Charles A. Washington is a choreographer, performer and musician based in Dresden, Germany. He is the Artistic Director of his project-based dance company called Pinkmetalpetal Productions. At present his primary artistic focus is to try and create spaces and expressions that explore the impossible, the uncertain and the eerie. In 2018 Charles graduated with a MA in choreography, and in 2021 he completed his Miesterklasse research called “We are all a subculture?” at the Palucca University of Dance Dresden


Also, know as the blood-vascular or circulatory system, the cardiovascular system consists of the <a href="https://theframe.pinkbeton.com/d/heart">heart</a>, <a href="https://theframe.pinkbeton.com/d/blood-vessels">arteries, veins and capillaries</a>. Blood is pumped by the heart around the circulatory system in a closed circular circuit of vessels through the various ‘circulations’ of the body.

In early embryological stages, the cardiovascular system appears much earlier than any other major organ system. The primitive heart begins to beat regularly as early as four weeks after fertilisation. The cardiovascular system maintains homeostasis and an environment that is favourable for cellular development. In the continuous and controlled movement of blood through thousands of miles of capillaries that permeate every type of tissue and reach every cell in the body, can the cardiovascular system respond to the cellular need and maintain homeostasis. In the microscopic capillaries the blood performs its primary function. In the capillaries, nutrients and other essential materials pass from the capillary blood into the fluid surrounding the cells as waste products are removed. As the different tissue and cells under different circumstances have different needs, numerous control mechanisms help regulate and integrate blood supply to specific body areas.&nbsp;

<a href="https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cardiovascular/">Cardiovascular System</a>


Also, known as the blood-vascular or circulatory system, the cardiovascular system consists of the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries. Blood is pumped by the heart around the circulatory system in a closed circular circuit of vessels through the various ‘circulations’ of the body.

Cardiovascular 

The function of the blood vessels through the body is to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the cells, carry away waste products, and maintain blood pressure—the blood vessels make up two closed circuits that begin and end in the heart. The pulmonary vessels make up one system, which transports blood from the heart's right ventricle to the lungs and back to the left atrium of the heart. The systemic system carries blood from the left ventricle to the tissues in all parts of the body and then returns the blood to the right atrium. The two systems create a closed helical circuit where the blood travels with the heart in the centre. The amount of blood vessels in the body is remarkable and, if stretched out into a single line, would cover 100000 km for an average grown adult.&nbsp; There are three main types of blood vessels in the body: arteries, capillaries and veins.&nbsp;

The role of the artery is to carry blood away from the heart. The pulmonary arteries superior to the heart transports deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle and branches to the left and right lungs. Once the blood is fully oxygenated, the systemic arteries pump the blood from the left venatical to all body tissues. From both ventricles, blood is pumped into large elastic arteries that branch out repeatedly and decrease in size, getting smaller until the branching results in microscopic arteries called arterioles. The walls of arteries are much thicker than veins because of the high blood pressures in them. The arteries and arterioles play a key role in controlling the blood pressure by contracting and opening their diameter. They also regulate the blood flow into the tissue for the different needs of the body. At any given time, within the systemic arterial system, there is 10% of the total blood volume.&nbsp;

Even though the walls of arteries are much thicker than veins because of the high blood pressure,&nbsp; arteries and the veins consist of three layers.&nbsp;

- Layers of the blood vessels&nbsp;

The innermost layer, the tunica intima, is made up of a simple tissue called the&nbsp;squamous epithelium, which embryologically derives from the mesoderm (middle body). The squamous epithelium tissue&nbsp;is surrounded with elastic fibres by connective tissue and a basement membrane, which forms an anatomical barrier between the cells and the connective tissue. The basement membrane relays important signals to differentiate and maintain tissue.

