Chapter 15: Heart Flashcards
base
- broadest part of the heart
- upper right
- where the great vessels enter and leave the heart
apex
- point of maximum impact
- where the strongest beat can be felt or heard
- location of apical pulse
- left midclavicular line at the 5th intercostal space
pericardium
double walled sac surrounding the heart
- fibrous pericardium
- serous pericardium
endocardium
- innermost layer of heart wall
- lines the heart’s chambers, covers valves
- thin layer of squamous epithelial cells
myocardium
- middle layer of heart wall
- thickest layer
- composed of cardiac muscle
- performs the work of the heart
epicardium
- outer layer of heart wall
- closely integrated with the myocardium
- a.k.a. visceral layer
- squamous epithelial cells
atria
- primarily reservoirs
- receive blood from body or lungs
- walls not very thick
ventricles
- serve as pumps
- generate a lot of force
- thick walls
- left ventricle walls are thicker
tricuspid valve
prevents backflow from right ventricle to right atrium
mitral (bicuspid) valve
prevents backflow from left ventricle to left atrium
pulmonary valve
prevents backflow from pulmonary artery to right ventricle
aortic valve
prevents backflow from aorta to left ventricle
heart sounds
- aortic area
- pulmonic area
- Erb’s point area
- tricuspid area
- mitral area
“widow-maker”
left anterior descending artery (LAD)
coronary sinus
- where most cardiac veins empty
- returns blood to right atrium
intercalated discs
join together cardiac cells
gap junctions
allow impulses to pass quickly from one cardiac cell to the next
pacemaker cells
generate action potentials to stimulate contraction
automaticity
unique ability of cardiac muscle to contract without nervous stimulation
rhythmicity
heart’s ability to beat regularly
sinoatrial (SA) node
- heart’s primary pacemaker
- where normal cardiac impulses arise
- fires at 60-80 bpm
atrioventricular (AV) node
- relays impulses from the atria to the ventricles
- impulse slows to allow the atria time to contract completely
- fires at 40-60 bpm
AV bundle (bundle of His)
- impulse picks up speed
- branches into right and left bundle branches
Purkinje fibers
- distribute impulses to muscle cells of both ventricles
- fire at 20-40 bpm