Final Exam Prep

Aortic valve

A valve located between the left ventricle ascending aurora and prevents the backflow of blood in the left ventricle; also called aortic semilunar valve

Aorta

The largest blood vessel in the body

Arterioles

The smallest arteries, which control systemic blood flow and total peripheral resistance by contraction or relaxing

AV node

The heart’s secondary pacemaker; also part of the conduction system where electrical impulses are generates; located in the lower right atrium

Artery

A blood vessel that is traveling away from the heart and is full of oxygen. The exception to oxygenated blood travel away from the heart is found in the pulmonary artery which carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs

Atrium

One of the upper chambers of the heart; primarily functions as a reservoirs for incoming blood; the plural form is atria

Bicuspid valve

A valve that separates the left atrium from the left ventricle; prevents backflow of blood into the left atrium during ventricular systole; also called mitral valve

Capillary

A very thin and fragile blood vessel; the smallest blood vessel in the body

Coronary arteries

Originating off the aorta, these arteries wrap around and are imbedded in the heart muscle to supply rich oxygenated blood to the atria and ventricles

Chorda tendinea

Fibrous connective tissue that attaches the tips of the mitral and tricuspid valves to the papillary muscles of the ventricle, thus preventing the atrioventricular valve from being pushed backward into the atria during ventricular contraction; the plural form is chordae tendinea

Cardiac output

A measure of pulmonary blood volume pumped by the ventricle in 1 minute

Coronary Sinus

The collecting site for deoxygenated blood from the heart that will be drained into the right atrium.

Coronary sulcus

A depression surrounding the external surface of the heart muscle; separates the atrium from the ventricles

Endocardium tissue

The innermost layer of the heart wall, lines the chambers and the heart valves

Great Coronary Vein

A blood vessel that carries waste from the heart muscle form the coronary Sinus

His-Purkinje system

Consists of the bundle of His, the left and right bundles branches, and the Purkinje fibers, and is located surrounding the ventricles

Epicardium tissue

The smooth outer layer of the heart wall where the coronary arteries are located; also called visceral pericardium

Pulmonary artery

A blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs from the right ventricle

myocardium tissue

the thickest layer of muscle tissue in the heart wall

inferior vena cava

A vein that drains deoxygenated blood from the body below the heart into the right atrium

papillary muscle

a muscle that holds the tricuspid and mitral valves in place along the heart wall

pulmonary circulation

the process that takes place when deoxygenated blood leaves the heart to gather oxygen in the lungs and then returns to the heart as oxygenated blood

systemic circulation

the blood flow from the heart to the body except to the lungs; the process of oxygenated blood leaving the heart through the aorta and completing a loop throughout the body via the arteries and veins

SA node

The first side in the heart where electrical impulses are generated; often reffered to as the “heart’s pacemaker located in the upper right atrium”

pulmonic valve

A valve located between the right ventricle and the pulmonary arteries; also called pulmonary semilunar valve

Septum

A dividing wall in the heart made of thick muscle which separates the right side of the heart from the left side of the heart

superior vena cava

A vein that drains deoxygenated blood from the upper body into the right atrium; also called precava

total peripheral resistance

A change in blood pressure measured as blood completes the cycle from arterial blood leaving the heart to venous blood returning to the heart

Vein

A blood vessel that carries deoxygenated blood back to the heart, except for the four pulmonary veins, which carry oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium

tricuspid valve

A valve located between the right atrium and right ventricle which prevents the backflow of blood into the right atrium during ventricular systole

Vasoconstriction

A process where blood vessels constrict, reducing in diameter, which causes the blood pressure, vascular resistance, and body temperature to increase while blood flow and heart rate are decreased; opposite of vasodilated

Vasodilation

Blood vessels widen, increasing in diameter. Vasodilation is the opposite of vasoconstriction so blood pressure vascular resistance, and body temperature are decreasing and blood flow and heart rate increases

Ventricles

The lower Chambers of the heart

Venules

The smallest veins

Papillary muscles

A muscle that holds the tricuspid and mitral valves in place along the heart wall

chordae tendineae

Fibrous connective tissue that attaches the tips of the mitral and tricuspid valves to the papillary muscles of the ventricles thus preventing the AV valve from being pushed backward into the atria during ventricular contractions; the plural form is chordae tendineae

Coronary arteries

Originating off the aorta, these arteries wrap around and are imbedded int the heart muscle to supply rich oxygenated blood to the atria and ventricles

Atria

One of the upper Chambers of the heart; primarily functions as a reservoir for incoming blood; the plural form is atria

Capillaries

A very thin and fragile blood vessel; the smallest blood vessel in the body

Alveoli

Tiny air sacs located in the lungs at the end of the bronchus where oxygen and carbon dioxide is exchanged

COPD

A progressive lung disease which, over time, prevents normal breathing due to damage of the alveoli or thickening of the bronchi

Central Nervous system

The master controller, made up of the brain and the spinal cord

Cerebral vascular accident

A stroke, blood flow to the brain is blocked or greatly reduced, either by blood clots or plaque buildup, or by blood vessel hemorrhage

Autonomic nervous system

The ANS’ chief function is to act as a control system in the body through brain activity and nerve endings; also called involuntary nervous system or visceral nervous system

