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Vascular Ultrasound - Your Circulatory System
Your circulatory system, also called the vascular system contains blood, blood vessels, and your heart. The blood is the fluid that carries oxygen and nutrients to organs and tissues throughout the body and then back to the heart. The blood vessels are the routes that connect the heart with the organs and body tissues that carry the blood. The heart is the pump that gets the blood that is filled with oxygen and nutrients to its various destinations. Although it seems quite simple, your circulatory system is very complex.
The blood vessels consist of arteries and veins. The arteries carry the blood containing oxygen and nutrients away from the heart and lungs to organs and tissues. The veins carry blood back to the heart and lungs. This blood has very little oxygen or nutrients.
In order to move blood back to the heart, the veins must work against the force of gravity. This is maintained by three processes. First the veins in the calves are squeezed when those calf muscles contract. Second, when these muscles relax, one way valves in the veins close, preventing blood from flowing backward toward the feet. Thirdly, your diaphragm in your abdomen, draws blood nearer to your heart when you breath.
Where the arteries and veins connect is called the capillaries. These blood vessels are very small. Capillaries carry blood to the cells and tissues. Blood flows from the arteries into the capillaries, which flow through the tissues of your organs, muscles, and skin. The tissue cells take oxygen and other nutrients from the blood as it flows through the capillaries. The blood then flows from the capillaries into veins, where it travels back to the heart and lungs for more oxygen and nutrients.
Healthy blood circulation continues as long as the heart and blood vessels function properly. If this process is impaired in any way, different vascular diseases can occur and cause different effects.
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