Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems
Unit 5. Body In Action.
Assignment- Task 2. Cardiovascular and Respiratory Systems.
The structure and Function of the Cardiovascular System.
The Cardiovascular system consists of the heart, blood vessels and blood. Oxygen and waste products are carried to and from the tissues and cells of blood. The heart is the mechanism, which allows this by pumping blood around the body through tubes called veins and arteries. The heart pumps continually throughout a person's lifetime to the tune of around 30 million beats per year, that about 2.5 billion in a lifetime, and even when you are asleep it pumps approximately 10 litres of blood a minute through the 60,000 miles of blood vessels which makeup the transport system of the body. The cardiovascular system is one of the most important of all the body systems.
The Heart.
The heart is about the size of a clenched fist and is located in the chest between the lungs with its apex slightly tilted to the left. It is made up of Cardiac muscle and is surrounded by pericardium, which is a fluid filled bag, which reduces friction when the heart beats. The heart is not really heart shaped at all but actually cone shaped. It contains 4 chambers, the left and right atria, which are the upper chambers of the heart, and the left and right ventricles, which are the lower chambers. These form the basis for the two distinct transport circuits of the body, both of which begin and end at the heart:
* The pulmonary circuit which carries blood to and from the oxygen exchange surfaces of the lungs
* Systemic circuit, which involves blood flow to the rest of the body.
The blood collects initially in the atria, which then pumps it to the ventricles. The walls of the atria are relatively thin as they are only passing the blood to the lower chambers, but the ventricles have to have enough power to send the blood around the circuits. As a result, the cardiac muscle in the ventricles is much thicker because more muscular power is needed. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the rest of the body, which it then pumps into the right ventricle. The right ventricle pumps this deoxygenated blood to the lungs where it drops off any waste gases and picks up a fresh load of oxygen in a system of gaseous exchange. This newly oxygenated blood now returns to the heart where it is pumped into the left atrium. This has completed the pulmonary circuit. The left atrium pumps the blood to the left ventricle which then pumps the oxygen rich blood to the organs and tissues of the body. The systemic circuit around the body is much larger then the pulmonary circuit so the left ventricle is the most powerful chamber in the heart with a thicker muscle wall than the other three chambers.
The heart is divided into left and right by a cell wall called the septum. The heart weighs about 250 grams in adult females and 300 grams in adult males. It is able to contract rythmatically independent of the nerve supply because, it is stimulated by an area of specialised tissue in the right atrium called the sino-atrial node.
Blood Vessels.
The blood vessels are the body's transport network as they allow blood to travel to every part of the body and return to the heart. The system of vessels consists of:
* Arteries: ...
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The heart is divided into left and right by a cell wall called the septum. The heart weighs about 250 grams in adult females and 300 grams in adult males. It is able to contract rythmatically independent of the nerve supply because, it is stimulated by an area of specialised tissue in the right atrium called the sino-atrial node.
Blood Vessels.
The blood vessels are the body's transport network as they allow blood to travel to every part of the body and return to the heart. The system of vessels consists of:
* Arteries: these are large vessels, which usually carry oxygenated blood away from the heart to the rest of the body (the exception being the pulmonary artery). They subdivide to form smaller vessels called arterioles, which then branch off again to form capillaries. Thee vessel are cylindrical and muscular and are able to contract and dilate in order to regulate blood flow.
* Veins: these vessels are usually responsible for the movement of deoxygenated blood back towards the heart so that it can be sent on the pulmonary circuit once more. Vessels called venules connect the capillaries where the oxygen has just been deposited to the veins, which then return it to the heart. The blood flow in the veins is under less pressure than the arteries therefore they tend to be slightly less muscular than the arteries.
* Capillaries: these are the smallest blood transportation vessels in the body. They are incredibly thin which allow the exchange of gasses through them. Organs and tissues which need a high amount of oxygen and nutrients, such as muscles and the brain will have lots of capillaries, while other organs which are not so dependant may not have as many.
* Blood: blood is a red fluid, which carries oxygen, nutrients, hormones and disease fighting agents around the body. The typical human has around 5 litres of blood in their body. Blood is made up of several different substances:
* Plasma 55%
* Cells 45%
* Platelets 45%
* Plasma: plasma is what makes the blood a liquid. Without it the cells in the blood would be solid and therefore not travel around the body. It is a pale yellow fluid made mainly from water and a small amount of protein.
* Red blood cells: these are the most numerous cells in the blood. They are disc shaped with a depression in the centre at each side. They are created by the marrow in the bones and have a life span of approximately 3 months. They carry a substance called haemoglobin that helps transport oxygen around the body and it is haemoglobin that gives the blood its red colour.
* White Blood Cells: white blood cells are the soldiers of the body as they are the cells that fight off bacteria and viruses. They are much bigger than red blood cells and they are irregular in shape.
* Platelets: platelets play a crucial role in the repair system of the body. They secrete serotonin, which restricts blood flow to damaged parts of the body, and they also stick together at the site of an injury, to plug gaps in broken blood vessels. They activate proteins found in blood plasma which then create a basket like structure which captures red blood cells forming a natural wound covering called a scab. The scab prevents foreign particles entering the bloodstream and stays in place until the tissue underneath is repaired, after it falls off.
