Cardiovascular - The Cardiovascular System Flashcards
What is the role of the cardiovascular system?
The blood circulatory system is a system of organs that includes the heart, blood vessels, and blood which is circulated throughout the entire body
What do veins, arteries and capillaries do?
Veins - collect deoxygenated blood and return it to heart
Arteries - take oxygenated blood from the heart and send it to the body
Capillaries - exchange nutrients
What are the two main circulations?
Pulmonary - heart-lungs-heart
Systemic - heart-body-heart
Where is the heart located?
Within the middle mediastinum
2/3 of mass on the LHS of the sternum
What is anterior to the heart?
Sternum and costal cartilages 4-7
What is posterior to the heart?
Oesophagus and descending aorta
Vertebrae T5-T8
What is lateral to the heart?
Pleura and phrenic nerves
What is inferior to the heart?
Central tendon of the diaphragm
What ribs does the heart lie behind?
2nd rib -> 5th rib midclavicular line
What is the pericardium?
The pericardium is a double walled fibrous sac that encloses the heart and great vessels.
What are the layers of the pericardium?
Fibrous pericardium
Serous pericardium
What is the fibrous pericardium made of?
Tough dense connective tissue
What is the role of the fibrous pericardium?
Protects the heart
Prevents overfilling of the heart
Anchors heart to surrounding structures
What are the layers of the serous pericardium?
Outer parietal layer that lines the internal surface of the fibrous pericardium and the Internal visceral layer that forms the outer layer of the heart (also known as the epicardium)
What is found between the inner and outer layer of the serous pericardium an what is its role?
Pericardial cavity, which contains a small amount of lubricating serous fluid.
The serous fluid serves to minimize the friction generated by the heart as it contracts.
Summarise the layers of the pericardium
F – Fibrous layer of the pericardium
P – Parietal layer of the serous pericardium
S – Serous fluid
V – Visceral layer of the serous pericardium
What provides innervation to the pericardium?
Phrenic nerve - C3-C5
What are the three layers of the heart wall?
The endocardium, myocardium, and epicardium.
What does the endocardium line?
Cavities and valves of the heart
What is the role of the endocardium?
Regulates contractions and aids cardiac embryological development.
Prevents clotting of blood within heart
Forms a barrier between O2 hungry myocardium and the blood (blood is supplied via coronary system)
What is the endocardium made of?
Loose connective tissue and simple squamous epithelial tissue
What lies between and joins the endocardium and the myocardium?
Subendocardial layer
What is the myocardium composed of?
The myocardium is composed of cardiac muscle and is an involuntary striated muscle. The myocardium is responsible for contractions of the heart.
What layer lies between and joins the myocardium and epicardium?
Subepicardial layer
What is the epicardium?
The epicardium is the outermost layer of the heart, formed by the visceral layer of the pericardium.
How many borders does the heart have?
Four
What are the four borders of the herat?
Right border – Right atrium
Inferior border – Left ventricle and right ventricle
Left border – Left ventricle (and some of the left atrium)
Superior border – Right and left atrium and the great vessels
How many surfaces does the heart have?
Three
What are the three surfaces of the heart?
Anterior (or sternocostal) – 1/3 RA, 2/3 RV +LV.
Posterior (or base) – Left atrium.
Inferior (or diaphragmatic) – Left and right ventricles.
What is the base of the heart?
Wholly posterior - left atrium
What is the apex of the heart?
5th intercostal space in the midclavicular line
Left ventricle
What forms the right border of the heart?
Right atrium
What forms the left border of the heart?
Left ventricle
What forms the anterior surface of the heart?
RA + 1/3 RV + 2/3 LV
How many valves does the heart have?
Four
What are the two categories of heart valves?
Atrioventricular valves (cuspid)
Semilunar valves
What valves are the atrioventricular valves?
The tricuspid valve and mitral (bicuspid) valve
Where are the atrioventricular valves found?
They are located between the atria and corresponding ventricle.
What is the function of the atrioventricular valves?
Prevent the backflow of blood into the atria during ventricular contraction
What supports the atrioventricular valves?
Attachment of fibrous cords (chordae tendineae) to the free edges of the valve cusps.
The chordae tendineae are attached to papillary muscles, located on the interior surface of the ventricles – these muscles contract during ventricular systole to prevent prolapse of the valve leaflets into the atria.
What valves are the semilunar valves?
Pulmonary and aortic valves
What is the difference between the atrioventricular and semilunar valves?
The mitral and tricuspid atrioventricular (AV) valves separate the atria from the ventricles, while the aortic and pulmonary semilunar (SL) valves separate the ventricles from the great arteries.
What is the function of the semilunar valves?
Semilunar valves prevent backflow from the great vessels to the ventricles.
When do atrioventricular valves close and what do they create?
They close during the start of ventricular contraction (systole), producing the first heart sound.
When do semilunar valves close and what do they create?
They close at the beginning of ventricular relaxation (diastole), producing the second heart sounds.
Where can the pulmonary valve be found?
Between RV and pulmonary trunk
Where can the aortic valve be found?
Between LV and aortic arch
What is the largest artery in the body?
The aorta
What is the role of the aorta?
Carry oxygenated blood (pumped by the left side of the heart) to the rest of the body.
Where does the aorta arise from?
Aortic orifice at the base of the left ventricle, with inflow via the aortic valve
What are the segments of the aorta?
Aortic root
Ascending segment
Aortic arch
Descending segment
Abdominal aorta
Where do the coronary arteries arise from?
Ascending aorta
There is a right and left coronary artery
What arises from the aortic arch?
Brachiocephalic trunk
Left common carotid artery
Left subclavian artery
What does the brachiocephalic branch further divide into?
Right common carotid artery
Right subclavian artery
What is the role of pulmonary arteries?
The pulmonary arteries receive deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle and deliver it to the lungs for gas exchange to take place.
What do the pulmonary arteries start off as and when do they become the pulmonary arteries?
The arteries begin as the pulmonary trunk, a thick and short vessel, which is separated from the right ventricle by the pulmonary valve.
At around the level of T5-T6, the pulmonary trunk splits into the right and left pulmonary arteries.
What do the left and right pulmonary arteries supply?
The left pulmonary artery - blood to the left lung, bifurcating into two branches to supply each lobe of the lung.
The right pulmonary artery - blood to the right lung. It also further divides into two branches.
How do the left and right pulmonary arteries differ?
The right pulmonary artery is the thicker and longer artery.
What is the role of the pulmonary veins?
The pulmonary veins receive oxygenated blood from the lungs, delivering it to the left side of the heart to be pumped back around the body.