During my studies for my master of science, I had to learn a lot about the human body and especially what the functions of the organs of the human body are. This is very interesting for me. That is why I would like to do my best to briefly explain to you how your cardiovascular system works. Knowledge is power!

What is the cardiovascular system?
This is the system in our body that ensures that when our blood that we have in our blood vessels of our body is pumped around. This blood circulation therefore provides for the supply and removal within the body of oxygen, carbon dioxide, nutrients, waste products, hormones, blood cells and body heat. The cardiovascular system consists of your heart and the blood vessels that go to and from your heart.

Why is this important?
This is an incredibly important system, because without it we couldn't survive. All tissues in our body need oxygen so this system pumps oxygenated blood to the tissues. Carbon dioxide is also in our body and by means of oxygen-poor blood it will go back to our lungs so that we can exhale it. Nutrients are transported from the small intestine wall to the bloodstream. These go to different tissues for further processing. The waste products will be absorbed through the bloodstream by the kidneys, so that we can urinate them out. Hormones are transported through the bloodstream in order to reach the correct tissues in order to express their function.

What does this cardiovascular system look like?
The cardiovascular system is in a vicious circle so it starts where it ends and it ends where it starts. Oxygen-deficient blood enters the right atrium of the heart. When enough blood comes in, the blood will go to the right ventricle to bring oxygen-poor blood to the lungs. In the lungs, the blood receives oxygen, making it oxygenated blood. This blood goes to the left atrium of the heart to go to the left ventricle. Blood flows from your left ventricle through your arteries to your entire body in order to provide oxygen to your tissues. As you have already read above, this system also has other functions including waste products, etc., but to make it easy, we will leave it with oxygen only. Once the tissues have absorbed the oxygen, the blood will flow back through the veins to the right atrium of the heart. This is again oxygen-poor blood.

Questions, feedback or ideas for more posts? Message me.

Kind regards,

Sascha Bargi BSc. Pt. & MSc. Ost. in training