Blood Vessels and Lymphatics Flow of Blood

Question: Evaluate the effects of two diseases of the blood and two diseases of the heart on the flow of blood through the heart and on the different functions of the circulatory system, and on the components of the circulatory system. Answer: Figure: Structure of the heart showing systematic and pulmonary circulations The two diseases of the blood and their effect on the flow of blood through the heart and on the different functions of the circulatory system, and on the components of the circulatory system are as follows: Thrombophilia: Thrombophilia, also known as the hypercoagulability sate or prothrombic state is the abnormal condition of blood coagulation that increases the chances of thrombosis in the blood vessels. Thrombosis refers to the blood clots in the blood vessels. Some people have more tendencies to have blood clots too easily and the blood clots have effect on the blood flow. The blood flow is hampered to a great extent and other parts of the circulatory system are also hampered. The blood clots have the possibility to travel through the blood stream and reach to other portions of the body like liver, arm, leg and kidneys. It may also cause a clot in the lungs. Such clots cause increased risk of heart attack, and stroke. The clots causes blood flow obstruction and as a result blood transport to other parts of the body is not as effective. The slow blood flow causes low blood pressure in the body (Hall 2015). Deep venous thrombosis: Deep venous thrombosis is the condition in which a blood clot occurs in a vein deep inside the part of the body. The blood clots change the flow of blood. Hyper-pressure is the main complication with the blood flow as there are obstacles in the smooth flow of blood (Sherwood 2015). The two diseases of the heart and their effect on the flow of blood through the heart and on the different functions of the circulatory system, and on the components of the circulatory system are as follows: Arteriosclerosis: Arteriosclerosis is the hardening, loss of elasticity and thickening of the walls of the arteries. The process eventually restricts the blood flow to the tissues and organs of the body that can lead to severe risks for health brought by the improper flow of blood. The lesions of the arteriosclerosis take place when the innermost layers of the walls of blood vessels are filled with deposition of cellular wastes. As the depositions start to get mature, they take the form of arteriosclerosis. All have the connection in between them such as thickening of the arterial walls, degenerative disease and stiffening of the arterial vessels. The effect on the flow of blood is that the oxygen-rich blood cannot reach to the heart. The coronary arteries get narrows down and the blood flow to the heart muscles is reduced. Blood clots partially or completely block the flow of blood (Herd and Weiss 2012). Valvular heart disease: Degenerative heart disease has the characteristic of damage or defect in the four of the valves, tricuspid, pulmonary, aortic and mitral. The tricuspid and the mitral valves are responsible for the flow of blood between the ventricles and the atria. These are the lower and upper chamber of the heart. The responsibility of controlling the blood flow from the heart to the lungs is of the pulmonary valve. The aortic valves are responsible for governing the flow of blood between the aorta and the heart. Therefore, this is responsible for flow of blood towards the other parts of the body. The aortic and the mitral valves are the ones that are mostly affected by the valvular heart disease. Normal operation makes sure that blood flows with efficient force in the proper direction at the proper time period. In cases of the valvular heart disease, these valves become too hardened and narrowed to be opened in the full manner and are not able to close completely. The incompetent valve causes the blood to leak back in the chamber. Moreover, blood pooling has tendency to clot in some areas and thereby increases the risk of diseases (Vahanian et al. 2012). Radical mastectomy is the surgical procedure in which the breast of the patient along with the lymph nodes of the axilla in the armpit are completely removed after being diagnosed with breast cancer. The first, second and third levels of the underarm lymph nodes are removed in this case in contrast to other forms of mastectomy where the lymph nodes may not be removed. Most commonly the lower two levels are removed but occasionally the surgeon takes one or two nodes from the top levels. The lymph nodes are dissected and as result, the structure of the lymph nodes are hampered (Wysocki et al. 2013). There lie certain risks from such dissection of the lymph nodes and the patient in the present case has been suffering from these symptoms. Decreased or lost sensation in the armpit and the back is the most common symptom. Sometimes, the dissection of the lymph nodes causes the nerves to be in-sensitized and the impaired lymphatic systems responsible for circulation leads to loss of