Cardiovascular System Flashcards
(123 cards)
Cardiovascular system
Heart, arteries, veins, and
microvascular beds.
Pulmonary circulation
The right side of the heart pumps blood through pulmonary vessels, through the lungs for oxygenation, and back to the left side of the heart.
Systemic circulation
This is larger; it pumps blood from the left side of the heart through vessels supplying the head, limbs, and many organs, and back to the right side of
the heart.
Lymphatic vascular system
Returns interstitial fluid
from tissue spaces of the body to the blood.
General Blood Flow in the Heart
- Superior vena cava and inferior vena cava, returning systemic, deoxygenated blood, empty into the right atrium; no valves are present.
- Blood passes through the tricuspid (right atrioventricular) valve into
the right ventricle. - Blood then passes through the pulmonary (semilunar) valve, through
the pulmonary trunk and then two pulmonary arteries, to the lungs. - Blood returns from the lungs via the left and right pulmonary veins, and
enters the left atrium (no valve). - Blood then passes through the bicuspid (L atrioventricular) valve to the
left ventricle. - Blood next passes through the aortic valve (also semilunar) into the
ascending aorta, then to the aortic arch, which has branches to the head and upper limbs. - Blood then passes down the descending aorta to the rest of the body (lower limbs, abdominal organs, etc.).
Valves on Right Side of Heart
Tricuspid valve
(= R Atrioventricular)
Pulmonary valve
(= Semilunar)
Valves on Left Side of Heart
Mitral Valve
(= Biscuspid or L Atrioventricular)
Aortic Valve
(= Semilunar)
Diastole
Contraction of the atria.
Semilunar valves close and AV valves open
During diastole, the ventricular volume increases
Systole
Contraction of the ventricles
AV valves close and Semilunar valves open
Phonocardiogram
The sound labeled 1st
contributes to the S1 heart sound (the pulse) and is the reverberation of blood from the sudden closure of the mitral valve (left A-V
valve) and the tricuspid valve.
The sound labeled 2nd contributes to the S2 heart sound and is the reverberation of blood from the sudden closure of the aortic valve and the pulmonary valve (both semilunar).
Regurgitation
Abnormal valves may not close tightly, allowing slight regurgitation and backflow of blood.
May produce an abnormal heart sound referred to as a heart murmur.
Stenosis
The heart valves may not open properly (stenosis), and more force is needed to push blood through.
May produce an abnormal heart sound referred to as a heart murmur.
Endocardium
The innermost lining of the the heart. Contains areolar tissue and endothelium
Consists of a thin inner layer of endothelium and supporting connective tissue, a middle myoelastic layer of smooth muscle fibers and connective
tissue, and a deep layer of connective tissue called the subendocardial layer that
merges with the myocardium.
Myocardium
The middle and thickest layer. It is mainly cardiac muscle.
The myocardium is much thicker in the walls of the ventricles, particularly the left, than in the atrial walls.
Epicardium
Contains epithelium and areolar tissue
The outermost layer. It is a simple squamous
mesothelium supported by a layer of loose connective tissue containing blood vessels and nerves, and adipose tissue.
Pericardial sac
A double-layered sac that encases the heart. Between the two layers (parietal pericardium and visceral
pericardium), a fluid lubricates the surfaces and reduces friction between the layers when the heart beats.
Sinoatrial (SA) node
A node of specialized myocardial tissue in the right atrium known as the pacemaker
Impulses initiated by cells of the SA node move along the myocardial fibers of both atria, stimulating contraction.
Atrioventricular (AV) node
A node of specialized myocardial tissue in the right atrium followed by the AV bundle (of His) and the subendocardial conducting network.
Impulses reach the AV node from the SA node and stimulate depolarization of its
cells.
Conducting muscle fibers from the AV node form the AV bundle, pass into the interventricular septum, and bifurcate into
the wall of each ventricle as the left and right bundle
branches.
Purkinje fibers
Subdivisions of the left and right bundle branches that trigger waves of contraction through both ventricles simultaneously.
Innervation of the heart
Stimulation of the parasympathetic division (vagus nerve) slows the heartbeat, whereas stimulation of the sympathetic nerve accelerates activity of the pacemaker.
Atrial fibrillation
An abnormal heart rhythm (arrhythmia) characterized by rapid and irregular beating of the atrial chambers of the heart.
May cause ventricular tachycardia.
Ventricular Fibrillation
An abnormal heart rhythm in which the ventricles of the heart quiver, due to disorganized electrical activity.
Types of tissue in blood vessels
Walls of all blood vessels except capillaries contain three types of tissue:
smooth muscle, connective tissue, and endothelium.
Endothelium
A specialized epithelium that is a semipermeable barrier between the blood and the interstitial tissue fluid. The endothelial cells of blood vessels are squamous, polygonal, and elongated