Every living thing, from tiny bacteria, to giant oak trees, to you and me, is made of tiny things called cells.  When groups of cells work together, they form structures called tissues.

When groups of tissues work together, they form structures called organs.  Your brain, lungs, and heart, are all examples of organs.

When groups of organs work together, they make organ systems, which are sometimes just called systems.  Your body has many systems, including the cardiovascular system.

In this lesson, you will learn more about the cardiovascular system, and the important things it does to keep you alive.

Scientific Concepts:

  • Learn about blood, blood vessels, and the heart
  • Learn how the flow of blood throughout the body helps us live
  • Learn the process of circulation
  • Learn about common diseases of the cardiovascular systems and how to minimize the risk of getting these diseases


Select a Lesson

Stethoscope
Stethoscopes are instruments used to amplify sounds like your heartbeat. Your doctor is trained to use a stethoscope not only to count the beats, but he or she can also hear things like your blood entering and exiting the heart and its valves opening and closing. Pretty cool! Today you will make and test a …
Heart Rate Monitoring
When you exercise your body requires more oxygen in order to burn the fuel that has been stored in your muscles.  Since oxygen is moved through your body by red blood cells, exercise increases your heart rate so that the blood can be pumped through your body faster. This delivers the needed oxygen to your …
Measuring the Heart’s Health
The heart is the most important organ in the cardiovascular system. You may heard your heart beat when you were at the doctor’s office, but you may never have thought about what the heart was actually made of. The heart is made of four sections, or chambers. The two chambers at the top of the …
Seeing Your Pulse
Your blood travels through your body very quickly. You probably already know that you can place your finger on certain points – like the radial artery in your wrist – and count the beats of your heart as it pumps blood throughout your body. In this experiment, we will explore other ways to amplify your …
Donating Blood
If you’ve ever had a blood test, you may have wondered, perhaps as that needle was getting closer and closer, what exactly is the point of this? As it turns out, quite a lot. The standard blood test measures many things. There are also specific blood tests a doctor might order based on a person’s …