Cardiovascular System Flashcards
What composes the cardiovascular system?
heart and blood vessels
What is perfusion?
delivery of blood per time per gram of tissue
mL/min/g
what is the goal of the cardiac system?
to provide adequate perfusion to all body tissues
What are the 3 types of blood vessels?
arteries
veins
capillaries
What do arteries do?
carry blood away from the heart
what do veins do?
carry blood back to the heart
what do capillaries do?
serve as sites of exchange, either between blood and alveoli in lungs or between blood and body cells
What are the 3 significant anatomical features of the heart?
two pump structures
great vessels that lead to and away from heart
2 sets of valves
What does the right side of the heart do?
receives deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the lungs
what does the left side of the heart do?
receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it to the body
What is an atrium?
the superior chamber of the heart that receives blood
what is a ventricle?
the inferior chamber of the heart that pumps blood away from the heart
What are the great vessels?
pulmonary trunk
aorta
vena cavae [superior vena cava (sva) and inferior vena cava (iva)]
pulmonary veins
What does the pulmonary trunk do?
transports blood from the right side of the heart
splits into the pulmonary arteries
what does the aorta do?
transports blood from the left side of the heart
what do the vena cavae do?
drain blood into the right side of the heart
what do the pulmonary veins do?
drain blood into the left side of the heart
what is the basic pattern of blood flow?
right side of the heart -> lungs -> left side of heart -> systemic cells
what are the two sets of valves in the heart?
the atrioventricular valves (AV), and the semilunar valves
where are the AV valves located?
between the atrium and ventricle of each side of the heart
what is another name for the right AV valve?
tricuspid valve
what is the tricuspid valve?
the right AV valve
what are other names for the left AV valve?
bicuspid valve
mitral valve
what is the mitral valve?
the left AV valve
what is the bicuspid valve?
the left AV valve
where are the semilunar valves located?
between a ventricle and its associated arterial trunk
where is the pulmonary semilunar valve located?
between the right ventricle and the pulmonary trunk
where is the aortic semilunar valve located?
between the left ventricle and the aorta
What are the 2 circulatory circuits?
pulmonary circulation and systemic circulation
what is the basic pattern of blood flow?
right side of the heart —> lungs —> left side of heart —> systemic tissues of the body —> right side of the heart
what is ventricular balance?
equal amounts of blood pumping by each ventricle through the 2 circulations
what is edema?
excess fluid in the interstitial space or within cells
what may happen if the right ventricle is impaired?
systemic edema - right ventricle can’t keep up with left ventricle, so fluid remains in systemic circulation
What may happen if the left ventricle is impaired?
Pulmonary edema - swelling and fluid accumulation in the lungs - impaired gas exchange
What is the pattern of blood flow through pulmonary circulation?
deoxygenated blood enters right atrium from vena cavae (SVC and IVC) and coronary sinus
blood passes through the right AV valve (tricuspid)
blood enters the right ventricle
blood passes through the pulmonary semilunar valve
blood enters the pulmonary trunk
blood continues through the right and left pulmonary arteries to both lungs
blood enters pulmonary capillaries of both lungs for gas exchange
oxygenated blood exits the pulmonary capillaries of the lungs and returns to the heart by right and left pulmonary veins
blood enters the left atrium of the heart
What is the pattern of blood flow through systemic circulation?
oxygenated blood enters the left atrium
blood passes through the left AV valve (bicuspid or mitrial valve)
blood enters the left ventricle
blood passes through aortic semilunar valve
blood enters the aorta
blood is distributed by the systemic arteries
blood enters systemic capillaries for nutrient and gas exchange
deoxygenated blood exits systemic capillaries and returns to the heart by systemic veins that drain into the SVC, IVC and coronary sinus
blood enters right atrium
where is the base of the heart?
posterior superior surface
Where is the apex of the heart?
the inferior conical end
what composes the pericardial sac?
fibrous pericardium (outer layer) parietal layer of serous pericardium (parietal pericardium)
What is the purpose of the fibrous pericardium?
restricts movements of heart and prevents heart from overfilling with blood
what is the fibrous pericardium made of?
dense irregular connective tissue
what is the closest membrane to the heart?
visceral layer of serous pericardium (epicardium)
What is the pericardial cavity?
potential space between the parietal and visceral layers
what is in the pericardial cavity?
serous fluid that is secreted by both layers - lubricates membranes and facilitates almost frictionless movement of heart as it beats
What is the deep groove that extends around the circumference of the heart?
coronary sulcus
separates atria from ventricles
what is the groove between the ventricles?
interventricular sulcus
what is located within the sulci?
