Cardiovascular System Flashcards
(30 cards)
How many chambers does the human heart have?
Four chambers: right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium, left ventricle.
What is the function of the atria?
The atria receive blood and push it into the ventricles.
What is the function of the ventricles?
The ventricles pump blood to the lungs or the rest of the body.
What are the two main circulatory circuits in the body?
Pulmonary circuit and systemic circuit.
What does the pulmonary circuit do?
It transports blood to and from the lungs to exchange gases (oxygen and carbon dioxide).
Where does the pulmonary circuit start?
It starts in the right ventricle, which pumps blood into the pulmonary trunk.
What does the pulmonary trunk split into?
The pulmonary trunk bifurcates into the left and right pulmonary arteries.
What does the systemic circuit do?
It delivers oxygenated blood to all tissues and returns deoxygenated blood to the heart.
What is the function of the pulmonary trunk?
It carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs and splits into pulmonary arteries.
What are pulmonary arteries?
They carry deoxygenated blood from the heart to each lung.
Where does gas exchange occur in the lungs?
In the pulmonary capillaries surrounding the alveoli.
What do pulmonary veins do?
They return highly oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium.
What happens to blood in the left atrium?
It flows into the left ventricle, which pumps it into the aorta and systemic circuit.
What are the major veins returning deoxygenated blood to the heart?
The superior vena cava and inferior vena cava.
What is the function of the superior and inferior vena cava?
They return blood to the right atrium from the upper and lower body.
What is hypertrophic cardiomyopathy?
A pathological enlargement of the heart muscle, often undiagnosed and with no known cause.
How does exercise affect cardiac muscle?
It increases the size of cells via hypertrophy, making the heart more efficient.
What is the approximate size of a human heart?
12 cm long, 8 cm wide, 6 cm thick—about the size of a fist.
Where is the heart located?
In the pericardial cavity, with the apex near the cardiac notch of the left lung.
What is the function of the pericardial cavity?
It reduces friction with lubricating fluid during heart contractions.
Define ‘atrium’ in terms of the heart.
An upper chamber that receives blood and pumps it into the ventricles.
Define ‘ventricle’ in terms of the heart.
A lower chamber that pumps blood out of the heart to the lungs or body.
What does the pulmonary trunk bifurcate into?
It divides into the left and right pulmonary arteries.
How many times do pulmonary arteries branch before reaching the capillaries?
They branch many times before reaching the pulmonary capillaries.
