Circulatory System Overview

Open Circulatory System

• Organisms with open circulatory systems lack a true heart and capillaries.
• Blood remains within blood vessels, separate from body tissues.
• A heart pumps blood through a continuous circulation pattern.

Closed Circulatory System

• Blood stays within blood vessels.
• Blood is kept separate from body tissues.
• This system has a heart that pumps blood through a continuous circulation pattern.

Blood Vessels

• Tubes or channels that carry blood throughout our body.

Sickle Cell Disease

• Inherited blood disorder.
• Red blood cells become hard and sticky, forming a C-shaped cell instead of the healthy disc-shaped cell.

Arteries

• Carry blood from your heart to your lungs.

Superior Vena Cava

• Carries blood from the upper part of the body to the heart.

Inferior Vena Cava

• Carries blood from the lower part of the body to the heart.

Plasma

• Straw-colored liquid where other blood components float.
• Mostly water.

Blood

• Special fluid primarily contained within blood vessels.

Pericardium

• Thin sac that surrounds your heart.
• Protects and lubricates the heart and keeps it in place within the chest.

Heart

• The "most hardworking" organ.
• Aids in the production of serous fluid secreted into the pericardial sac.

Blood Type

• Determined by the presence or absence of certain antigens - substances that can trigger an immune response if foreign to the body.

Aorta

• Largest blood vessel.
• Delivers nutrients and hormones throughout the body.

Pulmonary Veins

• Collect oxygen-rich blood from your lungs and carry it to your heart.

White Blood Cells

• Fight diseases and protect the body from infection.

Platelets

• Gather at the site of injury and help the clotting process.

Epicardium

• Directly covers your heart and the roots of your great vessels.
• Also known as the epicardium.