Chapter 12 (Midterm 2) Flashcards
(103 cards)
Why does the left side of the heart have more myocardium tissue than the right side?
it needs more pressure to move blood throughout the body and maintains the same flow rate as the right side
What differentiates the arterioles from the other microcirculation vessels?
covered in smooth muscle cells = regulates pressure and controls where blood flows
What differentiates the venules from the other microcirculation vessels?
covered in of connective tissue = can stretch more
What differentiates the capillaries from the other microcirculation vessels?
purely consists of endothelial cells = site of exchange
What are the two advantages of parallel blood flow?
allows the control of blood flow to each organ, deO2 blood/waste are not traveling from one organ to another
What is the importance of parallel blood flow?
to make sure that each of the peripheral organs and tissues receives only a fraction of the blood pumped by the left ventricle
What drives blood flow?
resistance from the vessels and the pressure from the heart
What is hydrostatic pressure?
pressure exerted by any fluid
What is resistance (R) to flow?
how hard it is for blood to flow between two points at any given pressure difference
What is resistance controlled by?
the vessels
What is pressure controlled by?
the heart
What is the equation for blood flow?
the difference in high and low pressure (from the heart) divided by the resistance (from the vessels)
What is the myocardium?
middle layer of the heart muscle
What is the myocardium composed of?
cardiac muscle and forms the bulk of the heart mass
What is the function of myocardium?
the layer of the heart that contracts = generates force to pump blood out of the heart
What are the important features of cardiac muscles that are unique?
many large mitochondria, high resistance to fatigue, few wide T-tubules, no triads
What is the advantage of having a high resistance to fatigue for cardiac muscles?
no relaxation stage = constant beating
What are intercalated discs?
connecting junctions between cardiac cells
What do intercalated discs contain?
desmosomes and gap junctions
What is an advantage of having an increased number of desmosomes?
heart increases in surface area
What is the function of desmosomes?
holds the cardiac cells together and prevents them from separating during contraction = allows for a unison beating
What is the function of gap junctions?
allows ions to pass from electrically coupled adjacent cells
What does functional syncytium mean?
to be a single coordinated unit
What allows the heart to be a functional syncytium?
gap junctions