Cardio-Pulminary system
both pass and merit attempted
Structure of the cardiovascular system
Right atrium
The right atrium receives de-oxygenated blood form the superior and inferior vena cava and helps to transport blood into the right ventricle where the main contraction occurs.It has thin muscular wall as it has not got to cope with high pressures as it is simply supplying blood to the left ventricle.
right ventricle
The right ventricle receives de-oxygenated blood from the right atrium and then pumps the blood to the lungs where the blood can take up more oxygen via diffusion.It has a thicker muscular wall than the right atrium as there is a higher pressure in the ventricle and the thick walls prevent a tear or rip occurring in the tissues of the heart. The blood being pumped by the ventricle is transported via the pulmonary artery to the lungs.
Tricuspid valve
the tricuspid or atriventricular valve is the valve that is between the right atrium and ventricle.This stops the back flow of blood from the ventricles contraction which would flow back into the atruim and due to the high pressure, would burst or tear the walls of the atrium.It is formed with 3 separate tissues which form the valve thus its name involving "tri".
Pulminary atrery
this is the blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs to receive oxygen. It is the only artery that transpoerts deoxygenated blood and is in place due to the pressure of the blood being pumped by the right ventricle.
pulminary veins
These blood vessels transport the blood back to the heart after it has taken up oxygen from the lungs.The veins then flow into the left atrium .
left atrium
left ventricle
aorta
vena cava (superior)
blood vessels
functions of the cardiovascular system
Delivery of oxygen and nutrients
This is vital for all sportsmen as their muscles would be unable to move if no energy was produced for movement if there is no oxygen present in the muscles for respiration. The delivery of oxygen to the muscles is also important for endurance runners who mainly rely on the aerobic energy system as an efficient supply of oxygen is required to keep synthesizing ATP and would enable a person to keep running without having to use the lactic acid system and pc system which would not be able to supply the runner with enough energy to run a long distance race . Also nutrient transport would be important for all athletes as hey consume specific nutrients related to there sport such as a marathon runner eating a high amount of carbohydrates in preparation for a race. If the cardiovascular system did not transport these nutrients to their intended destinations there would be no point to eating and the marathon runner would have extremely low energy levels and would be unable to run the race.
removal of waste products
Any sportsmen would need this as a lactic acid build up would cause great fatigue in a sportsman muscles, such as a rugby player who would use the lactic acid system for prolonged medium-high intensity exercise which would produce lactic acid.This lactic acid can be neutralized by taking in more oxygen but first carbon dioxide must be removed first through the blood. This prevents fatigue from happening quickly and would allow the rugby player to keep going for the whole match without fatiguing quickly.
Thermoregulation
Most sportsmen need thermoregulation such as a runner who would generate allot of heat when running and would need to expel heat through the vasodialation of blood vessels at the surface of the skin or by sweating. This is important as a runner would become extremely hot without these mechanisms in place to cool the body down as the body would overheat and enzymes within the body would denature so minerals and vitamins within the body cannot be broken down and the runners energy levels would drop without minerals and vitamins getting to the muscles and brain and would likely force the runner to stop. However the runner would also need to take in more water throughout a race as the blood plasma would lose water through sweating and would cause the blood to increase in viscosity and would become thicker which would cause a heat stroke as the blood would move slower in the brain so less oxygen would get there. If a heat stroke were to occour then the runner would be unable to run altogether so it is important that the runner is to drink for the thermoregulatory systems to be effective .
functions of the blood
Any illnesss that isnt faught by the white blood cells in the blood would affect the athlete greatly as there are not defences in the blood that could stop the pathogen from spreading so it will spread and cause you to come ill. Also if a player has a cut and the blood does not clot then the player will keep bleeding and lose an unnececary amount of blood also any germs that are on the playing surface will direcly go into the blood stream which would cause a person to become ill.
The respiratory system
Functions of the respiratory system
Gas Exchange
Mechanisms of breathing
This is important for all athletes as oxygen is required for numerous reasons such as respiration, ATP resynthesis and decreasing the ph within the muscles and blood. If there were not additional mechanisms to increase the amount of oxygen taken in then the athlete would not be able to performa at a high er intensity than rest as there would not be enough oxygen to accomodate for the amount of energy needed . A runner with poor minute ventilation would not be able to run quickly and would be out of breath as they will not be tking in enough oxygen. They would have to rely on their anerobic energy systems which would allow them to move or around 40 seconds using both the pc and lactic acid systems which would not be enough for a long distance race.
Lung volumes
Your vital capacity is the maximum amount of air you can expel in one full breath and is important as a low vital capacity would mean that your lungs do not expel as much carbon dioxide as a person with a similar body composition with a higher vital capacity. A higher vital capacity means that gas exchange can happen more efficiently and means that the body can take in more oxygen as less carbon dioxide is left in the lungs .
Residual volume is the amount of oxygen that is left in the lungs after one full exhalation and cannot be removed from the lungs . if there were no air or gasses in the lungs there would be a vacuum or the lungs would collapse so that no air occupied the space. this would mean that a person would die from collapsed lungs if all air was removed. So the residual volume is there for not reason in particular and is only there because the breathing mechanisms are in place to keep the lungs from collapsing so air will inevitably remain in the lungs after a full exhalation.
All are important for an athete as a higher tidal volume will mean that more oxygen can be taken with each reath so there is more oxygen in the bloodstram menaing more ATP can be resynthesised and thus a person will be able to work for longer. This would be improtant for a runner for exmple who has a higher tidal volume that another runner would be able to maintain a higher running pace with less exertion as their lungs are not having to breathe as quickly reducing the strain on the muscles so they can work for longer.
also a higher vital capicity will mean one full expiration will remove more carbon dioxide from their lungs than a person with a lower vital cpacity who would still have carbon dioxide left in their lungs. This means that their gas exchange is less efficient and would also require them to take more frequent breaths to make up the oxygen deficit.
control of breathing
However when you begin exercising the body has chemoreceptors in the muscles that detect the ph of the blood as the carbon dioxide in the blood causes it to turn slightly acidic . So the chemoreceptors send a message to the medulla oblongata which sends a message to the inspiritory and expiritory control centers which then send a message to the inspiritory and expiritory muscles causing them to assist with breathing. When a person has finished exercising and sufficient oxygen has been taken in and the blood ph has returned to normal the chemo receptors stop sending a message to the medulla oblongata so the breathing muscles stop assisting and neural control takes over and you begin breathing normally.
This would be important for all sportsmen as the ICC and ECC need to send a signal to the breahing muscles so an increased minute ventilation to occour and a person would have more oxygen in their blood during eersize and would be able to remove carbon dioxide quicker with the assistance of the inspiritory and expiritory systems.
Also a person who wants to calm themselfs before a big event would consciously control their breathing as breathing rate and heart rate are linked the heart would slow down and the parasympathetic nervous system would begin to calm you down. This is important for sports requiring high levels of skill such as a gymanast who would perform better than a person who isnt calm and cannot controll their breathing.