Anatomy Flashcards
(189 cards)
What is the function of arteries, capillaries and veins?
Arteries = take blood away from the heart Capillaries = exchange nutrients Veins = collect and return blood to heart
What is the function of the lymphatics?
Drain excess extracellular fluid from tissues - blood goes into tissues and plasma leaks out of capillaries into ECF - lymphatic channels return this ‘lymph’ to the venous circulation
What splits into the right and left pulmonary artery?
Pulmonary trunk
Where does the inferior mediastinum begin and what is it split into?
T4 - sternal angle
Anterior, middle and posterior
What is contained within the middle mediastinum?
Heart, origins of the great vessels
Where is the mediastinum found?
Between the 2 pleural cavities
What is the function of the azygos vein?
Transports deoxygenated blood from the posterior walls of the thorax and abdomen into the superior vena cava - it enters the vena cava at T4
What does the heart sit on top of?
The diaphragm
What are the 3 parts to the aorta and what is their vertebral levels?
Ascending Aortic arch (begins and ends at T4) Descending (descends from T4 downwards - thoracic then abdominal aorta)
What are the two main circulations?
Pulmonary and systemic
What vertebral level does the pulmonary trunk split?
T4
How many vessels enter the LA posteriorly?
2 left and 2 right pulmonary veins
What drains into the RA?
Superior and inferior vena cava (one single channel)
Does the right side of the heart face the front or back?
Right side of the heart faces the front and left faces the back
What are the coronary arteries?
Surround the heart on the surface (pericardium) and dive into the myocardium and feed it with oxygenated blood
What are the three branches that come of the aortic arch?
Brachiocephalic trunk - right subclavian artery and right common carotid artery
Left common carotid
Left subclavian artery
What does ‘common’ mean?
That its going to split - e.g. common carotid splits into external and internal carotid artery (the external carotid supplies the face and the internal carotid supplies the brain), common illiac splits into internal and external illiac artery (external illiac goes onto form the femoral artery)
What lies at the base (back) of the heart?
LA (and the LV)
Where does the apex beat lie?
Mid-clavicular line, 5th intercostal space (just below nipples)
What chamber makes up the apex?
LV
Where does the trachea bifurcate?
T4
In a cross section through the chest, what will you find?
The thoracic cavity contains principally two pleural cavities with, between them, the mediastinum
What chamber is most anterior in a cross section of the thorax?
RV
What chamber is most posterior in a cross section of the thorax?
LA