40.1: Overview of the Circulatory System - The Role of the Circulatory System
- Describe the basic properties of the circulatory systems
Most animals are complex, multicellular organisms that require a mechanism for transporting nutrients throughout their bodies and for removing waste products. The circulatory system has evolved over time from simple diffusion through cells, in the early evolution of animals, to a complex network of blood vessels that reach all parts of the human body. This extensive network supplies the cells, tissues, and organs with oxygen and nutrients, while removing carbon dioxide and waste, the byproducts of respiration. The circulatory system can be thought of as a highway system that runs throughout the body.
At the core of the human circulatory system is the heart. The size of a clenched fist, the human heart is protected beneath the rib cage. Made of specialized and unique cardiac muscle, it pumps blood throughout the body and to the heart itself. Heart contractions are driven by intrinsic electrical impulses that the brain and endocrine hormones help to regulate. Understanding the heart’s basic anatomy and function is important to understanding the body’s circulatory and respiratory systems.
Gas exchange is one essential function of the circulatory system. A circulatory system is not needed in organisms with no specialized respiratory organs, such as unicellular organisms, because oxygen and carbon dioxide diffuse directly between their body tissues and the external environment. However, in organisms that possess lungs and gills, oxygen must be transported from these specialized respiratory organs to the body tissues via a circulatory system. Therefore, circulatory systems have had to evolve to accommodate the great diversity of body sizes and body types present among animals.
Key Points
- The heart is central to the circulatory system as it is the fist-sized pump that circulates the blood throughout the body.
- As animals became more complex and multicellular, the circulatory system evolved because simple diffusion was insufficient to supply all of the cells with nutrients.
- The coordination of the circulatory system and the respiratory system to ensure proper gas exchange is very important in animals that have lungs and gills.
Key Terms
- respiration : the process by which cells obtain chemical energy by the consumption of oxygen and the release of carbon dioxide; the process of inhaling and exhaling; breathing
- cardiac : pertaining to the heart