Chapter 11: Circulatory System II: Heart and Pumping Flashcards
Organ responsible for pumping blood.
Heart
Primary tissue of which hearts are composed.
Cardiac Muscle
Largest artery in the body, serving to feed systemic circulation.
Aorta
Largest vein in the body, serving to drain systemic circulation.
Vena cava
Major vein draining the head and the front limb or arm end of the body.
Superior vena cava
Major vein draining the tail and the rear limb or legs end of the body.
Inferior vena cava
Major pumping chamber of hearts.
Ventricle (heart)
Major pumping chamber of pulmonary circulation.
Right ventricle
Major pumping chamber of systemic circulation.
Left ventricle
Initial but less essential pumping chamber of hearts.
Atrium
Initial but less essential pumping chamber of pulmonary circulation.
Right atrium
Initial but less essential pumping chamber of systemic circulation.
Left atrium
Means by which backflow of blood is prevented during the beating of the heart.
Heart valves
Means by which backflow is prevented between ventricles and atria.
Atrioventricular valves (AV valves)
Reversible partition between the left ventricle and the left atrium of the heart.
Bicuspid valve
Reversible partition between the right ventricle and the right atrium of the heart.
Tricuspid valve
Means by which backflow is prevented between ventricles and the major arteries that they feed with blood.
Semilunar valves
The interior lining of the heart.
Endocardium
The muscular layer of the heart.
Myocardium
The outer, connective tissue layer making up the heart.
Epicardium
Double-layer connective tissue sack that encloses the heart.
Pericardium
Volume within animals containing the heart.
Pericardial cavity
Specialized cardiac muscle cells that conduct action potentials between different parts of the heart to increase the coordination of the heart’s contraction.
Purkinje fibers
Measure of blood flow through the ventricles.
Cardiac output
The blood vessels that are directly responsible for supplying blood to cardiac muscle.
Coronary arteries
Measure of the extent to which the beating of the heart results in a pushing of the circulating fluid against especially arterial walls.
Blood pressure
Sudden increase in blood pressure associated with systole.
Pulse
Interval over which the chambers in the heart fill with blood.
Diastole
Minimum blood pressure recorded over a given interval during blood pressure determination.
Diastolic pressure
Interval over which the heart is actively pumping blood.
Systole
Maximum blood pressure recorded over a given interval during blood pressure determination.
Systolic pressure
