Cardiovascular System Flashcards
organs involved in the cardiovascular system
heart, blood vessels, blood
cardiovascular system
closed system of the heart and blood vessels
- the heart pumps blood
- blood vessels allow blood to circulate to all parts of the body
deliver oxygen and nutrients and remove carbon dioxide and other waste products
facts about the heart
- located in thorax between the lungs, slightly toward the left lung, apex towards left hip
- about the size of your fist and less than 1 lb
three types of blood vessels
arteries (and aterioles), capillaries, veins (and venules)
arteries
- carry blood away from the heart
- constrict or dilate, changing blood pressure
- middle layer of the artery wall consists of smooth muscle that can constrict to regulate blood flow and blood pressure
artery layers
- tunica intima (tunica interna)
- tunica media
- tunica externa (tunica adventitia)
tunica intima (tunica interna)
simple squamous epithelium surrounded by a connective tissue basement membrane with elastic fibers
tunica media
- primarily smooth muscle and usually the thickest layer
- provides support for the vessel and changes vessel diameter to regulate blood flow and pressure
tunica externa (tunica adventitia)
- attaches the vessel to the surrounding tissue
- connective tissue with varying amounts of elastic and collagenous fibers
capillaries
- have walls
- only one thick cell to allow exchange of games and nutrients with tissue fluid
- capillary beds are present in all regions of the body
- contraction of the sphincter muscle closes off a bed
- blood can flow through the arteriovenous shunt that bypasses the capillary bed
veins
- carry blood to the heart
- blood passes through the capillaries, enters through the smallest veins called venules
- veins have much less smooth muscle and connective tissue than arteries
- have valves that prevent the backward flow of blood when closed
- carry about 70% of the body’s blood and act as a reservoir during hemorrhage
heart
- cone-shaped muscular organ located between the lungs and behind the sternum
- heart muscle forms the myocardium, with tightly interconnect cells of cardiac muscle tissue
- the pericardium is the outer membrane sac with lubricating fluid
4 chambers of the heart
two upper, thin walled: Right and Left Atria
two lower, thick walled: Right and Left Ventricles
septum
a wall dividing the right and left sides of the heart
atrioventricular valves
- tricuspid valve on right
- bicuspid/mitral valve on left
what are the tricuspid/bicuspid valves supported by
chordae tendineae
passage of blood flow
- Superior and Inferior Vena Cava
- Deoxygenated Blood fills Right Atrium
- Through Tricuspid Valve into Right Ventricle
- Through Pulmonary Valve into Main Pulmonary Artery
- Into Lungs
- Into Pulmonary Veins
- Into Left Atrium
- Through Bicsupid Valve into Left Ventricle
- Through Aortic Valve into Aorta
- Out into the body
high blood pressure
also called hypertension, caused when the force of blood pushing against the artery walls is too high and the heart has to work harder to pump blood
normal blood pressure
Lower than 120/80 mmHg
elevated blood pressure
top ranges from 120 to 129 mmHg
bottom is below 80 mmHg
stage 1 hypertension
top is 130 to 139 mmHg
bottom is 80 to 89 mmHg
stage 2 hypertension
top is 140 mmHg or higher
bottom is 90 mmHg or higher
damage to arteries
- high blood pressure can damage cells of the artery
- when fats from food enter the bloodstream, they can collect in arteries
- artery walls become less elastic, limits blood flow throughout the body
damage to heart
- high blood pressure strains heart
- over time, this can cause the heart muscle to weaken or become stiff and not work as well as it should
- hypertensive heart slowly started to fail