Unit 8 Introduction

The Cardiovascular System is a collection of blood vessels (the pipes – arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, veins) and cardiac muscle (the pump – the heart) that pushes blood throughout the body. Blood flowing through these blood vessels (vasculature) carries oxygen, nutrients, and waste to/from tissues throughout the body. Additionally, since the Lymphatic System is complementary to the circulatory system (returning excess fluid from tissues to the blood) and is intimately involved with our immune system (much of which also circulates in the blood), it will be discussed in this unit as well.