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4 - The circulatory system

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  05 June 2012

C. Ross Ethier  and
Craig A. Simmons
C. Ross Ethier
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
Craig A. Simmons
Affiliation:
University of Toronto
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Summary

We now turn our attention to the system that transports the blood: the heart and blood vessels. From an engineering viewpoint, the circulatory system consists of a remarkably complex branching network of tubes that convey the blood (the vasculature; Fig. 4.1), and two pulsatile pumps in series to force the blood through the tubes (the heart). The vasculature consists of arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins. On average, no cell in the body is more than approximately 40 μm away from a capillary, and almost every tissue is thoroughly invested with a capillary network. A typical human contains approximately 5 liters of blood, and at rest the heart pumps approximately 6l/min; consequently, on average, blood circulates throughout the body about once per minute. In this chapter, we emphasize the operation of the components of the circulatory system, how they interact with one another, and how they work in concert to deliver blood to target tissues.

Anatomy of the vasculature

For reasons to be described below, it is conventional to divide the vasculature into two parts: the pulmonary and systemic circulations. The loop from the right heart, through the lungs, and back to the left heart is known as the pulmonary circulation; the loop from the left heart to the body and back to the right heart is the systemic circulation. Both the pulmonary and systemic vasculature have a similar topology.

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Introductory Biomechanics
From Cells to Organisms
 , pp. 164 - 239
Publisher: Cambridge University Press
Print publication year: 2007

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