The Cardiovascular System

• The cardiovascular system is the body’s blood transporting network of arteries, veins and vessels.
• It is responsible for carrying oxygenand vital nutrients to all parts of the body and removes harmful waste products from tissues.
• The heart pumps blood througharteries and smaller vessels to all parts of the body.
• The blood returns to the heart through veins.
• The pulmonary arteries are the only arterial vessels that transport deoxygenated blood.
• Blood makes a full circuit of the body in about one minute.
• At the core of this system is the heart .
• It is about the size of a grapefruit and located to the left of the centre chest.
• It needs a generous supply of oxygen which is supplied by the large supply of blood.
• Blood that flows through the heart cannot supply it with oxygen and nutrients - so it has its own network of blood vessels called the coronary system.