Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
In vertebrates, the circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the body. [1] [2] It includes the cardiovascular system, or vascular system, that consists of the heart and blood vessels (from Greek kardia meaning heart, and Latin vascula meaning vessels).
Oxygenated blood leaves the lungs through pulmonary veins, which return it to the left part of the heart, completing the pulmonary cycle. [3] [6] This blood then enters the left atrium, which pumps it through the mitral valve into the left ventricle. [3] [6] From the left ventricle, the blood passes through the aortic valve to the aorta.
The lungs have a unique blood supply, receiving deoxygenated blood sent from the heart for the purposes of receiving oxygen (the pulmonary circulation) and a separate supply of oxygenated blood (the bronchial circulation). The tissue of the lungs can be affected by a number of respiratory diseases including pneumonia and lung cancer.
The mediastinum (from Medieval Latin: mediastinus, lit. 'midway'; [2] pl.: mediastina) is the central compartment of the thoracic cavity.Surrounded by loose connective tissue, it is a region that contains vital organs and structures within the thorax, namely the heart and its vessels, the esophagus, the trachea, the vagus, phrenic and cardiac nerves, the thoracic duct, the thymus and the lymph ...
Endothelium lines the inner wall of vessels, shown here. Microscopic view showing endothelium (at top) inside the heart. The endothelium forms an interface between circulating blood or lymph in the lumen and the rest of the vessel wall. This forms a barrier between vessels and tissues and control the flow of substances and fluid into and out of ...
The mesothelium is a membrane composed of simple squamous epithelial cells of mesodermal origin, [2] which forms the lining of several body cavities: the pleura (pleural cavity around the lungs), peritoneum (abdominopelvic cavity including the mesentery, omenta, falciform ligament and the perimetrium) and pericardium (around the heart).
structures of the nervous system including the paired vagus nerves, and the paired sympathetic chains, lymphatics including the thoracic duct. It contains three potential spaces lined with mesothelium: the paired pleural cavities and the pericardial cavity. The mediastinum comprises those organs which lie in the centre of the chest between the ...
The lungs are the largest organs in the lower respiratory tract. The lungs are suspended within the pleural cavity of the thorax. The pleurae are two thin membranes, one cell layer thick, which surround the lungs. The inner (visceral pleura) covers the lungs and the outer (parietal pleura) lines the inner surface of the chest wall. This ...