MadSci: Circulatory System

Beat beat beat.. learn about the heart and other components of your circulatory system.

The heart What causes the first heart beat? What keeps a human heart beating? What is the heart made of? Why is the heart on the left side of the body? How does the heart regulate blood pressure? Why is it that the younger you are, the quicker your heart beats? Does the heart have its own blood supply? What is a heart murmur? Why are babies born with a hole in their heart called blue babies? Why does the right side of the heart have a TRICUSPID valve? How can you make a dead animal's heart beat using electricity? How does alcohol affect the human hear, and why does it speed up? Why do heart attack symptoms usually involve the left arm and shoulder? (More on referred pain.) Blood vessels If you stretched all the body's blood vessels end to end, how many miles would they extend? Blue color of veins. How long does it take for blood to circulate through the body? Why don't they scrape out clogged veins? How does atherosclerosis affect a person't blood pressure?

Circulatory Systems of Other Animals At what point in evolution did the circulatory system and heart develop? Circulatory systems in lower life forms? What is the difference between open and closed circulatory systems? Do all animals with kidneys have hearts and vice versa? Do worms have hearts? When bats hang upside-down, does all the blood rush to their head? Fast facts on the circulatory systems of the tiger, snake and jaguars. What is the size of an elephant heart?