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Cardiovascular System Flashcards

1
Q

What are the three major functions of the cardiovascular system?

A

Homeostasis, chemical distribution, and protection

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2
Q

In what ways does the cardiovascular system maintain homeostasis?

A

Temperature regulation, pH balance, blood pressure and fluid volume

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3
Q

what kinds of chemicals does the cardiovascular system distribute?

A

Oxygen, nutrients, hormones, and waste products

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4
Q

How does the cardiovascular system function for protection?

A

Immune responses (white blood cells) and preventing blood loss (clotting factors)

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5
Q

Describe the location of the heart in the body

A

In the mediastinum of thoracic cavity, diaphragm is inferior, sternum is ventral to it, spine is dorsal to it

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6
Q

From inside to outside, what are the layers of the heart wall?

A

Endocardium
Myocardium
Epicardium

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7
Q

What is another name for the epicardium?

A

Visceral pericardium

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8
Q

From inside to outside, what are the layers of the heart coverings?

A

Visceral pericardium
Pericardial space with serous fluid
Parietal pericardium
Fibrous pericardium

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9
Q

Trace a drop of blood through the heart

A 
Inferior and superior vena cava
Right atrium
Tricuspid valve
Right ventricle
Pulmonary semilunar valve
Pulmonary trunk
Pulmonary arteries (to lungs)
Pulmonary veins (away from lungs)
Left atrium
Bicuspid (mitral) valve
Left ventricle
Aortic semilunar valve
Aorta
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10
Q

Structure and function: interatrial septum

A

Separates the right and left atria

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11
Q

Structure and function: interventricular septum

A

Separates the right and left ventricles

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12
Q

Structure and function: auricle

A

Structure on atria that allows for further expansion when atrium is very full

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13
Q

Coronary arteries: location and function

A

Come off the base of the aorta and supply oxygenated blood to heart tissue

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14
Q

Coronary veins: location and function

A

Put deoxygenated blood from heart tissue back into the heart via the coronary sinus into the right atrium

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15
Q

Intercalated discs

A

Cell membranes on cardiac muscle cells form a zipper like interlocking pattern for greater strength

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16
Q

Desmosomes

A

Also called anchoring junctions, help to hold cells together at the intercalated discs

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17
Q

Gap junction

A

Hole between cells that allow for electrical impulses to be communicated. Present on intercalated discs

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18
Q

What does functional syncitium mean? What causes this phenomenon?

A

This means that the heart functions as one unit, not as individual cells. The presence of gap junctions makes this possible, because the cells can communicate with one another

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19
Q

Compare and contrast cardiac muscle and skeletal muscle

A

Cardiac: more mitochondria, less visible striations, calcium is used for a contraction stimulus but so are autorhythmic impulses. Longer refractory period, cannot achieve tetany
Skeletal: less mitochondria than cardiac, more visible striations, calcium is used as a contraction stimulus. Motor neurons serve for stimuli, with a shorter refractory period and an ability to achieve and maintain tetany

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20
Q

What ion is responsible for the plateau in cardiac muscle cell actions potentials?

A

Calcium ions (leak slowly into cell)

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21
Q

What is the purpose of the long AP plateau in cardiac muscle cells?

A

This happens so that no more stimulation of the membrane can occur. It forces the cell to level off and then depolarize so it doesn’t achieve tetany

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22
Q

What ion is responsible for the unique resting membrane potential of cardiac autorhythmic cells? What does this do?

A

Sodium is responsible for it. Sodium leaks slowly into the cell at a set rate, so that the muscle will depolarize at a constant rate (hence autorhythmic)

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23
Q

What is the role of the intrinsic conduction system?

A

It initiates and conducts autorhythmic impulses throughout the cardiac muscle cells

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24
Q

What are other names for the intrinsic conduction system?

