Abstract
The cardiovascular system comprising the heart and the connecting blood vessels plays a vital role in maintaining the homeostasis. It integrates three basic functional components, heart as the pump that circulates the blood through a network of the blood vessels.
This integrated system is able to adapt to the circulatory demands under different physiological states like rest and exercise, changes in body position, digestion, thermal stress, and emotional status. In order to meet these variable physiological demands, the entire system undertakes sophisticated regulatory mechanisms involving neuroendocrine system and renal and local circulatory mediators. Understanding the functioning of various cardiovascular system components will help the students and researchers to explore in detail the various vital factors regulating the circulatory system and identify the associated dysfunctions.P. Visha ( )
Department of Veterinary Physiology and Biochemistry, Veterinary College and Research Institute, Tamil Nadu Veterinary and Animal Sciences University, Salem, Tamil Nadu, India
V. Sejian
ICAR-National Institute of Animal Nutrition and Physiology, Bangalore, Karnataka, India
© The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023
P. K. Das et al. (eds.), Textbook of Veterinary Physiology, https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-19-9410-4_6
Graphical Abstract
Description of the graphic: Cardiovascular system (1) consists of both heart and vascular systems (arterial, venous, and capillary circulations). Being the first functional organ, the development of heart begins at very early stages of life. It is made of specialized muscle cells called cardiac muscle (2), which are striated and involuntary muscle fibers. It has specialized excitatory and conduction systems through which electric impulses are generated and conducted throughout the heart, resulting in contraction and relaxation of the heart (3).
It pumps oxygenated blood through blood vessels to all the body’s tissues (4). Cardiac output and heart rate are influenced by various factors, viz. rest, exercise, stress, temperature, sex, age, emotion, and endocrine factors (5). The electrocardiogram (ECG) is the most important clinical tool used for diagnosing electrical dysfunctions of the heart (6); determination of arterial blood pressure helps in diagnosing the defects of heart and circulatory system (7), which is regulated by nervous system, endocrine system, regulation of ECF volume, and renin-angiotensin mechanism (8). The entire functional characteristics of the CV system are elaborated in this chapterKeywords
Myocardium ∙ Action potential ∙ Cardiac cycle ∙ Cardiac output ∙ Hemodynamics
Learning Objectives
• General organization of CVS and hemodynamics of circulation
• Gross structure of heart and myocardial cells
• Electrophysiological of myocardial and nodal cells and its recording
• Integration of neuroendocrine system, renal and local control mechanisms regulating cardiac functions
• Characteristic features and functional anatomy of special circulation in vital organs
• Clinical aspects of CV system
Fig. 6.1 General organization of the cardiovascular system depicting pulmonary and systemic circulation
6.1