How Does the Cardiovascular System Work With the Respiratory System?
Last Updated: Aug 16, 2013| ByAdam Cloe
A healthy cardiovascular system enables your lungs to move oxygen through your body.Photo CreditJupiterimages/Comstock/Getty Images
Cardiovascular System
An understanding of how the respiratory and cardiovascular systems interact requires knowledge of how each of the systems function independently. The cardiovascular system in the human body is made up of the heart and blood vessels, which are divided into arteries, veins and capillaries. The heart is responsible for pumping the blood throughout the blood vessels and is divided into four chambers, two of which are responsible for moving poorly oxygenated blood and two of which move highly oxygenated blood. Oxygenated blood, which is pumped through the body via the arteries, supplies the body's tissues with oxygen that they need to live. Blood in the arteries is under high pressure; however, which could damage the tissue, so this oxygenated blood first needs to go to the capillaries, which are very small and low-pressure blood vessels that are responsible for supplying the oxygenated blood to the tissues. Once the capillaries have delivered their oxygen, they also absorb excess carbon dioxide into the blood and then deliver it to the veins, which then supply the blood back to the heart.
Respiratory System
The respiratory system is primarily comprised of the airways, the lungs and the structures (such as muscles) that help move air in and out of the lungs. The airway, which begins with the nose and mouth, continues down through the throat into the bronchi, which are small airways that eventually feed into the lungs, which are lined with cells called alveoli. The other part of the respiratory system is the muscles, such as the intercostals (muscles between the ribs) and the diaphragm, which cause the lungs to expand and contract. When the size of the lungs changes, so does the pressure inside, leading to air either coming in (inhalation) or being forced out (exhalation).
Interaction
The cardiovascular and the respiratory system both work toward the same goal: getting oxygen to tissues and getting carbon dioxide out. The respiratory system is involved in supplying oxygen to the blood and removing carbon dioxide. When the heart receives blood that is low in oxygen and high in carbon dioxide, it pumps it to the lungs via the pulmonary arteries. When the lungs expand and get fresh air from the environment, oxygen is transferred (via the alveoli) into the low-oxygen blood, which also then sends some of its carbon dioxide back into the lungs. Now that this blood has fresh oxygen in it, it returns to the heart and the heart then pumps it throughout the body.
What Other Systems Affect the Urinary System?
Last Updated: Oct 21, 2013| ByDr. Tina M. St. John
The urinary system rids the body of toxins and excess water.Photo Creditsign of toilet. wc for men,women,disables, & baby image by L. Shat from <a href='
Overview
The urinary system consists of the kidneys, bladder, the ureters that connect these structures; and the urethra, which carries urine from the bladder to the outside of the body. Diseases or abnormal conditions in other organ systems can disrupt normal urinary function. Disturbances in kidney blood supply, immune system reactions in the kidneys and encroachment on the urinary outflow tract by the prostate gland are common conditions that adversely affect urinary system function.
Cardiovascular System
Normal kidney function depends on an adequate, uninterrupted blood supply. Decreased blood delivery to the kidneys is a leading cause of acute renal failure, notes "The Merck Manual for Healthcare Professionals." Acute heart failure, in which the heart manifests a sudden decline in blood-pumping capacity, typically causes a precipitous fall in blood pressure and an accompanying decrease in the volume of blood supplied to the kidneys. This condition frequently provokes a marked decline in kidney function. Timely restoration of a normal blood pressure and adequate kidney blood supply often reverses acute renal failure in this circumstance.
Abnormalities of the blood vessels that supply the kidneys can also adversely affect renal function. Renal artery stenosis is a condition wherein the blood vessels that supply the kidneys narrow, limiting kidney blood supply. An accompanying decrease in renal function characteristically occurs. Renal artery stenosis is most frequently caused by atherosclerosis, a buildup of fatty plaque deposits within the renal arteries, reports the National Institute of Diabetes and Digestive and Kidney Diseases. Smoking increases the risk for atherosclerosis and renal artery stenosis, which may lead to kidney failure.