This article is about the animal circulatory system. For plants, see Vascular tissue.
Several terms redirect here. For the song by Ed Sheeran, see Bloodstream (song). For the album by Youves, see Cardio-Vascular.
Circulatory system
The human circulatory system (simplified). Red indicates oxygenated blood carried in arteries. Blue indicates deoxygenated blood carried in veins. Capillaries join the arteries and veins.
Identifiers
MeSH
D002319
TA98
A12.0.00.000
TA2
3891
FMA
7161
Anatomical terminology
[edit on Wikidata]
The circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human or other vertebrate.[1][2] It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart and blood vessels (from Greek kardia meaning heart, and from Latin vascula meaning vessels). The circulatory system has two divisions, a systemic circulation or circuit, and a pulmonary circulation or circuit.[3] Some sources use the terms cardiovascular system and vascular system interchangeably with circulatory system.[4]
The network of blood vessels are the great vessels of the heart including large elastic arteries, and large veins; other arteries, smaller arterioles, capillaries that join with venules (small veins), and other veins. The circulatory system is closed in vertebrates, which means that the blood never leaves the network of blood vessels. Some invertebrates such as arthropods have an open circulatory system. Diploblasts such as sponges, and comb jellies lack a circulatory system.
Blood is a fluid consisting of plasma, red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets; it is circulated around the body carrying oxygen and nutrients to the tissues and collecting and disposing of waste materials. Circulated nutrients include proteins and minerals and other components include hemoglobin, hormones, and gases such as oxygen and carbon dioxide. These substances provide nourishment, help the immune system to fight diseases, and help maintain homeostasis by stabilizing temperature and natural pH.
In vertebrates, the lymphatic system is complementary to the circulatory system. The lymphatic system carries excess plasma (filtered from the circulatory system capillaries as interstitial fluid between cells) away from the body tissues via accessory routes that return excess fluid back to blood circulation as lymph.[5] The lymphatic system is a subsystem that is essential for the functioning of the blood circulatory system; without it the blood would become depleted of fluid.
The lymphatic system also works with the immune system.[6] The circulation of lymph takes much longer than that of blood[7] and, unlike the closed (blood) circulatory system, the lymphatic system is an open system. Some sources describe it as a secondary circulatory system.
The circulatory system can be affected by many cardiovascular diseases. Cardiologists are medical professionals which specialise in the heart, and cardiothoracic surgeons specialise in operating on the heart and its surrounding areas. Vascular surgeons focus on disorders of the blood vessels, and lymphatic vessels.
^Hall, John E. (2011). Guyton and Hall textbook of medical physiology (Twelfth ed.). Philadelphia, Pa. p. 4. ISBN 9781416045748.{{cite book}}: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
^Saladin, Kenneth S. (2011). Human anatomy (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 520. ISBN 9780071222075.
^Cite error: The named reference Saladin3 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^How does the blood circulatory system work? – InformedHealth.org – NCBI Bookshelf. Institute for Quality and Efficiency in Health Care (IQWiG). 31 January 2019. Archived from the original on 29 January 2022.
^Sherwood, Lauralee (2011). Human Physiology: From Cells to Systems. Cengage Learning. pp. 401–. ISBN 978-1-133-10893-1. Archived from the original on 29 July 2020. Retrieved 27 June 2015.
^Saladin, Kenneth S. (2011). Human anatomy (3rd ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill. p. 610. ISBN 9780071222075.
^"The lymphatic system and cancer | Cancer Research UK". 29 October 2014. Archived from the original on 30 January 2022. Retrieved 30 January 2022.
and 28 Related for: Circulatory system information
The circulatorysystem is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body of a human...
The circulatorysystem of the horse consists of the heart, the blood vessels, and the blood. The equine heart is a muscular pump that circulates blood...
which blood circulates; as such, their circulatorysystems are mainly open. The "generalized" mollusc's feeding system consists of a rasping "tongue", the...
pen-and-ink fish. Cephalopods are the only molluscs with a closed circulatorysystem. Coleoids have two gill hearts (also known as branchial hearts) that...
a double transport system made of coelomic fluid that moves within the fluid-filled coelom and a simple, closed circulatorysystem, and respire (breathe)...
nested among reptiles from an evolutionary perspective. Many cladistic systems therefore redefine Reptilia as a clade (monophyletic group) including birds...
so. Amphibians have a juvenile stage and an adult stage, and the circulatorysystems of the two are distinct. In the juvenile (or tadpole) stage, the...
the circulatory or haemal system. The vessels form three rings: one around the mouth (the hyponeural haemal ring), another around the digestive system (the...
via tracheoles, the circulatorysystem is not used to carry oxygen, and is therefore greatly reduced. The insect circulatorysystem is open; it has no...
lymphatic system, or lymphoid system, is an organ system in vertebrates that is part of the immune system, and complementary to the circulatorysystem. It consists...
delivered directly, the circulatorysystem is not used to carry oxygen, and is therefore greatly reduced. The insect circulatorysystem has no veins or arteries...
the renal portal system. Unlike in mammals, the circulating red blood cells in birds retain their nucleus. The avian circulatorysystem is driven by a four-chambered...
system is a messenger system in an organism comprising feedback loops of hormones that are released by internal glands directly into the circulatory system...
As in other molluscs, the circulatorysystem of gastropods is open, with the fluid, or haemolymph, flowing through sinuses and bathing the tissues directly...
This is a list of the main organ systems in the human body. Circulates blood around the body via the heart, arteries and veins, delivering oxygen and...
occurs in 3% to 12% of pregnancies. The heart and blood vessels of the circulatorysystem form relatively early during embryonic development, but continue to...
it fills with air when the horse swallows or exhales. The horse's circulatorysystem includes the four-chambered heart, averaging 3.9 kg (8.5 lb) in weight...
the arms, and the eyes are more developed. Octopuses have a closed circulatorysystem, in which the blood remains inside blood vessels. Octopuses have three...
animals. This organ pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatorysystem. The pumped blood carries oxygen and nutrients to the body, while...
heart disease – a failure at the right side of the heart with respiratory system involvement Cardiac dysrhythmias – abnormalities of heart rhythm Inflammatory...
Miller, T. A. (1985). "Chapter 8: Structure and Physiology of the CirculatorySystem". In Kerkut, G. A.; Gilbert, L. I. (eds.). Comprehensive Insect Physiology...
The circulatorysystem is controlled by homeostatic mechanisms of autoregulation, just as hydraulic circuits are controlled by control systems. The hemodynamic...
the same sets of organs, although sharing a common gut, circulatorysystem and nervous system makes them inter-dependent. Their bodies are covered by...
Blood is a body fluid in the circulatorysystem of humans and other vertebrates that delivers necessary substances such as nutrients and oxygen to the...
Unlike most other mollusks, cephalopods like cuttlefish have a closed circulatorysystem. Like other marine mollusks, cuttlefish have ink stores that are used...
for the embryo. The cord is not directly connected to the mother's circulatorysystem, but instead joins the placenta, which transfers materials to and...
Veins (/veɪn/) are blood vessels in the circulatorysystem of humans and most other animals that carry blood towards the heart. Most veins carry deoxygenated...