coronary vessels
which side of the heart is prominent when viewing it anteriorly?
right atrium and right ventricles
what is the right auricle?
wrinkled, flaplike thing on right atrium (ear)
which side of the heart is most prominent when seen from posterior view?
left atrium and left ventricle
what is attached to the left atrium?
the pulmonary veins
What can you see from the anterior view of the heart?
right atrium and ventricle, right auricle, aorta and pulmonary trunk, small part of left auricle of left atrium, anterior interventricular sulcus and part of coronary sulcus
what can you see from the posterior view of the heart?
left atrium and ventricle, pulmonary veins, superior and inferior vena cavae, pulmonary arteries, posterior interventricular sulcus, part of the coronary sulcus that houses the coronary sinus
What is the difference in thickness between chambers of the heart?
ventricle walls are thicker than atria walls
left ventricle is typically 3 times thicker than right ventricle
what are the layers of the walls of each chamber of the heart?
epicardium
myocardium
endocardium
what is the outermost layer of the heart?
epicardium
what is another name for the epicardium?
visceral layer of serous pericardium
what is the epicardium?
serous membrane composed of simple squamous epithelium and underlying layer of areolar connective tissue
what is the myocardium?
middle layer of the heart wall composed of cardiac muscle tissue
thickest of 3 layers
what is the endocardium?
internal surface of the heart and external surfaces of the heart valves
simple squamous epithelium (called endothelium) and underlying layer of areolar connective tissue
what separates the right and left atrial chambers?
interatrial septum (thin)
what separates the right and left ventricles?
the interventricular septum (thick)
what are pectinate muscles?
ridges on the internal surface of the atria
what is the fossa ovalis?
oval depression in the right atrium interatrial septum
what is the fossa ovalis?
former location of fetal foramen ovale - shunted blood from right atrium to left atrium to bypass the lungs during fetal life
where is the opening of the coronary sinus
inferior to the fossa ovalis in the right atrium
what does the coronary sinus do?
drains blood from the heart wall
what are the trabeculae carneae?
muscular ridges in the ventricles
what are papillary muscles?
cone-shaped projections in the ventricles that anchor the chordae tendineae
what are chordae tendineae?
thin strands of collagen fibers that are attached to atrioventricular valves
where is the pulmonary semilunar valve located?
between the right ventricle and the pulmonary trunk
what is visible in the left atrium?
pectinate muscles, openings of pulmonary veins, left AV valve
how many papillary muscles are there in the right ventricle?
usually 3, but between 2-9
how many papillary muscles are there in the left ventricle?
2
what is visible in the left ventricle?
trabeculae carneae 2 papillary muscles chordae tendineae entrance to the aorta aortic semilunar valve
where is the aortic semilunar valve located?
between the left ventricle and the aorta
what are valves made out of?
endothelium-lined fibrous connective tissue flaps called cusps or leaflets
how many cusps do each AV valve have?
right AV - 3
left AV - 2
when do the semilunar valves open?
when the ventricles contract and the force of the blood pushes the AV valves open and blood enters the arterial trunks
when do the semilunar valves close?
when the ventricles relax and the pressure in the ventricle becomes less than the pressure in a great arterial trunk. blood in the arteries begins to fall backward toward the ventricle and is caught in the cusps of the semilunar valves and they close
which valves have chordae tendineae?
AV valves
what does cardiac muscle tissue look like?
short, branched cells with 1-2 nuclei
what surrounds cardiac cells?
endomysium - areolar connective tissue
what is the sarcolemma?
plasma membrane of the cardiac muscle
what forms T-tubules?
invaginated sarcolemma
what is a sarcomere?
the distance from one z disc to another z disc
where are the t-tubules of cardiac muscles
overlie the z discs (invaginate once per sarcomere)
what does the sarcoplasmic reticulum (SR) surround?
bundles of myofilaments called myofibrils (myofibrils are the bundles of myofilaments)
when does maximum overlap of thick and thin filaments occur in cardiac muscle?
when cardiac muscle is stretched as blood is added to a heart chamber (not when cardiac muscle is relaxed - different from skeletal muscles)
what do neighboring cardiac muscle cells have?
extensively folded sarcolemma (plasma membranes)
what does the folded sarcolemma of cardiac muscle cells allow?
permits adjoining membranes to interconnect - increasing surface area between neighboring cells - facilitates communication between cardiac muscle cells
what are intercalated discs?
structures that link cardiac muscle cells together both mechanically and electrically - contain desmosomes and gap junctions
what connects cardiac muscle cells together?
intercalated discs
what do desmosomes do?
protein filaments that act like glue to prevent cardiac muscle cells from pulling apart
what do gap junctions do?
protein pores between sarcolemma of adjacent cardiac muscle cells
allow ion flow - action potential flow across sarcolemma of cardiac muscle cells - making chamber function as single unit
what are the features of intercalated discs?
desmosomes and gap junctions
what features of cardiac muscle support its great energy demand?
extensive blood supply, numerous mitochondria, + other structures like myoglobin and creatine kinase
how much of cardiac muscle volume is mitochondria?
