Cardiovascular Overview
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- Cardiovascular Overview
- Heart is a pump that drives blood flow through vessels
- Roles
- Nutrient Delivery
- Oxygen, nutrients, hormones, ions, and fluids are delivered to the body’s tissues via the bloodstream
- Waste Removal
- Removal of CO2 (major metabolic by-product of cellular respiration) and other waste
- Thermoregulation
- Vasodilation: when body is hot, capillaries dilate to allow more heat loss
- When dilated, more blood can pass through and lose heat to surroundings
- Vasoconstriction: when body is cold, capillaries constrict to reduce heat loss to skin
- Vasodilation: when body is hot, capillaries dilate to allow more heat loss
- Nutrient Delivery
- Single cell layer of endothelial cells lines the inside of blood vessels and the heart
- Important for gas exchange