sensation. Weakness, stiffness, pain and swelling in the armpit areas are common due to the impaired lymphatic circulation. Inflammation of the arm veins leads to the swelling of the area and this leads to discomfort in the patients body (Karmakar et al. 2014). The patient in the present case has been suffering from such complications. Lymph fluid is the circulatory material in the lymphatic system. The lymph formation takes place when the interstitial fluid, the one lying in the interstices of body tissues, gets collected by lymph capillaries. Transportation then takes place by the help of the lymph vessels to lymph nodes and then it ultimately enters into the right and left subclavian vein which eventually mixes with the blood. The lymph contains disease-fighting white blood cells and transports antigen-presenting cells (APC) like the dendritic cells, antibodies and lymphocytes. Therefore the most important function of the lymph lies in immune functioning (van der Putte 2012). Figure: Lymphatic system The circulatory system and the lymphatic system are two most vital anatomical components of the living body. The two systems are intertwined and they work together for transporting substances through the body. There lie points of significance for this interrelation. The lymphatic system is responsible for transporting the toxins and excess wastes that the circulatory system is not able to cope with, away from the tissues and the cells. They also work together to strengthen the immunity system of the body. The blood has a significant role in the creation of lymph. Blood plasma is called as the interstitial fluid after coming in contact with body tissues. Some of the fluid goes into the lymphatic vessels and then it gets transformed into lymph. In fact, one of the key responsibilities of the lymphatic system is the draining of interstitial fluid from the body tissue (Kiefer and Schulte-Merker 2014). Another feature is that the lymphatic system is responsible for the recovery of the blo od leaked from the cardiovascular system and bringing it back into the cardiovascular circulation. It is accountable for recovering almost three liters of blood per day and therefore helps in regulating the blood pressure and fluid balance. The lymphatic system is also responsible for transportation of lipids that are too large to be transported with help of the cardiovascular system via lacteals (Gashev and Zawieja 2016). One negative aspect of the connection of circulatory system and lymphatic system lies in that they have a role in the spread of cancer. Due to the fact that lymph and lymphatic vessels are present is all sections of the body, the fluid carries cancer cell into the circulating blood. The ultimate result is the transportation of cancer cells into new regions of the body (Bellini and Hennekam 2014). Moreover, if the lymphatic system is damaged due to some reasons, it supplies blood with depleted or excess lymph amount. This result in diseases called lymphedema (Abramson 2013). When a person is carrying out exercise, it is found that the heart rate increases. There are two reasons contributing to such changes. The first reason is that when a person exercises, the muscles require more oxygen and therefore the heart works harder for sending the red blood cells to the muscles. During exercise, the heart needs to beat at an increased rate for providing with the energy creation. This increases the heart rate. The second reason is the bodys natural cooling effect. When the body is getting hotter due to exercises, the heart works faster for sending the blood to the skin. This lets the body to cool down and supply the muscles with the needed energy that is required for continuing the exercise. After the exercise has been stooped, the heart rate comes back to its resting position in a slow process and it requires almost an hour to get back the normal pulse rate (Vicente-Campos et al. 2014). References Abramson, D.I. ed., 2013.Blood vessels and lymphatics. Elsevier. Bellini, C. and Hennekam, R.C., 2014. Clinical disorders of primary malfunctioning of the lymphatic system. 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Vahanian, A., Alfieri, O., Andreotti, F., Antunes, M.J., Barn-Esquivias, G., Baumgartner, H., Borger, M.A., Carrel, T.P., De Bonis, M., Evangelista, A. and Falk, V., 2012. Guidelines on the management of valvular heart disease (version 2012).European heart journal,33(19), pp.2451-2496. van der Putte, S.C., 2012.The development of the lymphatic system in man(Vol. 51). Springer Science Business Media. Vicente-Campos, D., Lpez, A.M., Nuez, M.J. and Chicharro, J.L., 2014. Heart rate recovery normality data recorded in response to a maximal exercise test in physically active men.European journal of applied physiology,114(6), pp.1123-1128. Wysocki, W.M., BurzyÅ„ski, T., Stelmach, A., Blecharz, P., Mituņº, J.W., Wysocka, J. and Komorowski, A.L., 2013. Total number of lymph nodes and number of metastatic lymph nodes harvested during radical mastectomy did not influence early postoperative drainage volume.Ginekologia polska,84(8), pp.696-699.