Cardiovascular System Research Paper

Structure of the heart:
The heart is at the centre of the cardiovascular system. It is a hollow muscular pump that drives blood through the arteries, which allows it to reach the working muscles and tissues. The heart is split into two halves. The right side of the heart is separated from the left by a solid wall known as the septum. This prevents any blood on the right side coming into contact with the blood on the left side. The right side of the heart sends deoxygenated blood to the lungs in order to get oxygen. The left side however sends oxygenated blood to the body.
The heart is also divided into four chambers that consist of two atria and two ventricles; the atria in the heart receives blood whilst the ventricles pump blood in the
However I will be looking at the functions of the cardiovascular system in more depth. These include looking at; the delivery of oxygen and nutrients, the removal of waste products, thermoregulation, vasodilation, vasoconstriction. And the function of blood, which includes looking at oxygen transport, clotting and fighting infection.
Delivery of oxygen and nutrients- One key function of the cardiovascular system is to supply oxygen and nutrients to the tissues of the body via the bloodstream. `The delivery of oxygen and nutrients is achieved with three elements working together. The heart pumps the blood into the blood vessels; the blood vessels then carry the blood to the body’s tissues. The blood carries in things that are dissolved in it. An example being oxygen that is carried by the hemoglobin in the red blood
Blood is diverted away from the skin to limit heat loss. This is called vasoconstriction. This process causes us to stop sweating.
Vasodilation- Vasodilation is the opening up of a blood vessel to allow more blood to flow through the arterioles, venules and capillaries. An example during exercise would be when running. The leg muscle capillaries are vasodilated to allow more blood flow carrying oxygen to the muscles, allowing the muscle cells to respire and continue working for longer periods of time.
Vasoconstriction- Blood vessels can temporarily shut down blood flow to tissues. This process causes a decrease in the diameter of blood vessels. Blood vessels close down in the main systems such as the digestive systems because it does not need as much blood when it is not working. The movement of blood from the digestive system to the leg muscles ( for example) is called vascular shunting. Vascular shunt allows the redistribution of blood flow during