A

Pacemaker potential or unstable membrane potential

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25
In what order do the autorhythmic cells fire?
SA node, AV node, AV bundle, right and left bundle branches, and the Purkinje fibers
26
What happens if the SA node malfunctions? What will happen to heart rate?
The AV node will take over and set the autorhythmic pattern, but heart rate will decrease because he AV node only fires about 50 times per minute
27
How often do the Purkinje fibers fire?
Around 30 times per minute
28
The P wave represents which electrical event?
Atrial depolarization
29
The QRS complex represents which electrical event(s)?
Ventricular depolarization and atrial repolarization
30
The T wave represents which electrical event?
Ventricular repolarization
31
Which electrical events lead to systole and diastole?
Depolarization leads to systole (contraction) and repolarization leads to diastole (relaxation)
32
Junctional rhythm
SA node doesn’t fire, so the AV node paces the heart. On the EKG, there will be no P wave
33
Partial or full heart block
AV node may or may not fire, so there will always be P waves but not always QRS complexes
34
What causes A fib and how will it present on an EKG?
Misfiring of the AV node, so the atria spasms irregularly. Will cause steep QRS complexes (when present) and lots of P waves
35
What pattern does V-fib present?
Completely irregular pattern. Not survivable for long
36
Which heart sounds associate with which valves closing?
“Lub” sound: first heart sound, AV valves closing | “Dup” sound: second heart sound, semilunar valves closing
37
What are two types of heart murmurs?
Stenosis and insufficient/incompetent valves
38
What happens in stenosis heart murmurs?
Valves fail to open completely due to narrowing/plaque buildup
39
What happens with insufficient/incompetent valves?
Valves fail to close completely, leading to back flow of blood
40
What is the formula for determining cardiac output?
Stroke volume x heart rate
41
In general, how is cardiac output increased?
By increasing stroke volume, heart rate, or both
42
How is stroke volume determined?
End Diastolic Volume (EDV) minus End Systolic Volume (ESV)
43
What are the three factors that affect Stroke Volume?
Preload, contractility, and afterload
44
What is preload?
Degree of stretch before contraction. There is an optimal length of stretch (think of actin and myosin crossbridging with maximum connections) that will cause recoil with greater force
45
how does preload affect stroke volume?
The muscle having the optimal amount of preload will cause to contract with greater force, increasing the stroke volume, thereby increasing cardiac output
46
What is contractility?
Contractile strength at any given muscle length
47
What two types of factors affect contractility?
Positive inotropic factors and negative inotropic facts
48
What are some positive inotropic factors and why do they affect contractility?
``` Calcium availability (more calcium = more easy/frequent muscle contraction) Epinephrine: increases heart rate and therefore contractions of the heart ```
49
What are some negative inotropic factors that affect contractility?
Acidosis, too much potassium outside the cells (meaning potassium wont leave the cells easily, making contraction harder to reach), and calcium channel blockers (making contractions harder to attain for much of the same reason)
50
What is afterload?
Pressure on the semilunar valves
51
What causes afterload and what does it do to ESV?
High blood pressure causes afterload (more pressure on SL valves) so ESV is higher due to that pressure
52
What two general types of factors affect heart rate?
Positive and negative chronotropic factors
53
What are some positive chronotropic factors and what part of the nervous system influence this?
The sympathetic nervous system stimulates an increased heart rate in response to fear, anxiety, stress, and exercise
54
What are some negative chronotropic factors and what system do they stem from?
Parasympathetic nervous system, mainly via Vagal tone of the vagus nerve and release of ACH. Both of these slow heart rate. (ACH does this by causing hyperpolarization, which leads to less contractions of the heart muscles)
55
What does venous return do to EDV?
Increased venous return will increase end diastolic volume because more going in means more to be pumped out
56
What are some general factors that affect heart rate?
Hormones: epinephrine increases HR Age: HR decreases with age Athleticism: lower resting HR Body temp: increase in temperature = increase in HR
57
What is the bainbridge reflex?
Also called atrial reflex, when the atria get very over full, the heart beats harder and faster to correct the problem. Increased HR and cardiac output
58
What does the foramen ovale do in a fetus?
Shunts blood from the right to the left atrium (because no blood is returning from lungs)
59
What is the foramen ovale called once it closes?
Fossa ovalis
60
What is the ductus arteriosus in a fetus?
Arterial shunt that takes blood from the pulmonary trunk to the aorta (because there’s no need for blood to go to the lungs)
61
What does the ductus arteriosus become in adults?
The ligamentum arteriosum
62
What is it called when a hole forms between the ventricles, so oxygenated and deoxygenated blood mix?
Ventricular septal defect
63
What is a narrowing of the aorta called?
Coarctation of the aorta
64
What is a tetralogy of fallot?
Hole between the ventricles and a narrowing of the pulmonary trunk
65
What is sclerosis of the heart?
Narrowing of chambers due to plaque buildup or scar tissue formation
66
Myocardial infarction
Plaque buildup or blood clot blocking flow to an area of the heart, causing heart tissue death if not caught early and corrected (aka heart attack)
67
As pertains to the ventricles, what are the five steps of the cardiac cycle?
``` Isovolumetric contraction Ventricular ejection Isovolumetric relaxation Passive ventricular filling Active ventricular filling ```
68
Isovolumetric contraction (mechanical and electrical)
``` All valves closed QRS complex completed Ventricular depolarization Atrial repolarization “Lub” sound ```
69
Ventricular ejection (mechanical and electrical)
Semilunar valves open Ventricular repolarization T wave begins
70
Isovolumetric relaxation (mechanical and electrical)
All valves closed T wave complete “Dup” sound
71
Passive ventricular filling (mechanical and electrical)
AV valves open Atrial depolarization SA node fires P wave begins
72
Active ventricular filling (electrical and mechanical)
AV valves open AV node fires > AV bundle fires > bundle branches fire > Purkinje fibers fire P wave complete QRS complex begins
73
What events take place in early diastole?
Isovolumetric relaxation and passive ventricular filling
74
What takes place in mid to late diastole?
Active ventricular filling | *ventricular depolarization and atrial repolarization*
75
What takes place in ventricular systole?
Isovolumetric contraction and ventricular ejection

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