ABSTRACT
The cardiovascular system can be considered to have as many roles as the diverse tissues and organs it supplies. The transfer of oxygen and carbon dioxide between the lungs and the tissues is the system’s prime function. The gastrointestinal vessels absorb nutrients from the gut and perfuse the liver. The cardiovascular system also has an important role in the distribution of body water between intravascular, extracellular and intracellular spaces: a reduction in the hydrostatic pressure in systemic capillaries facilitates the movement of interstitial and intracellular water into the intravascular space. The function of the left ventricle is to pump blood around the systemic circulation. The systemic arterial blood pressure is the fundamental monitored and regulated variable of the cardiovascular system. The heart is a muscular pump with four chambers: the right atrium and ventricle, and the left atrium and ventricle. Cardiac valves ensure unidirectional flow of blood within the cardiac chambers, movement of the valve flaps being passive.
