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Cardiovascular System

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2nd Dan Grading theory assignment:

To illustrate the human cardiovascular system and to explain how the cardiovascular system works and how this is affected by martial arts.

The cardiovascular system composes of blood, the heart, the lungs, veins, arteries and all other blood vessels. Its primary function is to pump oxygenated blood and all its nutrients around the body to the muscles and organs that need it, and in turn transport deoxygenated blood and any waste products, that have been used by the body, back to the lungs to be excreted. The cardiovascular system is also used by the body’s other systems to act as transport via the blood for hormones, water and electrolytes (charged atoms) and it is a thermoregulatory system; relaying information about the body’s core temperature back to the brain.

The Blood
Blood is a solution that travels around the body in blood vessels. It is made of a mixture of red blood cells, white blood cells, platelets, plasma, electrolytes, proteins and other molecules essential for the bodily functions. Plasma consists of mostly water, with some glucose and other proteins. Red blood cells are the most abundant cell in the human body. Their function is to carry oxygen, which attaches to hemoglobin in the cell. This oxygen is then transported around the body and offloaded where it is needed most. Carbon dioxide, the waste product of respiration, is transported in the blood, but instead of binding to the red blood cells it is dissolved as a bicarbonate ion in the blood plasma. Platelets are used for the clotting of blood and white blood cells are immune response cells that attack and remove pathogens.

The Heart
The heart is a muscular organ with an initial function to pump blood around the body. It is an involuntary muscle, which contracts rhythmically, on average, 72 beats per minute. The right side of the heart collects

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