Circulatory System (Human Anatomy): Image, Functions, Diseases, and Treatments

Blood is transported from the heart to the lungs through the cardiovascular system, which is also referred to as the circulatory system. After being supplied with oxygen, the blood is next pumped out of the heart and into the arteries throughout the body. Through the veins, the blood that has a low oxygen content travels back to the heart, which is where the process starts all over again. Your circulatory system has to be in excellent functioning order for all of your organs, muscles, and tissues to be healthy and flourished.

Blood circulation throughout the body is the role of the circulatory system. This blood flow maintains your organs, muscles, and tissues in good condition and functioning to keep you alive.Your body's circulatory system also aids in waste elimination. These wastes consist of:

Carbon dioxide is exhaled and released while breathing. In addition, chemical waste is produced by your organs. Scraps of food and drink are waste products. Blood vessels like arteries, veins, and capillaries support the circulatory system's function in the body. These blood veins are essential for a constant blood flow throughout your body, which is supported by your heart and lungs.

The lowest pumping chamber of the heart, the right ventricle, pumps oxygen-poor blood to the lungs. The major blood vessel is the pulmonary trunk (the main pulmonary artery). Red blood cells may take up oxygen in the lungs. The oxygenated blood then proceeds to the left atrium of the heart via the pulmonary veins (upper heart chamber). In the human body, the left atrium pumps oxygenated blood to the left ventricle (lower chamber).

The heart's muscular ventricles, which pump blood throughout the body, provide blood to the arteries. As it circulates throughout the body, blood transports vital nutrients, hormones, and waste products to and from your organs. After receiving oxygen in the lungs, blood returns to the heart via the veins while carrying carbon dioxide. Your lungs emit carbon dioxide when you exhale. The muscular organ that pumps blood throughout the body is the heart. The capillaries, arteries, and veins carry blood throughout the body. Body fluid includes platelets, plasma, and different cells (both red and white).

• Blood flow via the lungs: Deoxygenated blood is transported from the heart to the lungs through the pulmonary system. The pulmonary veins carry oxygenated blood back to the heart once it has been oxygenated.
• Systemic circulation: After travelling throughout the body, the oxygenated, nutrient-rich, and hormone-rich blood returns to the heart. The blood returns to the veins to pick up waste when the body exhausts its supply of oxygen, nutrients, and hormones.The coronary arteries provide blood to the heart muscle in the cardiovascular system. Through this channel, oxygenated blood is delivered to the heart muscle. The coronary circuit returns the blood with low oxygen levels to the right upper chamber (atrium) of the heart.

• Stroke: A stroke may be caused by an unexpected blood clot that develops in the carotid artery and blocks the flow of blood to the brain. A stroke might happen if bits of cholesterol plaque that have built up in the carotid artery separate and go into the brain. This is something that might happen at any time throughout the patient's life.
• Carotid artery stenosis: Also known as atherosclerosis, carotid artery stenosis is a narrowing of the carotid artery that is often brought on by the buildup of cholesterol plaque. A higher risk of stroke is linked to carotid artery stenosis. In most cases, the illness won't show any signs or symptoms until it has progressed to a more severe level.
• Aneurysm of the carotid artery: This condition happens when the carotid artery has a weak area that allows a section of the artery to inflate outward with each heartbeat. A carotid artery dissection is another name for this problem. Aneurysms have a chance of rupturing, which, if it happens, might cause a stroke or significant bleeding.
• Carotid artery embolism: An embolus is a fragment of cholesterol plaque that has become loose and travelled all the way to the patient's brain, where it has resulted in a stroke. If the cholesterol plaque fractures, this may occur. Carotid artery embolism is the medical term for this condition.
• Atherosclerosis of the carotid artery: Over the course of many decades, cholesterol plaque slowly builds up in the carotid artery wall, causing atherosclerosis of the carotid artery. This procedure will occur at some time as atherosclerosis progresses. If left untreated, stenosis, or an arterial narrowing, caused by plaque buildup in the carotid artery may ultimately result, which increases the risk of stroke.
• Amaurosis fugax: Amaurosis fugax is a temporary blindness that only affects one eye. An embolus, which is a particle of cholesterol plaque that separates from the carotid artery wall and travels through the circulation, is the most frequent cause of this illness. The embolus may become stuck in an artery that supplies blood to the eye, which would prevent blood from getting to the eye.
• Temporal arteritis: This particular kind of vasculitis is an Inflammatory response of the blood vessels, also known as arteries, in and around the scalp is the medical condition known as temporal arteritis. There is no way of knowing what caused the irritation in the blood vessels. In certain instances, the swelling affects just a portion of an artery, leaving normal portions of the channel in between the affected areas.

