Cardiovascular System

Question 1

What are the intercalated discs of the cardiac muscle made up of? What does each part do?

Answer 1

Gap Junctions: allow for quick communication b/w cells for a coordinated contraction
Fascia Adherens: tension is distributed b/w cells

Question 2

What is the job of the arteries?

Answer 2

Carry blood away from the heart

Question 3

What is the job of the veins?

Answer 3

Carry blood towards the heart

Question 4

What are the steps of the pulmonary circuit? What is its job?

Answer 4

Right atrium –> Right ventricle –> Pulmonary trunk –> pulmonary arteries —> lungs –> pulmonary veins –> left atrium; allows blood to pick up oxygen; Route b/w heart and lungs

Question 5

What are the steps of the systemic circuit? What is its job?

Answer 5

Left ventricle –> aorta –> cells of body –> veins –> right atrium; brings oxygen to cells; route b/w heart and body tissues

Question 6

What is the pericardium? What are the different layers?

Answer 6

Serous membranes that surround the heart; Outer layer = fibrous pericardium, Inner layers= serous pericardium

Question 7

What does the tough, fibrous pericardium do? What is it made of?

Answer 7

Anchors heart, prevents overfilling; dense IR CT

Question 8

What are the different layers of the serous pericardium?

Answer 8

Visceral pericardium= flush to the heart

Parietal pericardium

Question 9

What is the pericardial cavity filled with?

Answer 9

Pericardial fluid that reduces friction b/w contracting heart and outer wall of pericardial sac

Question 10

What are the 4 chambers of the heart?

Answer 10

Right atrium, Right ventricle, Left atrium, Left ventricle

Question 11

What are the chordae tendineae? What are they made of?

Answer 11

“heart strings”, dense regular CT, ensure that blood goes in one direction

Question 12

Why is the left ventricular myocardium is thicker than the right?

Answer 12

Needs to be stronger to pump blood to whole body

Question 13

What are the 2 atrioventricular valves? What do they do?

Answer 13

Tricuspid (right) & Bicuspid (left); Keep blood flowing in one direction

Question 14

What is the semilunar valve? Where are they located?

Answer 14

Prevent blood from flowing backwards towards ventricles; Pulmonary semilunar = b/w right ventricle & pulmonary trunk, Aortic semilunar = b/w left ventricle and aorta

Question 15

What is the fibrous skeleton?

Answer 15

Barrier b/w atria and ventricles that prevents an electrical impulse from passing

Question 16

What is the cardiac conduction system?

Answer 16

Nodes and bundles in cardiac muscle conduct electrical impulses through the heart

Question 17

What is the Sinoatrial node? Where is it?

Answer 17

In right atrium; initiates electrical impulse, stimulates atria via internodal pathway stimulated AV node

Question 18

What are the broad steps of the cardiac cycle?

Answer 18

Atrial Diastole (muscle relaxing), Atrial Systole (contraction), Ventricular Systole (contraction), Ventricular Diastole (relax)

Question 19

What supplies blood to the heart?

Answer 19

Right coronary artery & left coronary artery

Question 20

What do the cardiac veins do?

Answer 20

Drain blood to coronary sinus –> empties into right atrium

Question 21

What is atherosclerosis?

Answer 21

Buildup of plaque in arteries causing narrowing, making blood flow more difficult

Question 22

What is a myocardial infarction?

Answer 22

heart attack; result of blood not reaching cardiac muscle tissue

Question 23

What are the layers of blood vessels? What makes up each?

Answer 23

Tunica Intima (Simle squamous), Tunica media (smooth muscle), Tunica Externa (loose areolar CT)

Question 24

What is the vasa vasorum?

Answer 24

Some large vessels have their own blood supply

Question 25

How do arterial walls compare to veins?

Answer 25

They are thicker and stronger because they are under high pressure

Question 26

What is the function of elastic arteries? Where are they found?

Answer 26

The ability to expand and recoil helps smooth out pressure surges. Found right off the ventricles

Question 27

How do muscular arteries differ from elastic arteries?

Answer 27

Less elastin and more smooth muscle

Question 28

Characteristics & Functions of Arterioles

Answer 28

Are branches of muscular arteries; Constrict and dilate quickly to regulate blood flow; Large arterioles (3 tunics), Small arterioles (2 tunics)

Question 29

What are capillaries? What are they made of?

Answer 29

Very thin blood vessels that allow for exchange of components, made of only a single layer of tunica intima (simple squamous) and basement membrane

Question 30

What are precapillary sphincters?

Answer 30

Smooth muscle that constrict or get wider to regulate blood flow

Question 31

What happens when precapillary sphincters are open? Closed?

Answer 31

Precapillary Sphincters open --> blood fills capillary beds Precapillary Sphincters closed --> blood passes through capillary bed via a channel- tissue supplied by this capillary bed are bypassed

Question 32

What are the different types of the capillaries?

Answer 32

Continuos, fenestrated, sinusoidal

Question 33

Characteristics & Functions of Continuous Capillaries

Answer 33

Tight junctions decr. permeability; Intercellular clefts allow small molecules to pass; have pericytes; most common, found in skeltal muscles, skin, and nervous system

Question 34

Characteristics & Functions of Fenestrated Capillaries

Answer 34

High rate of molecular exchange between tissue and blood; have pores through endothelial cells called fenestrations ("windows")

Question 35

Characteristics & Functions of Sinusoid Capillaries

Answer 35

Special fenestrated capillary; most permeable; large intercellular clefts, incomplete basement membrane, few tight junctions

Question 36

What is the blood brain barrier made of? Why?

Answer 36

Continuous capillaries have low permeability so that few things can get through

Question 37

A red blood cell leaving the heart and traveling to the small intestine would travel through how many capillary beds before returning to the heart?

Answer 37

Two

Question 38

What does a venule do?

Answer 38

Drain capillaries

Question 39

What are the valves in veins made of? What do they do?

Answer 39

Folds of tunica intima; keep blood moving forward under low pressure

Question 40

What causes a varicose veins?

Answer 40

Incompetent valves in veins --> blood pools, stretching veins and causing misshapen vessels

Question 41

What are arterial and vein anastomoses?

Answer 41

Provide alternative pathways for blood to reach a given body region

Question 42

What are the 2 parts of blood pressure?

Answer 42

Systolic: arterial pressure when left ventricle contracts Diastolic: arterial pressure when left ventricle relaxes

Question 43

What are the 3 main classes of blood cells?

Answer 43

Erythrocytes, Leukocytes, Platelets

Question 44

What is the shape of red blood cells?

Answer 44

Biconcave

Question 45

What is erythropoiesis? What is needed?

Answer 45

Production of RBCs from stem cells in red bone marrow; Iron needed to produce new cells

Question 46

What type of antigens would Type A blood have? Type B? Type AB? Type O?

Answer 46

A: A antigens B: B antigens AB: A & B antigens O: neither A or B antigens

Question 47

What type of antibodies would Type A blood have? Type B? Type AB? Type O?

Answer 47

A: anti-B B: anti-A AB: None O: anti-A & anti-B

Question 48

What is the Rh factor? When does it become a problem?

Answer 48

Rh is a protein that is either present (+) or absent (-) on RBC. Rh antibodies are able to pass through the placenta and attack a fetus. Becomes a problem when cells from Rh+ fetus enter woman's bloodstream