Bronchi

A subdivision of the trachea that brings air into the lungs

Diaphoresis

excessive sweating

Dyspnea

Shortness of breath

Homeostasis

The process of stabilizing the body’s internal environment so that all the body’s organs work optimally

Electrolytes

Compounds that are soluble in water and form free ions which then conduct electricity

Diaphragm

The muscle that separates the thoracic cavity from the abdomen; its main purpose is to control breathing

dysautonomia

conditions, malfunctions, or disease of the Autonomic nervous system

hyperkalemia

high blood potassium

metabolic syndrome

A group of symptoms or risk factors including abdominal obesity, high blood pressure, high triglyceries, high fasting blood glucose level, and low high-density lipoprotein, cholesterol level, which, when, combined, can be underlying cause of many cardiovascular diseases, including heart attacks and strokes

Metabolism

The body’s process of using water, oxygen, ions, and other components of blood to grow, heal, and create energy

Infarct

Localized dead tissue area where a hemorrhagic event occurred

Nephrons

Areas in the kidney where urine is produced

Hypertension

High blood pressure

Neurons

Basic nerve cells that carry signals along electrochemical waves for communication

Neurotransmitters

Chemicals that transmit signals to the adrenal glands

Peripheral nervous system

Consists of 12 pairs of cranial nerves and 31 pairs of spinal nerves that utilizes three specialized types of nerve cells to communicate from the CNS to the body

Parasympathetic Nervous system

The function of the PSNS is to conserve energy, which is done through sleep, resting, or lack of potential threats often referred to as the heart;s rest and digest response outside stimuli or the lack of any stimuli

pH

A measure of the amount of acidity and alkalinity in the body

renin

A secretion created in the kidneys that produces angiotensin 2, which is a powerful arterial and venous constrictor

Obstructive sleep apnea

A sleep disorder where the airway becomes blocked or collapses, preventing oxygen from reaching the lungs

Sympathetic Nervous system

A system that regulates the rate and forces of a contraction through stimulation; often referred to as the heart’s “fight or flight” response because the heart and respond by increasing the strength and rate of contractions very quickly in response to stress and other stimuli

trachea

a tube that brings air to and from the lungs

thermoregulation

regulation of the body’s core temperature

vagus nerve

the primary nerve providing communication between the brain and the heart

Action potential

a change in polarity of a cardiac cell, from negative charge to positive charge or from positive charge to negative charge

Afterload

a force that interferes with systemic blood flow from the left ventricle, caused primarily by astrial vascular resistance

bundle of His

An electrical conduction pathway that connects the upper and lower Chambers of the heart

automaticity

a unique characteristic of myocardial cells to spontaneously create electricity without outside stimulation or internal stimulation by the nervous system

Atrial kick

An atrial contraction that forces the remaining blood to enter the ventricles before the AV valves close

Cardiac cycle

The time it takes for the heart to complete one cycle from ventricular contraction to ventricular relaxation

bundle branches

two electrical conduction pathways that sends impulses to the ventricles by connecting the bundle of His to the Purkinje network

conductivity

the unique ability of myocardial cells to transmit and receive electrical impulses to and from other myocardial cells

depolarization

sodium ions cross the cell membrane, causing a reversal intracellular membrance charges from negative to positive

end diastolic volume

the volume of blood in the left ventricle when the ventricles is filled to capacity; typical adult level is 120 mL

contractility

the ability of the myocardial cells to shorten and contract before recovering from a ventricular contraction

diastole

the resting phases of a heart muscle, when the chambers fill with blood

end systolic volume

the volume of blood that remains in the left ventricle after a contraction; typical adult level is 50 mL

excitability

a cardiac cell’s unique ability to respond to electrical stimulus; also called irritability

intracellular

located within cell membrane

peripheral vascular resistance

arterial opposition to blood flow; can be measured by blood pressure reading

heart rate

the number of times the heart beats in 1 minute

polarization

a process where a cell is at rest, the intracellular membrane is negatively charged

extracellular

located outside a cell membrane

internodal pathways

four pathways that provide a route for electrical impulses to travel; three pathways travel from the SA node to the AV node, and the fourth path carries the impulse from the SA node to the left atrium

preload

at the end of diastole, the amount of blood in the left ventricle and the pressure used to stretch the muscle fibers

repolarization

a process where electrolytes cross cell membranes back to the original polarity, thus returning the heart to a resting state and leaving the extracellular charge positive and the intracellular charge negative

resting state

a cardiac cells is considered to be in a resting state when is not contracting; also called resting membrane potential or polarized state

Purkinje network

A group of network fibers that serve as the third pacemaker of the heart; generates electrical impulses and a rate of 20-40 beats per minute

pulse pressure

the difference between diastolic blood pressure and systolic blood pressure

refractory period

a time during the repolarization phase when cardiac cells cannot receive additional electrical impulses

starling’s law of the heart

the degree of the stretch of the heart muscle; is directly related to the force of the blood being ejected from the ventricles

Stroke volume

the amount of blood ejected by the ventricle with each contraction

systole

the contraction phase of a heart muscle

Deoxygenated blood flows toward the heart in _______.

Veins

The heart has ________ valves.

4

The upper Chambers of the heart are called_______

atria