KEY POINTS

1. Because normal cardiovascular function is essential for life and health, a practical understanding of Cardiovascularfunction and dysfunction is vital to the veterinary clinician.

2. Cardiovascular dysfunctions sometimes reflect primary cardiovascular disturbances or diseases, but more often they are secondary consequences of noncardiovascular disturbances or diseases.

3. Substances transported by the cardiovascular system include nutrients, waste products, hormones, electrolytes, and water.

4. Two modes of transport are used in the cardiovascular system: bulk flow and diffusion.

5. Because diffusion is very slow, every metabolically active cell in the body must be close to a capillary carrying blood by bulk flow.

6. The pulmonary and systemic circulations are arranged in series, but the various organs within the systemic circulation are arranged in parallel.

7. Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped each minute by one ventricle.

8. The perfusion pressure for the systemic circulation is much greater than the perfusion pressure for the pulmonary circulation.

9. Each type of blood vessel has physical properties suited to its particular function.

10. Blood is a suspension of cells in liquid (plasma).

11. The cellular component of blood includes red blood cells, white blood cells, and platelets.

12. Most of the oxygen in blood is carried in chemical combination with the protein hemoglobin within red blood cells.