Exam 2 – Cardio Ch 9 Flashcards
(119 cards)
What is a syncytium?
Cardiac cells are so interconnected that when one becomes excited, the action potential rapidly spreads to all of the cardiac cells
Act as one instead of individually
How many syncytiums does the heart have?
2
Atrial and ventricular
Where is the fibrous insulator between the atrium and ventricle located?
At the base of the heart
Why does the fibrous insulator exist between the atrium and ventricle?
This division of muscle of heart into two functional syncytiums allows atria to contract a short time ahead of ventricular contraction, which is important for effectiveness of heart pumping
Don’t want all four chambers contracting at once
KNOW INTERIOR STRUCTURES OF HEART
KNOW INTERIOR STRUCTURES OF HEART
What is a primer pump for the ventricle?
Atrium
How does the atrium act as a primer pump?
Helps move blood into the ventricle
What supplies the main pumping force for the heart?
Ventricles
What two pathways do the ventricles pump blood to?
- Through pulmonary circulation by right ventricle
2. Through systemic circulation by left ventricle
What are the characteristics of cardiac muscles?
Actin and myosin filaments Low resistance intercalated discs (1/400 the resistance of cell membrane) T-tubules for calcium membrane Striated Involuntary
What are the differences between cardiac and skeletal muscle?
Cardiac muscle is interdigitating, multi-nucleated that lie among membranes, and has intercalated disks
Calcium is needed for both
What allows for quick movement of calcium in cardiac muscle?
T tubules
Is the contraction longer in skeletal or cardiac muscle?
Cardiac
What are intercalated discs?
Cardiac muscle fibers are made up of many individual cells connected in series and in parallel with one another
What do the gap junctions in cardiac muscle allow?
Rapid diffusion of ions
What are the 3 types of cardiac muscle?
Atrial
Ventricular
Specialized excitatory and conductive muscle fibers
What is the resting membrane potential of cardiac muscle?
-85 to -95 millivolts
What is the action potential of cardiac muscle?
+105 millivolts
How long does the plateau last in ventricular muscle?
0.2-0.3 seconds
Is the plateau longer in cardiac muscle or skeletal muscle?
Cardiac
What does the presence of the plateau allow?
Allows ventricular contraction to last as much as 15 times as long in cardiac muscle as in skeletal muscle
IE: longer contractions
In cardiac muscle, what is the action potential caused by?
By opening two types of channels
What are the two channels that open and cause an action potential?
- Same voltage-activated fast Na+ channels as those in skeletal muscle
- L-type calcium channels (slow Ca++ channels) or sodium-calcium channels
What are the characteristics of the slow calcium channels?
Slower to open
Open longer
Both Ca++ and Na+ ions flow through channels to interior of cardiac muscle fiber