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Circulatory System

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The circulatory system
The circulatory system’s function is to move substances around the body. These substances consist of respiratory gases (carbon dioxide and oxygen) and food.

The heart is a little larger than the size of a clenched fist and is located between the lungs. It is a muscular pump which forces blood around a system of blood vessels namely arties, veins and capillaries. The primary purpose of the heart is to pump blood at 60 to 80 times per minute to deliver oxygen and nutrients to all body cells. Each day the average heart beats 100 000 times and pumps about 2000 gallons of blood. It is divided into four separate compartments known as atria and ventricles. A healthy heart can continue to beat for many years after some other body organs have worn out.

The heart is made of muscle. However heart muscle is slightly different to other muscles in the body. The heart muscle can relax and contract regularly without any nervous stimulation and seems able to go on forever without tiring. An electrocardiogram plots the electrical impulses that control the contraction of heart muscles.

Each side of the heart consists of an upper chamber (the atrium) and a lower chamber (the ventricle) the right sided pump contains deoxygenated blood and is separate from the left side which contains oxygenated blood. Each of these two chambers has a major blood vessel that is either leaving or entering the heart. The right pump receives blood from the blood tissues having, off loaded its oxygen, and pumps the blood to the lungs for re-oxygenated. The left pump receives blood from the lungs, fully loaded with oxygen, and distributes it to the body tissue. The blood travels twice through the heart in one circuit around the body. This is known as a double circulation.

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Arteries are tubes that carry blood away from the heart around the body. Veins are the

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