Cardiac Output & Capillary Exchange

These flashcards cover essential vocabulary and concepts related to cardiac output and capillary exchange as discussed in the lecture.

Cardiac Output (CO)

The volume of blood the heart pumps per minute

Stroke volume

The volume of blood pumped from the left ventricle per heartbeat, calculated as SV = EDV - ESV.

Tachycardia

An abnormally high heart rate that can decrease ventricular filling time.

Preload

The volume of blood in the ventricle before contraction, influencing stroke volume.

Afterload

The pressure the heart must work against to eject blood during systole.

Contractility

The heart's ability to contract and generate force, independent of preload and afterload.

Frank-Starling Mechanism

The relationship between stroke volume and end-diastolic volume, where an increase in volume leads to an increase in contraction strength.

Capillary Blood Pressure (BP)

The hydrostatic pressure within capillaries that forces fluid out into surrounding tissues.

Oncotic Pressure

Also known as blood-colloid osmotic pressure; caused by plasma proteins and encourages fluid to move back into capillaries.

Edema

The accumulation of fluid in the interstitial space, often due to increased capillary permeability or decreased plasma proteins.