ipl-logo

The Circulatory System: The Cardiovascular System Of The Human Body

1296 Words6 Pages
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 and nutrients to tissues 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, seperates 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 (Ballard, 6). Since blood needs to circulate through the heart in a one-way system, special flaps, which are called valves, prevent blood from flowing back in the incorrect way (Ballard, 7). As the right side of the heart pumps oxygen-deprived blood along the pulmonary arteries to the lungs, blood loses carbon dioxide and collects oxygen in the lungs (Rogers, 66). "The pulmonary veins open into the left atrium of the heart," recalls Rogers (66). This is pulmonary circulation. When the left side of the heart pumps blood along the aorta and around every part of the body, it takes oxygen to the tissues where it is needed and collects nutrients and waste products (Rogers, 67). This is circulation is called the systematic circulation. In
Open Document