Short Term and Long Term effects on the Cardio and Respiratory System with running.
Short Term effects.
Short Term effects of the respiratory system would be you breathe heavier and faster, this is because the sympathetic nerves stimulate the respiratory muscles to make you breathe faster.
Short Term effects of the cardiovascular system would be, your heart beats faster during running so that it can pump more blood to the muscles.
Your muscles may feel "tired", due to the muscles are working to accelerate your body and keep it moving.
Long Term Effects.
Long Term effects on the cardio system would be increased heart rate, which would make the cardio stronger and your body would become fitter, increases your stamina. A lowering of resting heart rate, increased cardiac output, the heart size increases and blood can be pumped around the body much more easier.
Long term effects on the respiratory system would be, it increases the volume of air capacity into the lungs, it decreases heavy breathing, your breathing rate would be slower, less erratic. An increase in the number of capillaries and increase in efficiency of gaseous exchange. The onset of fatigue (tiredness) is delayed because of higher maximum oxygen uptake.
Short Term and Long Term effects on the Cardio and Respiratory System with swimming.
Short Term effects.
Short Term effects of the respiratory system would be you breathe heavier and faster, this is because the sympathetic nerves stimulate the respiratory muscles to make you breathe faster. Your lungs would be working harder to cater for water pressure on your lungs and the amount of air needed to stay under water for some strokes.
Short Term effects of the cardiovascular system would be, your heart beats faster during running so that it can pump more blood to the muscles.
Your muscles may feel heavy and worn out, due to the muscles are working to accelerate your body and keep it moving, many muscles are used in swimming and the biggest muscle used is the heart which has to pump the blood around to the body to the muscles inn action.
Long Term Effects.
Long Term effects on the cardio system would be increased heart rate, which would make the cardio stronger and your body would become fitter, increases your stamina and muscle definition, and more toned body. A lowering of resting heart rate, increases cardiac output, the heart size increases, making swimming easier as the heart doesn't struggle anymore trying to keep up with the pace of the muscles and breathing.
Long term effects on the respiratory system would be, it decreases heavy breathing, your breathing rate would be slower, less erratic and more paced. The onset of fatigue (tiredness) is delayed because of higher maximum oxygen uptake, due to the air capacity in the lungs increasing from the training and endurance on the lungs.
Critical Evaluation of the short and long term effects, of running and swimming on the Cardiovascular and Respiratory System.
* Running.
From looking at the results from my investigation into the long and short term effects of Running on the Cardio and respiratory system, I can see that Running, is very challenging for both the Cardiovascular and the Respiratory System, and that it takes a while for the body to adjust and adapt to the demanding form of exercise.
I have found out that the running puts a lot of pressure and strain on the cardio and respiratory system in the short term of the exercise and can cause some problems if not doing the exercise properly. The heart has to beat faster and work harder, as the muscles need more blood to function.
The long term effects of running show different result, they show that after a while the body get accustomed to the way of working and develops itself to the skill and effort involved in running and the effects it has on the body. The Cardiac for instance improves its stamina and the way it functions to cater for the nasserites needed for running. The heart increases it's cardiac output and pumps blood around the body at a quicker pace to improve the effort of the muscles. The amount of lactic acid at the finish of the exercise is reduced and the recovery time for the resting heart rate is decreased, making the body fitter. With the respiratory system an improvement can also be noticed, the volume of air in to the lungs increases in capacity, heavy breathing and panting is gone, the breathing rate has slowed it's self down and has controlled the way the body breathes. The results also show that the number of capillaries and the efficiency of gaseous exchange are amplified. The most noticeable result in the long term effect of running is the on set of exhaustion is delayed because the lungs are at their maximum oxygen uptake.
* Swimming.
From looking at the results from my investigation into the long and short term effects of swimming on the Cardio and respiratory system, I can see that both the short and long term effects are Beneficial for the above. Not only does it show that the targeted areas are improved and healthier, it also shows that the entire body has benefited from swimming.
Both the short and long term effects on the Cardio and Respiratory are very similar, it shows that the long term effects have made improvements, the cardio and respiratory system are much stronger, can perform for longer & the pace and endurance of the body would be much fitter. The best thing about swimming is that the heart becomes more powerful and the lungs capacity increases.
Swimming is one of the best forms of exercise for people to do, which targets both the Cardio and Respiratory system, and makes the short term effects worth it in the long run.
The huge differences in the short and long term effects are that instead of the body become fatigue and worn out, and the lungs having to work hard so that the body can breath properly with out becoming dangerous, the body has now adapted to the pace needed with a higher maximum oxygen uptake and the increases of the heart, so that it don't struggle to pump blood to the muscles. The best improvement is that the resting heart rate is decreased.
The result of both running and swimming in the short and long term on the Cardiovascular and Respiratory System show that both forms of exercise are healthy and a great way to build up the strength and stamina of both of them, it takes time and effort for the body (Cardio and Resp) to develop and change and it isn't a overnight thing. Going running or swimming once won't make a difference on the body unless it is performed regularly and correctly.