fragile, start to lose their shape, and eventually, their shape becomes deformed by the spleen and the liver (Ballard, 32). Unlike red blood cells, leukocytes, which are commonly known as white blood cells, come in a variety of shapes and sizes (Ballard, 33). Not only do white blood cells help your body fight off disease, illness, and infection, but they contain granules, which consists of enzymes, that can help fight your body against unknown items like viruses of bacteria particles (Ballard, 33). While some white blood cells surround this unknown item, killing it, some white blood cells develop a "memory" of that unknown item, so they can have a swift attack on them (Ballard, 33). In addition to plasma, red blood cells, and white blood cells, there are platelets. Platelets are disc-shaped cell fragments that prevent a great amount of blood loss from cuts by developing platelet "plugs," as their granules contain chemicals that make blood clot (Ballard, 33). What is blood pressure? "When the ventricle of the heart contracts, blood is pumped into the