Physiology and anatomy of the cardiovascular system

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The cardiovascular system includes the blood, the heart and the arteries, capillaries and veins.

The main part of this system which I will concentrate on is the heart, blood vessels and the blood.

The heart is a muscular pump with a resting rate of around 70 beats per minute. It beats without nervous stimulation but any changes in the heart rate depend on the nerves and some hormones.

Anatomy of the Heart

Function of the Heart

The hearts main job is to pump the blood all around the body so everywhere has a constant supply to keep it in good working order.

The heart muscles contract and relax regularly without any nervous stimulation and seems to be able to go on forever without getting tired, this may be due to the fact that for much of a heart beat the muscle is actually relaxing.

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In a resting adult human the heart beats about 70 times per minute and around 2.5 million beats in an average life time.

The heart has four chambers joined together to make one large block of muscle. Like every other muscle in the body, the heart needs a constant supply of food and oxygen, and to get rid of carbon dioxide. The blood flowing through the heart cannot do this effectively enough so the muscles of the heart have their own blood supply.

Structure of Blood Vessels

All over the human body there ...

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