The middle layer, the tunica media, is made primarily of smooth muscle and normally the thickest layer. As well as providing support to the vessel, it also is responsible for the changes in the diameter of the vessel to regulate blood flow and blood pressure.&nbsp;

The outermost layer, the tunica external or tunica adventitia, attaches the vessel to the surrounding tissue. This layer is connective tissue with varying amount of elastic and collagenous fibres. The connective tissue in this layer changes from being quite dense at the tunic media edge to being loose near the periphery of the vessel.&nbsp;

The capillaries are microscopic thin-walled vessels that act as a bridge between the arteries and veins. The thin walls of the capillaries allow oxygen and nutrients to pass from the blood into the tissue, they also allow waste products from the tissue to pass into the blood. The capillary walls are made up of a thin cell layer called endothelium that’s surrounded by a thin layer of the&nbsp;basement membrane. There are three types of capillaries in the body and they differ in how much gases, water, sugar (glucose) hormones, molecules and new blood cells pass-through&nbsp;

The different capillaries are distributed thought the body in a varying degree that corresponds to the metabolic activity of body tissue. Skeletal muscles, liver and kidney, have extensive capillary networks because they are metabolically active and depend on an abundant supply of oxygen and nutrients. Other types of tissues don’t require such an abundant supply of oxygen and nutrients, such as connective tissue. The epidermis, the lens and the cornea of the eye are almost void of a capillary network.&nbsp;

Overall within the capillaries, 5 per cent of the total volume of blood is at any given time in the systemic capillaries, while 10 per cent is in the lungs.&nbsp;

The role of veins is to transport blood to the heart. Blood flows from the capillaries into venules that are tiny veins that lead into progressively larger and larger veins until they reach the heart. The veins in the pulmonary circuit&nbsp;transport the oxygenated blood from the lungs to the heart's left atrium. In the systemic circuit, the veins transport the deoxygenated blood to the right atrium of the heart. The blood has a reduced amount of oxygen because the oxygen has been used for metabolic activities in the tissue cell.&nbsp;

The walls of veins have the same three layers of arteries see - Layers of the blood vessels (above). Even though the three layers are present in veins, there is less smooth muscle and connective tissue. As there is less pressure in the veins, the walls can be thinner, and as they are thinner and less rigid, veins can hold more blood. Within the veins, there is almost 70 per cent of the total blood volume at any given time. So that the blood moves in the direction of the heart under low pressure, there are venous valves in the medium and large veins, which prevents the backflow of blood.

The function of the blood vessels through the body is to deliver oxygen and nutrients to the cells, carry away waste products and in part maintain blood pressure. The vessels makeup two closed circuits that begin and end at the heart. 

 Blood vessels

In embryological development, the heart forms from the embryonic tissue called mesoderm (the middle body), which migrate inward and to the centre of the embryo as the yoke sack of the endoderm (the front body) are drawn inward. It draws with it a membrane and the brain and amniotic cavity of the ectoderm (back body). As the embryo unfolds, it draws the brain away from the heart and the membrane. The membrane continues its journey around down and inwards and develops into the diaphragm. In the development of the helical heart shape, the heart moves down and right, and inwards and left, spiralling on itself to create the helical shape. In part, the diaphragmatic surface (inferior surface ) of the heart remains connected to the central tendon and a small part of the left muscular portion of the diaphragm.&nbsp;

Once fully developed, the heart, as a muscular pump, will provide the necessary force to circulate blood to all the tissues in the body.&nbsp; The heart's function is to pump the blood that supplies oxygen and nutrients and removes metabolic waste products from the tissues. The normal adult heart pumps approximately 5 litres of blood every minute. If the heart loses its pumping effectiveness for just a few minutes, the individual’s life will be in danger.&nbsp;

<a href="https://www.imaios.com/en/e-Anatomy/Anatomical-Parts/Diaphragmatic-surface-Inferior-surface">Heart</a>

<a href="https://training.seer.cancer.gov/anatomy/cardiovascular/heart/">Heart</a>

<a href="https://www.bodymindcentering.com/">Heart</a>

The function of the heart is to pump the blood that supplies oxygen and nutrients and removes metabolic waste products from the tissues.

Heart 

Also, know as the blood-vascular or circulatory system, the cardiovascular system consists of the heart, arteries, veins and capillaries. Blood is pumped by the heart around the circulatory system in a closed circular circuit of vessels through the various ‘circulations’ of the body.

Collection: Cardiovascular System

Documents