• Carotid artery ultrasound: To examine the carotid artery, a probe is pressed against the patient's skin, and the reflected sound waves are then shown on a screen. This test may assess blood flow, carotid infarction, and the development of necrosis or stenosis.
• Carotid duplex ultrasonography: It is used to examine the blood flow in the carotid artery and is the standard method for identifying any sort of stenosis or necrosis as well as the blockage of the carotid artery by any nodule or epithelial protrusion.
• Carotid artery angiography: Angiograms, sometimes referred to as carotid artery angiography, are a better way to detect carotid artery stenosis and aneurysms. A qualified cardiologist injects contrast into the carotid artery during this particular kind of study.
• Computed tomographic angiography (CT-A scan): A CT scan produces a large number of x-ray images. In order to gain more in-depth observations of the arteries, these images are gathered with the use of a computer. It is used to scan the arteries to see whether there is any narrowing or other defects existing, and it is less dangerous than conventional angiography.
• Magnetic resonance angiography (MRA scan): An MRI scanner uses a strong magnet and a computer to create very detailed images of the structures present within the human body. The best available pictures of the arteries are obtained using the MRA (magnetic resonance angiography) setting on an MRI scanner.
• Carotid sinus massage: In a setting that is better and more supervised, a doctor or a trained physician will massage the patient's neck directly over the carotid sinus. This sort of approach is a tried-and-true technique for detecting irregular cardiac rhythms as well as carotid sinus problems.

• Angioplasty: It is also known as percutaneous transluminal coronary angioplasty (PTCA). It is a sort of surgical treatment in which the catheterization of a major artery is performed. Then, in the coronary arteries that are clogged, a tiny balloon is inflated inside of them, and a stent is placed, which ensures that the artery does not get blocked again.
• Coronary artery stenting: It is a kind of cardiac surgery in which a metal wire stent is placed inside a coronary artery that has been obstructed. This enhances the flow of blood through the artery, which alleviates disorders such as angina pectoris.
• Thrombolysis: This procedure involves the administration of specialised thrombolytic medications to the patient in the form of an intravenous injection. These treatments have the ability to break the blood clot that is causing cardiac issues. Stenting is recommended more often than thrombolysis since the former is associated with a greater risk of adverse consequences.
• AED: It stands for 'automated external defibrillator.' In the case that a person experiences cardiac arrest, an AED is used to analyse the rhythm of the heart and may stimulate the heart by means of an artificial electrical impulse.
• ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator): In situations of serious arrhythmia, a surgically implanted cardioverter defibrillator is used to monitor cardiac activity and input electrical impulses whenever they are required. This device is referred to as an ICD (Implantable Cardioverter Defibrillator).
• Pacemaker: Patients who suffer from cardiac rhythm abnormalities such as arrhythmia, tachycardia, Bradycardia, bundle branch block, and other similar conditions are often recommended to make use of a pacemaker in order to maintain the regular rhythm of their hearts.
• Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: This procedure has a number of benefits, including the ability to accomplish full revascularization and a lower likelihood of recurrent angina, but it also has a number of drawbacks. Because of the major operation, there is a greater risk of morbidity and death, as well as an increased likelihood of a previous cardiac incident.

• Steroids for reducing inflammation of the Circulatory system: Anti-inflammatory medications decrease inflammation by preventing the flow of polymorphonuclear leukocytes (PMNs) to areas of cellular and tissue breakdown. Steroids are used for lowering inflammation of systemic circulation. They are effective in the therapy of wall flaws and in the reduction of discomfort. Methylprednisolone is a good example of a corticosteroid that works.
• Analgesics for pain in the Circulatory system: Medications including aspirin, ibuprofen, diclofenac sodium, and acetaminophen are examples of analgesics that might lessen some of the discomforts in the heart's muscles. Another two painkillers are naproxen and paracetamol.
• Muscle relaxants for stiffness in the Circulatory system: Orphenadrine, metaxalone, methocarbamol, orphenadrine, tizanidine, and carisoprodol are a few of the muscle relaxants that a specialist may prescribe when there is stiffness in the upper and lower limbs.
• Antibiotics for infection in the Circulatory system: Antibiotics are a kind of medication used to treat bacterial conditions that damage the heart's muscles, such as myosotis. They are also used to treat infections of the circulatory system. Azithromycin or doxycycline are some of the medications, as well as Vancomycin and Cephalosporin (or Cefepime if Pseudomonas is a threat).
• Nutritional supplements for reducing pain in the Circulatory system: Nutritional supplements for lowering pain in the systemic circulation include iron, folic acid, ferrous sulphate, ferrous ascorbate, and zinc to promote the formation of red blood cells when treating microcytic or macrocytic anaemia as well as other circulatory system illnesses. Additionally, it aids in the treatment of sideroblastic anaemia.