25%
what does cardiac muscle rely almost exclusively on? aerobic or anaerobic cellular respiration?
aerobic cellular respiration
what supports the heart internally?
fibrous skeleton composed of dense irregular tissue
what are the functions of the fibrous skeleton of the heart?
structural support at boundary between atria and ventricles
forms supportive fibrous rings to anchor heart valves
rigid framework for attachment of cardiac muscle tissue
electric insulator (doesn’t conduct AP), so prevents atria from contracting at same time as ventricles
How do muscles work when atria contract?
compress walls of chambers inward to move blood into the ventricles
how do the muscles of the ventricle work?
like wringing a mop - begins at apex of heart & compresses superiorly, moving blood into the great arterial trunks
how does the heart absorb oxygen and nutrients?
coronary circulation system
what are the coronary arteries?
vessels that transport oxygenated blood to the wall of the heart
what are the coronary veins?
vessels that transport deoxygenated blood away from the heart wall
where are the right and left coronary arteries located?
in the coronary sulcus
what are the branches of the ascending aorta?
right and left coronary arteries
where do the right and left coronary arteries originate?
immediately superior to the aortic semilunar valve in the ascending aorta
what are the branches of the right coronary artery?
right marginal artery - supplies the right border of the heart
posterior interventricular artery - supplies the posterior surface of left and right ventricles
what are the branches of the left coronary artery?
circumflex artery - supplies the left atrium and ventricle
anterior interventricular artery - (also called left anterior descending artery) - supplies anterior surface of both ventricles and most of the interventricular septum
what does the right marginal artery supply?
right border of the heart
what does the posterior interventricular artery supply?
posterior surface of both the left and right ventricles
what does the circumflex artery supply?
left atrium and ventricle
what does the anterior interventricular artery supply?
anterior surface of both ventricles and most of the interventricular septum
what are arterial anastomoses?
shared connections between arteries
what are end arteries?
arteries that terminate in capillary beds only
what is a functional end artery?
arteries that have anastomoses, but anastomoses are too tiny to shunt enough blood from one artery to another to maintain supply
what kind of artery are left and right coronary arteries?
functional end arteries
what is atherosclerosis?
when coronary arteries become narrowed or occluded with plaques (coronary artery disease)
what is angina pectoris?
poorly localized pain sensation on left side of the chest, left arm, shoulder, sometimes jaw and back
sympathetic pathways along T1-T5 spinal cord segments - usually results from strenuous activity
what is infarction?
death of tissue due to lack of blood supply
what is myocardial infarction?
heart attack - sudden and complete occlusion of a coronary artery
what are the main cardiac veins?
great cardiac vein, middle cardiac vein, small cardiac vein - all drain into the coronary sinus
where is the coronary sinus?
lies within the posterior aspect of the coronary sulcus
what is the function of the coronary sinus?
collects venous blood and drains deoxygenated blood from the heart wall directly into the right atrium of the heart
what are the structures of the heart’s conduction system?
sinoatrial node (SA node) atrioventricular node (AV node) atrioventricular bundle (AV bundle) Purkinje fibers
where is the sinoatrial node located?
in the posterior wall of the right atrium, adjacent to the entrance of the superior vena cava
what do the cells of the sinoatrial node do?
initiate the heartbeat - commonly referred to as the pacemaker of the heart
conduction system cardiac cells do what?
do NOT contract, but rather initiate and conduct electrical signals
where is the atrioventricular node located?
in the floor of the right atrium between the right AV valve and the opening for the coronary sinus
where is the atriventricular bundle located?
extends from the AV node into and through the interventricular septum - it divides into left and right bundles
How does sympathetic innervation of the heart work?
cardioacceleratory center sends nerve signals along sympathetic nerves, which results in an increase in both heart rate and force of contraction
where are the Purkinje fibers located?
extend from the left and right bundles from the apex of the heart and then continue through the walls of the ventricles
what initiates heart rate?
SA node
what regulates heart rate and strength of contraction?
autonomic nervous system
where is the cardiac center of the autonomic nervous system?
in the medulla oblongata
what does parasympathetic innervation do to heart rate?
cardioinhibitory center sends nerve signals along the vagus nerves (CN X) which results in a decrease in heart rate - no direct effect on the force of contraction
what does the right vagus nerve innervate?
