All Flashcards
(308 cards)
What are the four chambers that the heart is split into
Two upper chambers: right atrium and left atrium
Two lower chambers: right and left ventricles
What is the heart made of
A specialised cardiac muscle that does not tire like other muscles
Aorta
Main artery of the body
Leaves the heart from the left ventricle
Pulmonary artery
Carries the deoxygenated blood from the heart to the lungs
Vena cava
One of the largest veins in the body
Pulmonary vein
Carries oxygenated blood form the lungs to the left atrium of the heart
What are the four major blood vessels entering or leaving the heart
Aorta
Pulmonary artery
Vena cava
Pulmonary vein
What are the four main valves in the heart
Tricuspid
Bicuspid/mitral
Pulmonary
Aortic
Tricuspid valve
First valve that blood encounters as it enters the heart
Allows blood to flow only from the right atrium to the right ventricle
Bicuspid/mitral valve
Allows blood to flow from the left atrium to the left ventricle
Pulmonary valve
At the opening from the right ventricle and stops blood going back from the pulmonary artery into the heart
Aortic valve
Found at the exit of the left ventricle where the aorta begins
Why is the heart sometimes referred to as a double pump
Because it pumps blood through two separate circulatory systems
What two circulatory systems does the heart pump blood through
Pulmonary
Systemic
Pulmonary circulatory system
The right side of the heart receives deoxygenated blood form the body and pumps it to the lungs
Systemic circulatory system
The left side of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the rest of the body
How does the blood flow through the heart
Blood from lungs (oxygenated) returns to the heart via the pulmonary vein and enters the left atrium
Blood passes through the bicuspid/mitral valve into the left ventricle
Out of the aorta and carries the oxygenated blood to the rest of the body
Deoxygenated blood returns form the body to the right atrium via the superior and inferior vena cava
Squeezed through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle
Through the pulmonary artery which carries the deoxygenated blood to the lungs
Heart contracts
Systole
Heart relaxes
Diastole
What are the 3 stages of the cardiac cycle
Atrial systole
Ventricular systole
Complete cardiac diastole
Atrial systole
Contraction of the right and left atria
Ventricular systole
Contraction of the ventricles
Complete cardiac diastole
Relaxation of the atria and ventricles
The sinoatrial (SA) node
Situated in the upper wall of the right atrium of the heart
Known as the ‘pacemaker’ responsible for setting the rhythm of the heart
Ensures both atria contract simultaneously