Cardiovascular System Flashcards
Apex
the top or highest part of something, especially one forming a point.
Base
the lowest part or edge of something, especially the part on which it rests or is supported.
Pericardium
Your pericardium is a fluid-filled sac that surrounds and protects your heart.
Atria
one of the two upper chambers in the heart that receives blood from the circulatory system
Ventricles
a hollow part or cavity in an organ.
Interatrial septum
a thin wall of tissue that separates the right and left atria of the heart.
Superior venae cavae
next to the right side of your sternum and goes into your right atrium, where all the oxygen-poor blood goes
Inferior venae cavae
the major vein that brings oxygen-poor blood from the lower body back to the heart.
Pulmonary arteries
blood vessels that carry oxygen-poor blood from the right side of your heart to your lungs.
Pulmonary veins
the blood vessels that carry oxygen-rich blood from your lungs to your heart
Aorta
Your aorta is the main blood vessel through which oxygen and nutrients travel from the heart to organs throughout your body.
Atrioventricular valves
those that connect the atrium to the ventricles and include the mitral valve as well as the tricuspid valve.
Bicuspid valves
has two flaps, called cusps, instead of three. It can cause the valve opening to become narrowed or blocked.
Tricuspid valves
The tricuspid valve is one of four heart valves. It helps blood flow in the correct direction from the right atrium to the right ventricle.
Chordae tendineae
connect the atrioventricular valves (tricuspid and mitral), to the papillary muscles within the ventricles
Semilunar valves
The semilunar valves permit blood to flow into the arteries from the ventricles and prevent the backward flow of blood from the arteries into the ventricles.
Coronary arteries
run along the coronary sulcus of the myocardium of the heart.
Cardiac veins
The cardiac veins returns deoxygenated blood (containing metabolic waste products) from the myocardium to the right atrium.
Coronary sinus
is the largest vein of the heart. It drains over half of the deoxygenated blood from the heart muscle into the right atrium.
Sinoatrial node
a specialized cluster of muscle fibers located in the right atrium of the heart
Purkinje fibers
large, with free-running fibers (false tendons) as well as a subendocardial network.
Pacemaker
a small, battery-powered device that prevents the heart from beating too slowly.
Systole
period of contraction of the ventricles of the heart that occurs between the first and second heart sounds of the cardiac cycle
Diastole
the phase of the heartbeat when the heart muscle relaxes and allows the chambers to fill with blood.
