Circulatory System Diagram and its Parts: Cardiovascular System Diagram and Lymphatic System Diagram

The following circulatory system diagram has two parts: a cardiovascular system diagram and a lymphatic system diagram. Together they make up the circulatory system.

Circulatory System Diagram =

Cardiovascular System Diagram + Lymphatic System Diagram

The blood, heart, and blood vessels form the cardiovascular system. The lymph, lymph nodes, and lymph vessels form the lymphatic system.

The lymphatic system is the part of the immune system made up of a network of conduits (tubes) called lymphatic vessels. They carry a clear fluid called lymph in one direction toward the heart.

Lymph is a clear, watery, sometimes faintly yellowish fluid that comes from body tissues and contains white blood cells. White blood cells are cells of the immune system involved in defending the body against both infectious disease and foreign materials.

The cardiovascular system diagram shows heart and major blood vessels.

In the cardiovascular system diagram (part of the circulatory system diagram) arteries are colored red, while veins are colored blue.

The human heart is a muscular organ which propels blood in the body by alternately dilating and contracting.

The blood vessels are the part of the cardiovascular system that transport blood throughout the body. There are two main types of blood vessels: Arteries and veins.

Arteries are the blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart chambers. Arteries transport oxygen and nutrients to the cells of the body. Smaller arteries are called arterioles. And the smallest arteries are called capillaries.

Capillaries are where the exchange of nutrients and gases between blood and tissue occurs.

Nutrients are exchanged for waste products of metabolism, such as carbon dioxide and other substances which are eliminated by the natural cleansing and detoxification functions of the body.

Veins are the blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart. The capillaries join to the smallest veins, called venules and the blood circulates back to the heart.

Circulatory system vs. cardiovascular system

The cardiovascular system of the heart and blood vessels is sometimes called the circulatory system - which can create confusion because they aren't the same.

The cardiovascular system is one part of the circulatory system, as shown by the two parts of the circulatory system diagram.

You can remember the difference from the words themselves - "cardio-" means "of the heart" and vascular refers to blood vessels. So the cardiovascular system has the heart and blood vessels. The entire circulatory system, made up of both the cardiovascular and lymph systems, "circulates" both blood and lymph.

Related articles:

Function of the Cardiovascular System

Return to Health Related Articles from Circulatory System Diagram

[Return to the top of the page]