Unit 3 reflection

This unit was all about the cardiovascular system of the human body. We went into the the function and structure of the cardiovascular systems as well as the different parts it is composed of such as the heart, the blood vessels, and blood. The cardiovascular system provides oxygen and transport nutrients and waste throughout all of the cells in the human body. The pump is the heart, which contracts and relaxes its chambers to pump blood throughout the different blood vessels in the human body. The blood then goes to the lungs where it gains oxygen and this oxygen is then carried by the blood and pumped to all of the cells of the human body. Cardiovascular health relates primarily to the health of the heart and blood vessels. This includes having a healthy blood pressure that is around 120/80, eating healthily and exercising regularly. Normally heart disease, is caused by plaque build up in the arteries, a condition called atherosclerosis. This is primarily as a result of a poor diet with high LDL cholesterol and low HDL cholesterol. As a result the arteries can even swell up and an aneurysm can occur, or get blocked by the plaque and cause a heart attack. The primary thing to do to prevent this from happening is eating healthily and exercising.

This unit for me was the most interesting out of all of the units we have done so far. I am fascinated by the structure and function of the heart and how critical the organ is to our survival. The cardiovascular system is incredibly complex and learning about all of the different structures it contains and functions it has was interesting. This unit I did feel I studied much more frequently and did not cram as much as I did for the last unit. I studied incredibly hard for the temp checks that we had and that allowed me to remember most of the information for the test. All I needed to do was review and test myself in order to prepare for the test. One setback I did encounter was the notebook check. I realized my notebook became more and more disorganized and as a result I had forgotten to do one relate and review causing me to lose 10 points. I will work on my organization of the notebook much more on the next unit making sure to keep it up to date.

For the remainder of the semester my main goal is to learn as much as I can. I do not care as much about how well I do on the tests as I do to being able to understand the information and apply it to my own life. I realize that in the future, I will probably be studying the human body as a bio-medical engineer. This is a potential career path I have chosen as the human body fascinates me. I hope to start studying more for my own learning and knowledge, reading more of the textbook and learning more about the different organ systems than just taught in class.





structure of the human heart





heart and the blood vessels of the body






sphygomamometer

a device used to measure blood pressure