Starting with the right ventricle of the heart, describe the function of the heart and the movement of the blood through the pulmonary and systemic circuit. Include a description of gas exchange within the lungs. The function of the heart is to pump blood throughout the body. The heart pumps blood containing oxygen from the lungs to body. It passes blood without oxygen back to the lungs for more oxygen. The heart has four chambers; the two upper chambers are called atriums, and the two lower chambers are called ventricles. The left atrium is located above the left ventricle, and they are separate by a valve called the mitral valve.
The right atrium is located above the right ventricle, and they are separated by a valve called the tricuspid valve. The left atrium receives blood that contains oxygen from the lungs and passes through the pulmonary veins. Through the pulmonary veins, the blood travels to the left ventricle, which pumps the blood into the aorta. From the aorta, the oxygenated blood is passed throughout the body, or the systemic circuit. (McMillan, 2010) The oxygenated blood is carried back to the right atrium. Now consider what happens if Jake starts smoking.
Discuss in detail how this will affect the heart and lungs. Think about how this habit might affect the homeostasis of the cardiovascular and respiratory system. The smoke from one cigarette can prevent cilia in bronchioles for beating for hours. There are toxic particles in smoke that can stimulate mucus secretion and destroy the infection-fighting phagocytes. (McMillan, 2010). Smoking can also make a person more susceptible to colds and other illnesses. Smoking has many risks, including bronchitis, cancer, asthma, emphysema, COPD, cardiovascular disease, slow bone healing and many more.
Tobacco smoke in the body can convert into carcinogens, which can lead to lung cancer. Smoking can affect homeostasis by affecting oxygen levels and increasing the levels of carbon dioxide and by affecting the strength of the blood flow in the lungs. It would cause the heart to work harder to pump the blood to the lungs. (McMillan, 2010) Smoking increases the risk of heart disease, which is the leading cause of death in America. There are several different ways that smoking can affect your heart. It can cause blood clots to forms in the vessels, which can lead to acute coronary syndrome.
It can also affect your blood pressure by increasing the adrenaline in your body, which can constrict your blood vessels. The chemicals that are in tobacco can cause damage and inflammation in the vessels that can lead to atherosclerosis. Smoking is also been found to raise cholesterol in the body, causing stress on the heart. All of this can affect homeostasis, because it can cause the heart to have to work harder pumping blood by affecting the blood pressure that is generated by the heart to keep blood flowing, as well as by constricting the blood vessels.
(McMillan, 2010) After many years of smoking, during a routine doctor’s appointment, Jake is diagnosed with high blood pressure and early signs of emphysema. Explain the connection between his smoking habit and the diagnoses. Smoking increases mucus secretions and affects with ciliary action in the lungs, causing bronchitis. The mucus builds up in the airways and they become inflamed. Scar tissue can form and can block part of the respiratory tract, causing bronchitis. (McMillan, 2010) When this continues, more scar tissue develops and the bronchi is constantly filled with mucus.
This is how emphysema is developed. The chemical in cigarette smoke can raise your blood pressure and increase the risk of hypertension. Also explain why the doctor wants to run more tests to look at Jake’s coronary circuit. I think the doctor would want to run more tests on Jake, because of his history of Emphysema and high blood pressure, he would want to check Jake for coronary heart disease and any abnormalities in his heart. References Starr, C. & McMillan, B. (2010) Human Biology (9th ed. ). Belmont, CA: Brooks & Cole.