Circulatory system
hideThe circulatory system is an organ system that passes nutrients (such as amino acids and electrolytes), gases, hormones, blood cells, nitrogen waste products, etc. to and from cells in the body to help fight diseases and help stabilize body temperature and pH to maintain homeostasis. This system may be seen strictly as a blood distribution network, but some consider the circulatory system as composed of the cardiovascular system, which distributes blood, and the lymphatic system, which distributes lymph. While humans, as well as other vertebrates, have a closed cardiovascular system (meaning that the blood never leaves the network of arteries, veins and capillaries), some invertebrate groups have an open cardiovascular system. The most primitive animal phyla lack circulatory system. The lymphatic system, on the other hand, is an open system.
The main components of the human circulatory system are the heart, the blood, and the blood vessels. The circulatory system includes: the pulmonary circulation, a "loop" through the lungs where blood is oxygenated; and the systemic circulation, a "loop" through the rest of the body to provide oxygenated blood. An average adult contains five to six quarts (roughly 4.7 to 5.7 liters) of blood, which consists of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets. Also, the digestive system works with the circulatory system to provide the nutrients the system needs to keep the heart pumping.
Two types of fluids move through the circulatory system: blood and lymph. The blood, heart, and blood vessels form the cardiovascular system. The lymph, lymph nodes, and lymph vessels form the lymphatic system. The cardiovascular system and the lymphatic system collectively make up the circulatory system.
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News tagged with cardiovascular system
Researchers using excimer laser angioplasty to blast arterial blockages in heart and kidneys
Nov 10, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Using an excimer laser to widen narrowed or obstructed blood vessels in hard-to-reach areas of heart and kidney arteries may be feasible and safe, according to a study by a team of researchers from the Virginia ...
Cost effectiveness of blood pressure device evaluated
Oct 15, 2009 |
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A study conducted by the University of Rochester Medical Center demonstrates that, for certain patient populations, an experimental device that lowers blood pressure may be a cost effective treatment. The implantable device, ...
Suppressing a gene in mice prevents heart from aging, preserves its function
Oct 12, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists prevented age-related changes in the hearts of mice and preserved heart function by suppressing a form of the PI3K gene, in a study reported in Circulation: Journal of the American Heart Association.
Researchers seek clues to high blood pressure's origins, impacts
Sep 17, 2009 |
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How high blood pressure develops and the effects it has on the body are the focus of a two-part study underway at Penn State and Johns Hopkins University that will look at hypertension in the human body and in the laboratory.
Viagra developer Furchgott dead at 92: report
Medicine & Health / Medications
May 24, 2009 |
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Robert Furchgott, a Nobel prize-winning pharmacologist whose work with the gas nitric oxide helped develop the anti-impotency drug Viagra, has died at the age of 92, The New York Times reported Sunday.
New tests provide new insight into why patients are in heart failure
Mar 31, 2009 |
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A failing heart makes a lot of a hormone needed to eliminate the excess salt and water bloating the body but not enough of the enzyme needed to activate it, researchers say.
To work your brain, work your body
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The problem: I lost my car keys. What kind of training will make my brain work better?
Big-Hearted Fish Reveals Genetic Underpinnings of Enigmatic Cardiovascular Condition
Feb 25, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Researchers at the University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine have unlocked the mystery of a puzzling human disease and gained insight into cardiovascular development, all thanks to a big-hearted ...
Researchers find master gene behind blood vessel development
Feb 04, 2009 |
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In a first of its kind discovery, University of Minnesota researchers have identified the "master gene" behind blood vessel development. Better understanding of how this gene operates in the early stages of development may ...
Runners a marathon a net benefit for the body, experts say
Jan 23, 2009 |
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Historians say the first marathon runner was Philippides, who, in 490 B.C., ran 24.85 miles from the battlefield at Marathon with news of the Athenian army's victory over the Persians. He reached Athens, cried out, "Rejoice, ...
