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- Physiology > Circulation and the Heart > Flashcards

Circulation and the Heart Flashcards

1
Q

What carries blood away from the heart?

A

Arteries

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2
Q

What is the role of arteries?

A

Carry blood away from the heart

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3
Q

What returns blood back to the heart?

A

Veins

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4
Q

What is the role of veins?

A

Return blood back to the heart

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5
Q

What is pulmonary circulation?

A

Closed loop of vessels carrying blood between heart and lungs

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6
Q

What is systemic circulation?

A

Circuit of vessels carrying blood between the heart and other body systems

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7
Q

What are the four chambers of the heart?

A
  • Right atrium
  • Left atrium
  • Right ventricle
  • Left ventricle
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8
Q

Where are atriums in the heart located?

A

At the top of the heart

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9
Q

Where are ventricles in the heart located?

A

At the bottom of the heart

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10
Q

What is the role of the right atrium?

A

Receives deoxygenated blood from the body and pumps it to the right ventricle

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11
Q

What is the role of the right ventricle?

A

Pumps oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs for oxygenation

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12
Q

What is the role of the left atrium?

A

Receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it into the left ventricle

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13
Q

What is the role of the left ventricle?

A

Pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body

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14
Q

What allows for unidirectional flow of blood in the heart?

A

The opening and closing of valves

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15
Q

Where is the tricuspid valve?

A

Between the right atrium and the right ventricle

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16
Q

Where is the bicuspid valve?

A

Between the left atrium and the left ventricle

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17
Q

Which ventricle has thicker walls and why?

A

The left ventricle as greater pressure needs to be exerted to pump blood to all over the body in comparison to just the lungs

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18
Q

What is the septum in the heart?

A

A wall of tissue that separates the left and right sides of the heart

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19
Q

What are the two types of cardiac muscle cells?

A
  • Myocardial contractile cells
  • Myocardial autorhythmic cells
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20
Q

What is the role of myocardial contractile cells?

A

Are responsible for the heart’s pumping action

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21
Q

What is the role of myocardial autorythmic cells?

A

Initiate and conduct electrical impulses setting the heart’s rhythm

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22
Q

What are myocardial autorythmic cells also known as?

A

Pacemaker cells

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23
Q

How do pacemaker cells generate action potential independently?

A

Have special ion channels which allows continuous flow of ions resulting in membrane potential slowly drifting up from -60mV towards threshold

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24
Q

What is pacemaker potential?

A

The slow gradual depolarisation of the membrane potential

25
What is the order in which action potential moves through the heart?
- Originates from the sinoatrial node - Travels down internodal pathways to the atroventricular node - Travels down bundle of His which then branch left and right and travel down the septum, curve around the tip of the ventricle and travel back toward atria along outer walls
26
What is the sinoatrial node?
A specialised region in the right atrial wall near the opening of superior vena cava where pacemaker cells are
27
What is the atrioventricular node?
Small bundle of specialised cardiac cells located at the base of the right atrium near septum which slows down conduction
28
What is the AV delay?
The slowing down of the conduction of action potential in the atrioventricular node
29
What is the bundle of His?
Cells that originate at the AV node and enters the interventricular septum and carries the conduction to the bottom of the heart
30
What are purkinje fibers?
Small terminal fibers that extend from bundle of His and spread throught ventricular myocardium
31
What does an ECG measure?
Measures the electrical activity of the heart to show when different chambers contract and relax
32
What does the P wave represent on an ECG?
Represents atrial depolarisation when the atria contracts
33
What does the PR segment represent on an ECG?
Shows a pause at the AV node allowing time for the ventricle to fill with blood before they contract
34
What does the QRS complex represent on an ECG?
Represents ventricular depolarisation when the ventricle contracts
35
What else is happening during the QRS complex besides ventricular depolarisation?
Atrial repolarisation also happens but its hidden by the large ventricular signal
36
What does the ST segment represent on an ECG?
Represents the early part of ventricular repolarisation right after the ventricles contract
37
What does the T wave represent on an ECG?
The T wave represents ventricular repolarisation when the ventricles relax and reset for the next beat
38
What is depolarisation in the heart?
Is the electrical activation of heart muscle cells that leads to contraction
39
What is repolarisation in the heart?
Is when the heart muscle cells reset electrically so they can contract again
40
Do myocardial contractile cells generate their own electrical signals?
No they rely on signals from pacemaker cells
41
What ion is most important for triggering contraction in myocardial contractile cells?
Ca
42
What is the main difference between skeletal muscle cells and myocardial contractile cells?
Skeletal muscle cells have short action potential whilst myocardial contractile cells have a long one
43
Why do myocardial contractile cells have long action potentials?
To prevent tetanus (sustained contraction) ensuring the heart has time to relax and refill before the next beat
44
What is the plateau phase of a cardiac action potential?
Its a flat phase where the inside of the heart cell stays electrically positive for a long time
45
What causes the plateau phase in myocardial contractile cells?
Calcium ions entering the cell while potassium ions leave the cell balancing the charge
46
What are the 5 steps to the cardiac cycle?
- Late diastole - Atrial systole - Isovolumic ventricular contraction - Ventricular ejection - Isovolumic ventricular relaxation
47
What is happening during late diastole?
Both the atria and ventricles are relaxed and blood flows passively in and the AV valves are open
48
What is the key purpose of late diastole?
To allow the ventricles to fill with blood mostly without any muscle contraction
49
What is happening during atrial systole?
The atria contract pushing the last bit of blood into the already filling ventricles
50
What is the key purpose of atrial systole?
To top off the ventricles so they are completely full before contraction
51
What is happening during isovolumic ventricular contraction?
The ventricles begin contracting but all valves are closed so the volume stays the same while pressure builds
52
What is happening during ventricular ejection?
The pressure in the ventricles becomes greater than in the arteries so the aortic and pulmonary valves open and blood is pumped out
53
What is happening during isovolumic ventricular relaxation?
The ventricles relax pressure drops and the aortic pulmonary valves close
54
What happens at the end of isovolumic relaxation?
When pressure in the ventricle drops below atrial pressure the AV valves open starting a new cycle with late diastole
55
What does the first heart sound indicate?
The closure of the AV valves
56
What does the second heart sound indicate?
Closure of semilunar valves
57
What are you hearing when listening to a heartbeat?
Not hearing the valves closing but rather the blood hitting the closed valves
58
What is the TP interval?
When the heart muscle is completely at rest

- Physiology (16 decks)

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