Chapter 20 The Heart Flashcards
The heart is ______, meaning it can contract without any stimulation of nerves
Auto-rhythmic
The _____ contains specialized cells in nodes that contain excessive numbers of leaky sodium channels that allow them to slowly drift towards threshold and fire action potentials without any neurotransmitters
Heart
Cardiac muscle cells, called ________, are connected by specialized proteins that form intercalated discs or gaps
Cardiocytes
These gap junctions allow an action potential to spread like a wave from one cell directly to another without synapses
Intercalated discs
Nerves and hormones can alter the cardiac rhythm by increasing or decreasing it, but do not cause the heart to contract.
ACH
Adrenaline
Natural pacemaker of the heart
Located in the posterior area of the right atrial wall near the opening of the SVC
Generates action potentials faster than the AV node
Sets heart rate @ about 70-80 beats
Sinoatrial node
The SA node starts an action potential which spreads throughout the two atria, causing them to contract
From the top down
The _______ is located in the floor of the right atrium near the opening of the coronary sinus
Atrioventricular node
If the SA node is destroyed due to damage and the atria could not contract, the ventricles would still contract and pump blood, but only about
60 bpm
The AV node starts the spread of an AP through the
Bundle of his
The _______ is located in the ventricular septum and carries the action potential from the AV bundle to bundle branches
Atrioventricular Bundle bundle of his
Basic sequence of events of the conducting system
1. SA node automatically depolarizes and spreads an AP through the atria
2. Atria contract, action potential spreads through the internodal pathway
3. AP reaches av node
4. AV node spreads AP to bundle of his and bundle branches
5. Purkinje Fibers spread through ventricles
6. Ventricles contract, blood is pumped to lungs and system
Contraction of a chamber
Relaxation of a chamber
Systole
Daistole
What is the purpose of the fibrous skeleton of the heart ?
Connective tissue wall, stops the AP
Is a recording of the electrical events of the cardiac cycle
Electrocardiogram ECG
Atrial depolarization ➡️ atrial systole AV valves are open/SL valves are closed
P wave
Ventricular depolarization ➡️ ventricular systole
QRS complex
Ventricles are repolarizing 4 chambers are in diastole
T wave
From the beginning of the P wave to the next P wave is called ?
Cardiac cycle
Are not electrically isolated, but have specialized connections called gap junctions intercalated disks that allow an action potential to flow directly from one cardiocyte to the next.
Cardiocytes
Cardiocyte action potentials are very prolonged and last approximately ______
250-300 milliseconds
The resting membrane potential for a cardiocyte is
The threshold potential for a cardiocyte is
-90 MV
-75mv
Steps of cardiocyte AP
- Slow depolarization to threshold
- Rapid depolarization
- Plateau phase
- Repolarization
Leaky sodium channels in nodal cells of the SA node slowly allow NA+ ions to diffuse in and depolarize the cell to threshold
Depolarization to threshold
Once threshold is reached, voltage gated sodium channels rapidly open and extracellaur NA+ flows into cell causing rapid depolarization to +30 mv
Rapid depolarization
As the cardiocyte reaches +30 mv, sodium channels rapidly close.
Potassium channels open, but do so very slowly, allowing potassium to slowly leak out. At the same time, calcium channels in the membrane also open and allow CA to slowly leak into cell to counter balance the outward flow of K+, resulting in the action potential remaining constant near +30mv
Plateau phase
Slowly potassium channels open to repolarization. This closes the CA2+ channels and rapid repolarization occurs .
Repolarization
Beginning of the start of one atrial systole and ending at the start of the next atrial systole
Cardiac cycle