CVS Flashcards
role of the circulatory system?
bulk flow and distribution of blood and all that it contains
how is blood flow arranged in systemic circuit?
through branches and blood flows through in parallel
what is the equation that describes blood flow?
blood flow = change in pressure/resistnace to flow
(poiseuilles law) what 3 factors govern resistance?
length of tube, viscosity of liquid, radius of tube.
R = 8nL/pi r^4
increasing the blood vessel of a radius by 2, does what to resistance?
doubling radius, reduces resistance by 16
what is the name and sequence of flow of vessels in systemic and pulmonary circuit?
aorta - arteries - arterioles - capillaries - venules - veins - vena cava.
how does flow change between and within circuits?
blood flows in series between each type of circuit, and in parallel within each circuit
where is the most blood volume located?
in veins - 40% of blood is in veins at any given time
how does the CSA and velocity of blood flow change at each level of circuit flow?
moving away from heart, blood flow velocity decreases by half going from arterial to venous system. velocity is slowest at capillaries, and CSA of blood vessels peak at capillaries
what determines the blood pressure gradient through each circuit?
pulsatile bloodflow decreases moving away from heart due to pulsatility causing damage at small vessels
primary function of aorta and large arteries?
high pressure resevoir, drives blood through systemic circuit
primary function of smaller arteries and arterioles?
resistance vessels, determines volume flow through circulation
primary function of capillaries?
exchange vessels
primary function of venules and veins?
return conduits, primary resevoir or capacitance of the vasculature
heart wall layers from inside - outside
endocardium - myocardium - epicardium-pericardial fliud/space - pericardium
path of blood through heart, after circulating body:
RA - R AV valve - RV - PV - P trunk - P arteries - lung capillaries - Pveins - LA - L AV valve - L- Aortic valve - aorta - body
how are contractile myocardial cells arranged and associated with each other?
arranged in layers and are associated with each other through intercalated disks at each end (like bricks)
where and why are gap junctions associated with contractile heart cells?
gap junctions have low electricla resistance, and are present in the intercalated disk
how are filaments of cardiac muscle cells arranged?
actin and myosin arranged in a striated appearance
what is nodal tissue and where in the heart is it located?
nodal tissue are small round cells with minimal contractiel protein. they are specialized for generation and conduction of AP in the atria (SA node)
to get to the ventricles, wheat does the AP have to pass through?
the atrioventricular ring (via AV node)
why does the AP slow down once it reaches the AV node?
slowing down AP at AV node allows atria to fully depolarise and contract
what are the modified myocardial cells in the conducting system?
purkinje fibres
what is the difference in K+ permeablity between nodal tissue and myocardial cells and what does this cause?
permeablity to K+ is lower in nodal tissue than myocardial tissues and the RMP is less negative
explain the pacemaker potential
the slow depolarisation where K+ permeablity reduces as Na+ & Ca+ permeability increase, causing a gradual decrease in RMP
why does tetanus not occur in heart muscle?
summation of heart muscle contractions is not possible
What prevents re-excitation of heart muscle during most of the contraction period?
long absolute and relative refractive periods (due to Ca+ entering/ ‘plateau’ phase) so heart cell cant be activated again
at what end of the electrode would the camera be located for an ECG?
camera in an ECG would be located at the positive end of the electrode
what would depolarisation moving toward a lead cause in an ECG trace?
positive wave
what would depolarisation moving away from lead cause in an ECG trace?
negative wave
what would repolarisation moving away from lead cause in an ECG trace?
positive wave
what is the clinical implication of a missing QRS complex on an ECG trace?
missing QRS complex = block in signal at AV node, disturbance in communication between atria and ventricles
what is an arrhythmia?
uncoordinated atrial and ventricular contractions caused by a defect in conduction system
what is the clinical implication of atrial fibrillation?
atrial fibrillation can cause clotting and inefficient filling of the ventricles (atria not emptying properly)
what is the clinical implacation of ventricular fibrillation?
more life threatening, the ventricle pump without filling and if rhythm is not corrected circulation stops and brain death occurs
what is systole?
contraction phase of cardiac cycle
what is diastole ?
relaxation phase if cardiac cycle
when does systole begin and end?
systole begins with ventricular contraction, ends when ejection of blood ceases
when does diastole begin and end?
begins when ejection ceases as ventricles relax, ventricular filling begins after sufficient relaxation occurs
when does the majority of ventricular filling occur?
80-90% of ventricular filling occurs before atria contract, blood flows passively with pressure gradient
what is the first heart sound caused by?
AV valves closing
what is the second heart sound caused by?
SL valves closing
when is ventricular volume at a maximum?
at the end of diastole (EDV)
when is ventricular pressure at a maximum?
during ejection phase, P falls during late systole
when is arterila pressure at a minimum and maximum ?
minimum at end of diastole (diastolic BP), maximum during systole (systolic BP)
what is the “frank-starling mechanism”?
if LVEDV increases, the LV responds by doing more work, thus increasing SV (more fill = more empty)
what does preolad determine?
preload determines the initial (pre-contraction) muscle fibre length
what accounts for the Frank-Starling mechanism?
length tension relationship: a stretched muscle increases in calcium sensitivity, therefore increasing CB strength and resulting SV
what is afterload?
afterload is the tension the fibres must generate before they can shorten. AKA the pressure the ventricles must overcome to force open the aortic and pulmonary valves