Biology Ch 7. The Cardiovascular System Flashcards
Cardiovascular system
Consists of the heart, blood vessels, and blood
Heart
Composed of cardiac muscles and supports both the pulmonary and systemic circulation, four chambers, both sides have an atrium and a ventricle, left side has more muscle than right because the systemic circulation has a much higher resistance and pressure
Pulmonary circulation
Circulation system from the right ventricle to the lungs and then back to the left atrium
Systemic circulation
Circulation system throughout the body from the left ventricle and finally back to the right atrium
Atrioventricular valves
Separate the atria from the ventricles, tricuspid (three leaflets) on the right and mitral (bicuspid, two leaflets) on the left
Semilunar valves
Separate the ventricles from the vasculature, pulmonary on the right and aortic on the left, allow the heart to create the pressure within the ventricles necessary to propel blood forward within the circulation while also preventing back flow, both three leaflets
Blood pathway
Right atrium, tricuspid valve, right ventricle, pulmonary valve, pulmonary artery, lungs, pulmonary veins, left atrium, mitral valve, left ventricle, aortic valve, aorta, arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, veins, vena cava, right atrium
Electrical conduction of the heart
SA node, AV node, Bundles of His, Purkinje fibers
Sinoatrial node
SA node - where electrical conduction of the heart starts, generates 60-100 signals per minute without requiring any neurological input, small collection of cells located in the wall of the right atrium, causes two atria to contract simultaneously
Atrioventricular node
AV node - sits at the junction of the atria and the ventricles, signal delayed here so that the ventricles can fill completely before they contract
Bundles of His
Has branches embedded in the inter ventricular septum (wall)
Purkinje fibers
Distribute the electrical signal through the ventricular muscle
Systole
Results in an increase in atrial pressure that forces a little more blood into the ventricles then the AV valves are closed
Diastole
Period where the heart is relaxed and the semilunar valves are closed
Cardiac output
Product of heart rate x stroke volume, about 5 liters per minute for humans
Parasympathetic and sympathetic nervous system cardiac output
Sympathetic NS increased the heart rate and contractility, parasympathetic NS decreases heart rate
Vasculature
Consists of arteries, veins, and capillaries
Arteries
Thick, highly muscular structures with an elastic quality (high resistance to blood flow), allows for recoil and helps to propel blood forward within the system, blood travels away from the heart, largest is aorta , branch into arterioles, much more smooth muscle than veins, most oxygenated except pulmonary and umbilical
Arterioles
Small muscular arteries which control flow into capillary beds
Capillaries
Have walls that are one endothelial cell thick, very narrow and red blood cells must travel through them single file, site of gas, nutrient, and waste exchange, interface for communication of the circulatory system and tissues, delicate and when damaged, blood can enter interstitial space and result in bruise
Veins
Inelastic, thin-walled structures that transport blood to the heart, they are able to stretch in order to accommodate large volumes of blood but do not have recoil capability, are compressed by surrounding skeletal muscles and have valves to maintains one way flow, carry deoxygenated blood other than pulmonary veins and umbilical vein
Venules
Form from joined capillaries, join into veins
Portal system
A system in which blood passes through two capillary beds in series, not typical because usually blood only passes through one
Hepatic portal system
Blood travels from the gut capillary beds to the liver capillary bed via the hepatic portal vein
Hypophyseal portal system
Blood travels from the capillary bed in the hypothalamus to the capillary bed in the anterior pituitary
Renal portal system
Blood travels from the glomerulus to the vas recta through an efferent arteriole
Atria
Thin walled structures where blood is received from either the venae cavae
Ventricles
Send blood to lungs and the systemic circulation, more muscular than the atria
Atrial kick
Additional blood forced into the ventricles during atrial systole, accounts for only 5-30% of cardiac output because most ventricular filling is passive
Interventricular septum
Wall where bundle of His are embedded
Intercalated discs
Connects muscle cells, contain many gap junctions directly connecting the cytoplasm of adjacent cells, allows for coordinated ventricular contraction
Vagus nerve
Nerve through which parasympathetic signals travel to the heart slowing down the heart rate
Blood vessel endothelial cells
Endothelial cells lines all blood vessels, helps to maintain the vessel by releasing chemicals that aid in vasodilation and vasoconstriction, allow white blood cells to pass through the vessel wall and into the tissues during an inflammatory response, also release chemicals when damaged that are involved in the formation of blood clots to repair the vessel and stop bleeding
Venae cavae
Returns blood to right atrium of heart, divided into superior and inferior vena cava
Blood
Composed of cells and plasma
Erythrocyotes
aka red blood cells, lack mitochondria, a nucleus, and organelles in order to make room for hemoglobin, have biconcave shape to increase SA and for easier travel through capillaries, do not consume oxygen, get ATP via glycolysis, unable to divide
Hemoglobin
A protein that carries 4 oxygens, on erythrocytes
Hematocrit
The percentage of blood composed of erythrocytes