SA node
what does the left vagus nerve innervate?
AV node
where do the neurons that extend to the SA node in the sympathetic nervous system begin?
T1-T5 segments of spinal cord
how does sympathetic innervation affect coronary arteries?
cause dilation of vessels to support increased blood flow to the myocardium
what controls parasympathetic and sympathetic influence on heart rate?
reflexes - chemoreceptors (CO2 and H+ levels) and baroreceptors (blood pressure changes)
what is another name for the atrial reflex?
Bainbridge reflex
what does the atrial reflex do?
protects the heart from overfilling
How does the Bainbridge reflex work?
initiated when baroreceptors (stretch receptors) in atrial walls are stimulated by an increase in venous return. Nerve signals increase along sensory neurons to cardioacceleratory center, increase in nerve signals along sympathetic axons to the heart -> heart rate increases so blood moves more quickly through the heart, decreasing atrial stretch.
what two events result in heart contraction and pumping blood throughout the cardiovascular system?
conduction system
cardiac muscle cells
how do cardiac muscle cells cause heart beat?
action potential spreads across the sarcolemma of the cardiac muscle cells, causing sarcomeres within cardiac muscle cells to contract. occurs twice during a heart beat - first in the cells of the atria, then in the cells of the ventricles.
what do cells in the SA node generate?
action potential
what kind of pumps do nodal cells have?
Na+/K+ pumps
what kind of leak channels do nodal cells have?
Na+ and K+
where is Na+ ion concentration greatest during resting membrane potential?
outside the nodal cells
where is K+ ion concentration greatest during resting membrane potential?
inside the nodal cells
what is the Resting membrane potential value for nodal cells?
-60 millivolts (mV)
what other kind of ion pumps do nodal cells have?
Ca2+ - create Ca2+ concentration gradient with more Ca2+ outside the cell than inside
What kind of voltage-gated channels do nodal cells have?
slow voltage-gated Na+ channels
fast voltage-gated Ca2+ channels
voltage-gated K+ channels
what is autorhythmicity?
SA nodal cells are capable of depolarizing and firing an action potential spontaneously without any external influence
What are the series of events that occur within SA nodal cells?
- reaching threshold
- depolarization
- repolarization
what happens during the reaching threshold step?
slow voltage-gated NA+ channels open. Na+ flows into nodal cells, changing resting membrane potential from -60mV to -40mV, which is the threshold value. - reached WITHOUT outside stimulation
what happens during depolarization?
membrane potential at threshold triggers opening of fast voltage-gated Ca2+ channels, Ca2+ entry into nodal cell causes change in membrane potential from -40mV to just above 0 mV (slightly positive). –> reversal of polarity = depolarization
what happens during repolarization?
Ca channels close, voltage-gated K+ channels open; K+ flows out to change membrane potential from + to -60mV = resting membrane potential. triggers opening of slow voltage-gated Na+ channels & process begins again
what is a normal resting heart rate
about 75 beats per minute
what does the vagus nerve do?
slows heart rate —> vagal tone
SA nodal cells spontaneously depolarize at about 100X/minute, but parasympathetic stimulation of SA node by vagus nerve slows it down.
what is pacemaker potential?
ability to reach the threshold without stimulation (nodal cells have it) due to slow Na+ channels opening.
what are differences between nodal cells and neurons?
- nodal cells do not require stimulation because they don’t have a stable resting membrane potential.
- depolarization occurs by entrance of Na+ into neurons but with Ca2+ into nodal cells
what are the steps of initiation and spread of an action potential through the cardiac conduction system
- action potential initiated in SA node is spread between cardiac muscle cell in the atria by gap junctions - allow almost instantaneous excitation of all muscle cells in the atrial walls. both atria contract at the same time
- AP is delayed at the AV node - AV nodes have smaller fiber diameters & fewer numbers of gap junctions so slow conduction rate (bottleneck) helped by insulating fibrous skeleton. Slows conduction by .1 second - allows atria to finish contracting & force blood into ventricles to complete ventricular filling before ventricles are stimulated to contract.
- AP travels from the AV node through the AV bundle to the bundle branches to the purkinje fibers.
- AP spreads throughout both ventricles via gap junctions - gap junctions allow almost simultaneous stimulation of cardiac muscle cells - usually within 120-200 milliseconds after firing of SA nodal cells
where does stimulation of ventricles begin?
at the apex so blood is ejected superiorly toward arterial trunks
what are the 3 types of blood vessels?
arteries
capillaries
veins
what are the layers of the vessel walls called?
tunics
what is the inside space of the blood vessel called?
lumen