Facts about the Cardiovascular System
The perfect arrangement of arteries, veins and capillaries along the entire body ensures the proper distribution of the blood.
Arteries receive blood from the heart and carry it to the capillaries; the veins return that blood back to the heart. Arteries divide into branches through the body, becoming smaller at each division. Arteries are characterized by their elasticity.
The aorta—the major vessel that is connected to the left ventricle—has a diameter of approximately 1 inch, which is equal to 2.54 cm or 0.0254m.
Capillaries are tiny vessels about 8Μ in diameter that connect arterioles with venules. Venules are small veins.
Pulmonary Circulation
The system of vessels that carries blood coming out of the right side of the heart, starting with the pulmonary artery and extending through the lungs, is called the pulmonary circulation. As blood flow through the lungs, it will pick up oxygen at the lung before it returns to the heart. The term pulmonary comes from the Latin root "pulmon," which means lung. There is a separate circulation called "bronchial circulation," which supplies blood to the lungs.
Systemic Circulation
The system of vessels that carries oxygenated blood from the heart, through the arteries and through the body, returning deoxygenated blood back to the heart through the veins is called systemic circulation. While blood circulates through the body, oxygen diffuses from capillaries into adjacent cells. In exchange, CO 2 diffuses into the blood for removal from the tissue.
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