2 (18) The Cardiovascular System: The Heart Flashcards
Remember that the heart is two pumps in one:
- one for the pulmonary circulation
- one for the systemic circulation
Be able to trace the flow of blood through pulmonary circulation.
deoxygenated blood is carried away from the right ventricle, to the lungs, and oxygenated blood is returned to the left atrium and ventricle of the heart
Be able to trace the flow of blood through systemic circulation.
oxygenated blood carried from the left ventricle, through the arteries, to the capillaries in the tissues of the body… from the tissue capillaries, the deoxygenated blood returns through a system of veins to the right atrium of the heart
What is the definition of an artery?
any vessel that carries blood away from the heart
What is the definition of a vein?
any vessel that carries blood to the heart
Does this mean that arteries always carry well-oxygenated blood? What are the exceptions?
no, arteries from the right ventricle carry deoxygenated blood to the lungs
Where in the body is the heart located? (Be specific!)
(between the lungs) in mediastinum
Describe the three layers of the pericardium.
outer fibrous layer: prevents over-stretching, protection, anchors to surrounding tissue
inner serous layer: makes up the pericardial cavity
visceral pericardium: makes up the epicardium
What type of membranes are the visceral and parietal pericardium?
serous membrane
What is in the pericardial cavity?
serous fluid (acts to reduce surface tension and lubricate)
What is cardiac tamponade?
“heart plug”; a clinical syndrome caused by the accumulation of fluid in the pericardial space, resulting in reduced ventricular filling and subsequent hemodynamic compromise
What are the three layers of the heart wall?
- Epicardium: visceral layer of the serous pericardium
- Myocardium: middle layer; “muscle heart”; composed mainly of cardiac muscle; this is the layer that contracts
- Endocardium: third layer of the heart wall; squamous epithelium resting on a thin connective tissue layer continuous throughout circulatory system
Review cardiac muscle on a cellular level (refer back to muscle lectures).
Cardiac muscle is involuntary, striated, branched, typically mono-nucleate, and contain intercalated discs
What do desmosomes and gap junctions do? Where in the muscle fiber are they located?
- Desmosomes and gap junctions make up intercalated discs
- Gap junctions: connects cytoplasm of one cell to the next and allows movement of charged ions to help flow of electrical activity from one cell to the next; functional syncytium
- Desmosomes: “spot welds”
How does calcium function in heart muscle?
Calcium functions to trigger contraction of the heart
Where does most of the calcium used for heart muscle contraction come from?
Most calcium comes from outside the muscle fiber cells
What is the shape of the graph for heart muscle contraction, and what is going on during each phase?
- upside down U (like a normal curve?)
- pacemaker potential - slow depolarization = opening Na+ channels, closing K+ channels (never a flat line)
- action potential - begins when pacemaker potential reaches threshold, depolarization = Ca2+ influx
- repolarization - due to Ca2+ channels inactivating and K+ channels opening
The heart muscle cells contain many large mitochondria, which make up 25-35% of the cell volume. What does this indicate about how the heart produces energy and its ability to become fatigued?
many large mitochondria for aerobic respiration, indicates that the heart will not fatigue very easily
What is the fibrous skeleton of the heart? What 3 functions does it provide for the heart?
- Annuli fibrosi (dense, fibrous connective tissue) that is the origin of insertion for the heart muscle
- functions: anchors cardiac muscle fibers, supports the valves and keeps them open, prevents passage of electrical activity from atria into ventricles
What are the four chambers of the heart?
Right atria
Right ventricle
Left atria
Left ventricle
What grooves or sulci are found in the heart?
Coronary sulcus
Anterior interventricular sulcus
Posterior interventricular sulcus
Identify the trabeculae carnae, the papillary muscles and the chordae tendineae. What do the last two structures do for the heart?
- papillary muscles anchor chordae tendineae and play a role in valve function
- chordae tendineae: “heart stings”; anchor the cusps to the papillary muscles
Be able to name and locate the four valves of the heart.
Atrioventricular Valves - Tricuspid valve - Bicuspid valve Semilunar Valves - Aortic valve - Pulmonary valve
What are the major arteries and veins that supply blood to the heart itself?
Coronary arteries
- Left coronary artery: Anterior interventricular artery, Circumflex artery
- Right coronary artery: Right marginal artery, Posterior interventricular artery
# Coronary veins
- Cardiac veins
- Coronary sinus: Great cardiac vein, Middle cardiac vein, Small cardiac vein
- Several anterior cardiac veins
What are anastomoses, and how did they benefit the heart?
junctions that provide additional routes for blood delivery
What is ischemia?
reduced blood flow
What is hypoxia?
reduced oxygen supply