Body Fluids and Circulation Practice Flashcards

Comprehensive vocabulary flashcards covering blood composition, grouping, cardiac cycle, ECG, and circulatory disorders based on the provided biology lecture notes.

Blood

A special connective tissue consisting of a fluid matrix, plasma, and formed elements.

Plasma

A straw coloured, viscous fluid constituting nearly $55 \%$ of the blood, containing $90-92 \%$ water and $6-8 \%$ proteins.

Fibrinogen

A major plasma protein needed for the clotting or coagulation of blood.

Globulins

Plasma proteins primarily involved in the defense mechanisms of the body.

Albumins

Plasma proteins that help in maintaining osmotic balance.

Serum

Plasma without the clotting factors.

Formed Elements

A collective term for erythrocytes, leucocytes, and platelets, which constitute nearly $45 \%$ of the blood.

Erythrocytes (RBC)

The most abundant blood cells; a healthy adult man has an average of $5$ millions to $5.5$ millions per $mm^{-3}$ of blood.

Haemoglobin

A red coloured, iron-containing complex protein in RBCs; healthy individuals have $12-16\,gms$ in every $100\,ml$ of blood.

Spleen

An organ known as the 'graveyard of RBCs' where erythrocytes are destroyed after their average life span of $120$ days.

Leucocytes (WBC)

Nucleated, colourless blood cells lacking haemoglobin, numbering on average $6000-8000\,mm^{-3}$ of blood.

Neutrophils

The most abundant type of WBC ($60-65 \%$) which are phagocytic cells that destroy foreign organisms.

Basophils

The least abundant WBC ($0.5-1 \%$) which secrete histamine, serotonin, and heparin and are involved in inflammatory reactions.

Eosinophils

WBCs ($2-3 \%$) that resist infections and are associated with allergic reactions.

Monocytes

Phagocytic agranulocytes ($6-8 \%$) that destroy foreign organisms entering the body.

Lymphocytes

Agranulocytes ($20-25 \%$) appearing in 'B' and 'T' forms which are responsible for the immune responses of the body.

Platelets (Thrombocytes)

Cell fragments produced from megakaryocytes in the bone marrow, numbering $1,500,00-3,500,00\,mm^{-3}$ of blood.

ABO Grouping

Blood classification based on the presence or absence of surface antigens A and B on the RBCs.

Universal Donors

Individuals with group 'O' blood because they can donate to persons with any other blood group.

Universal Recipients

Persons with 'AB' group blood who can accept blood from any other blood group.

Erythroblastosis Foetalis

A fatal condition caused by Rh incompatibility where maternal Rh antibodies destroy fetal RBCs in subsequent pregnancies.

Clot (Coagulum)

A network of threads called fibrins in which dead and damaged formed elements of blood are trapped.

Thrombokinase

An enzyme complex required to convert prothrombin into thrombin during blood coagulation.

Lymph

A colourless fluid (tissue fluid) containing specialized lymphocytes and responsible for immune responses and carrying nutrients like fats.

Open Circulatory System

A system where blood pumped by the heart passes through large vessels into open spaces or body cavities called sinuses, found in arthropods and molluscs.

Double Circulation

A circulatory pattern in birds and mammals where oxygenated and deoxygenated blood flow through two separate pathways.

Pericardium

A double walled membranous bag that protects the heart and encloses the pericardial fluid.

Sino-atrial node (SAN)

A patch of nodal tissue in the right atrium called the 'pacemaker' that generates $70-75$ action potentials per minute.

Cardiac Cycle

A sequential event in the heart cyclically repeated consisting of systole and diastole of both atria and ventricles, lasting $0.8\,seconds$.

Stroke Volume

The volume of blood pumped out by each ventricle during a cardiac cycle, approximately $70\,mL$.

Cardiac Output

The volume of blood pumped out by each ventricle per minute, averaging $5000\,mL$ or $5\,litres$ in a healthy individual.

Electrocardiogram (ECG)

A graphical representation of the electrical activity of the heart during a cardiac cycle.

P-wave

The ECG peak representing the electrical excitation (or depolarisation) of the atria.

QRS Complex

The ECG component representing the depolarisation of the ventricles, initiating ventricular contraction.

T-wave

The ECG peak representing the repolarisation of the ventricles (return from excited to normal state).

Hepatic Portal System

A unique vascular connection where the hepatic portal vein carries blood from the intestine to the liver before reaching systemic circulation.

Hypertension

High blood pressure, indicated by repeated checks of $140/90$ or higher; normal is $120/80$.

Atherosclerosis (CAD)

Coronary Artery Disease caused by deposits of calcium, fat, or cholesterol that make the lumen of arteries narrower.

Angina Pectoris

A symptom of acute chest pain appearing when not enough oxygen reaches the heart muscle.

Heart Failure

A state where the heart is not pumping blood effectively enough to meet body needs, often characterized by lung congestion.