Anatomy and Physiology: Heart Anatomy, Blood Smear Evaluation, and Blood Typing

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering heart anatomy, peripheral blood smear evaluation, hematopoiesis, blood composition, and ABO blood typing principles.

Apex of the Heart

The inferior, pointed tip of the heart, anatomically positioned at approximately the fifth intercostal space along the midclavicular line.

Base of the Heart

The posterosuperior aspect of the heart where the great blood vessels (such as the aorta, pulmonary trunk, and superior vena cava) emerge.

Pericardium

The double-walled protective sac surrounding the heart, consisting of an outer fibrous pericardium, a parietal pericardium, a pericardial cavity, and a visceral pericardium (epicardium).

Coronary Sulcus

The surface groove encircling the heart that marks the boundary between the atria and ventricles and houses blood vessels such as the right coronary artery.

Internal Heart Structures

The internal cardiac anatomy showing four chambers (right and left atria, right and left ventricles), the interventricular septum, atrioventricular valves (tricuspid and bicuspid/mitral) attached via chordae tendineae to papillary muscles, and semilunar valves (pulmonary and aortic).

Chordae Tendineae

Cord-like fibrous bands connecting the papillary muscles in the ventricular walls to the leaflets of the atrioventricular valves to prevent regurgitation during ventricular contraction.

Peripheral Blood Smear (PBS)

A diagnostic procedure involving microscopic examination of venous or capillary blood on a glass slide, used with complete blood count (CBC) results to perform differential counts, detect RBC/platelet morphological abnormalities, and diagnose hematologic disorders.

Differential Count

The microscopic counting and percentage determination of each specific type of white blood cell (neutrophils, lymphocytes, monocytes, eosinophils, and basophils) present on a blood film.

Spreader Slide Angle

The $30^\text{o}\text{ to }35^\text{o}$ angle at which a spreader slide must be held and moved across the blood film slide during the preparation of a wedge peripheral blood smear.

Zone of Morphology

The optimal, single-cell monolayer zone on a peripheral blood smear located between the thicker body and the feathered tail where cellular morphology is evaluated without cell distortion or overlapping.

Methods for Differential Count

Microscopic scanning techniques across a stained blood smear to systematically enumerate WBCs, including the battlement method, longitudinal strip method, and step technique.

Hemocytoblast (Multipotential Hematopoietic Stem Cell)

The pluripotential bone marrow stem cell capable of self-renewal that differentiates into the common myeloid progenitor and common lymphoid progenitor lineages.

Common Myeloid Progenitor

The hematopoietic progenitor branch that gives rise to erythrocytes, mast cells, megakaryocytes (which fragment into thrombocytes), and myeloblasts (which mature into basophils, neutrophils, eosinophils, and monocytes/macrophages).

Common Lymphoid Progenitor

The hematopoietic progenitor branch that gives rise to natural killer cells (large granular lymphocytes) and small lymphocytes (T lymphocytes and B lymphocytes, the latter differentiating into plasma cells).

Normal Blood Composition Proportions

The standard constituent breakdown of whole blood by volume: $55\%$ plasma, $44\%$ red blood cells, and $1\%$ white blood cells and platelets.

Reticulocyte

An immature erythrocyte that has extruded its nucleus but still contains aggregated remnants of ribosomal RNA visible as blue reticular networks under supravital staining.

Relative Reticulocyte Percentage (Adult vs. Newborn)

The reference range for circulating reticulocytes expressed as a percentage of total RBCs: $0.5\%\text{ to }2.5\%$ in adults, and $2.0\%\text{ to }6.0\%$ in newborns due to rapid fetal red blood cell production.

Agglutination

The visible clumping of red blood cells caused by an antigen-antibody (Ag-Ab) reaction when specific antibodies bind to corresponding antigens on erythrocyte surfaces.

Forward Blood Typing

The blood grouping method used to identify ABO antigens on patient red blood cells using known commercial reagent antibodies (antisera).

Reverse Blood Typing

The blood grouping method used to identify ABO antibodies present in patient plasma or serum using known commercial reagent red blood cells.

Blood Group A

The ABO blood type characterized by red blood cells displaying A antigens on their surface and plasma containing anti-B antibodies.

Blood Group B

The ABO blood type characterized by red blood cells displaying B antigens on their surface and plasma containing anti-A antibodies.

Blood Group AB

The ABO blood type characterized by red blood cells expressing both A and B antigens, with neither anti-A nor anti-B antibodies present in the plasma.

Blood Group O

The ABO blood type characterized by red blood cells having neither A nor B antigens on their surface, while the plasma contains both anti-A and anti-B antibodies.