CVS Flashcards
What is gastrulation?
Mass movement and invagination of the blastula to form the ectoderm, mesoderm and endoderm
What is a gene?
DNA which when expressed is transcribed into RNA which is translated into protein with a function
What is a transcription factor?
A type of protein which when expressed ‘turns on’ other gene expression
What is the definition of contractility?
The state of the heart which enables it to increase its contraction velocity, to achieve higher pressure, when contractility is increased (independent of load) it is the end-systolic pressure volume relationship
What is elasticity?
It is the myocardial ability to recover its normal shape after removal of systolic stress
What is compliance?
It is the relationship between the change in stress and the resultant strain. It is reflected at the end-diastolic pressure-volume relationship
What is diastolic distensibility?
It is the pressure required to fill the ventricle to the same diastolic volume
What are the constituents of blood?
45% cellular: mainly RBC but there are also WBC and platelets 55% plasma The haematocrit is 0.45
What are red blood cells?
They are simple cells with no nucleus or mitochondria. There is a membrane to enclose HB because alone it would cause renal failure. It carries the enzymes of glycolysis
What is haemoglobin?
A tetramer of 2 alpha and 2 beta chains. It consists of protein, heme and Fe2+ ion
What does haemoglobin do?
It allows oxygen to bind reversibly with Fe2+ in aqueous solution. It carries oxygen from lungs to tissues. The normal level is 12.5-15.5g/dL
How are white blood cells produced?
They are produced from immature precursor cells in the bone marrow derived from stem cells. The rate of production is under hormonal control by a series of growth factors. Mature cells circulate in the blood
What stimulates cells to proliferate and differentiate?
Hormonal growth factors: Epo = RBC, G-CSF = WBC Tpo = platelets
How long do blood cells last?
RBC last 120 days Platelets last 7-10 days WBC last 6 hours
What are primitive cells?
Most primitive cells are stem cells and the are normally in the bone marrow. They are pluripotent, they proliferate and differentiate into mature RBC, WBC and platelets. Precursor cells are not found in blood
What are platelets?
Small cytoplasmic anucleate cells that block up holes in blood vessels. The longer the bleeding time the worse the platelet function. They are made in bone marrow from megakaryocytes, polyploid cells, cytoplasm buds off to become platelets
What do platelets do?
They circulate in an inactive state. They bind to damaged blood vessels and adhere, change shape and degranulate and aggregate into a platelet plug. The normal levels is 149-499
What are neutrophils?
The most numerous WBC, lasts 10 hours. A lack of number or function results in recurrent bacterial infection
What do neutrophils do?
They phagocytose and kill bacteria. They release chemotaxins and cytokines, which are an inflammatory response
What are coagulation proteins?
A series of proteins (enzymes) that circulate in an inactive form that make blood clot. They convert soluble fibrinogen into insoluble fibrin polymer
What are plasma proteins?
They are soluble and in plasma component; carrier proteins for nutrients and hormones; immunoglobulins (antibodies); coagulation proteins and albumin
What is albumin?
A major protein in the plasma. They are produced in the liver so in liver disease not enough albumin is produced. It determines oncotic pressure so keeps intravascular fluid in the right space so lack of albumin results in oedema
What are immunoglobulins?
They are produced by plasma cells in response to non-self protein antigens. There are several classes: IgG, IgM, IgA, IgE
What keeps blood fluid?
Coagulation proteins and platelets circulate in inactive form so the blood doesn’t clot. Endothelial cells, anticoagulant & fibrinolytic pathways actively keep it fluid. It is a balance between keeping blood in vessels fluid and out of it clotted
What is the coagulation cascade?
It is a series of 13 proteolytic enzymes that circulate in an inactive state and are sequentially activated in a cascade. The key enzyme is thrombin that cleaves fibrinogen, creating fibrin polymerisation, which is a clot.
Why does the coagulation cascade have lots of steps?
Multiple steps allow for biological amplification and regulation, not an all or nothing response so it can be graduated in response to severity of stimulation
What is the structure of arteries?
They contain mainly elastic, collagen, smooth muscle & mucopolysaccharide ground substance. There is an intima, media and adventitia. There are two elastic laminae, one either side of the media
What is in the intima of an artery?
It is composed of an inner surface lining of endothelial cells and very little collagen and ground substance
What is the adventitia made of?
Mainly collagenous connective tissue with blood vessels and some nerves
What are capillaries?
Comprise of tubes of endothelial cells bound to a basement membrane with co-existing pericytes, which have muscle fibres & may regulate blood flow.
What are sinusoids?
The vessels that connect arterioles and venules are sinusoids, allowing blood to percolate between tissue compartments
What are lymphatics?
Very similar to capillaries, but often a large diameter & less regular cross-section profile. They are endothelial lined with a basement membrane, that progressively merge to form larger vessels with some collagen in the background
Where are lymphatics?
Present in virtually all tissues, except the cornea, joint cartilage, CNS and bone marrow. Valves are found within some lymphatics, mainly in the legs
What is the structure of arterioles?
They may have an obvious media and adventitia. However, smaller arterioles show only a few medial cells with poorly defined elastic lamellae. A thin adventitia and normal intima also exist.
Where are semilunar valves?
Between the ventricles and outgoing arteries
What is the structure of semilunar valves?
They have three layers between epithelium on both sides: (1) Fibrosa: dense fibrous tissue (2) Spongiosa: loose connective tissue - proteoglycans (3) Ventricularis: collagenous tissue with elastic.
What is the cardiac conduction system?
These specialised groups of cells act to modulate & control cardiac contraction (SAN, AVN, His bundle & bundle branches)
What does the cardiac conduction system do?
They allow the 2-stage cardiac contraction with rapid ventricular contraction allowing pressure to be applied to the blood within the chambers & thereby blood flow
What is a resting membrane potential?
Normally only permeable to K+. Only the ions that can cross the membrane affect the resting potential. K+ ions diffuse outwards. Anions cannot follow. There is an excess of anions inside the cell, which generates a negative potential inside the cell
What are the chordea tendinae?
Fan-like bands of dense collagenised tissue that interface with the ventricular wall & the edge/underside of the cardiac valve
What is the Nernst equation and what does it do?
It determines the potential associated with ionic concentration gradients. E = 60log([outside][inside])
How do voltage gated K+ channels work in skeletal muscle?
There is an increase in permeability to K+ after sodium influx, which causes almost immediate repolarisation
How do Voltage Gated K+ channels work in cardiac cells?
There is a decrease in permeability to K+ after Na+ influx so the return to resting state isn’t rapid. Decreases K+ exiting the cell during plateau, which prolongs plateau phase. The increased permeability to K+ only after slow Ca2+ channels close & this causes repolarisation
How do the fast voltage gated Na+ channels?
The conformational shape is determined by the voltage of the cell, changes as cell loosed negativity. The activation gate closed in resting state, they suddenly open between -50mV to -70mV & Na+ floods through the gate. It closes after a short period of time after activation gate opens, which stops the influx
What are the voltage gated Ca2+ channels?
They are slower than fast Na+ channels and remain open for longer. Some Na+ does pass through but it is mainly Ca2+. It is responsible for the plateau portion of action potential. It is particular to hearty muscle cells.
What is excitation-contraction coupling?
The action potential is spread from the membrane to the transverse tubule to the sarcoplasmic reticulum. The Ca2+ is released from T tubules & from the sarcoplasmic reticulum. It diffuses into myofibrils & promotes the sliding of actin & myosin filaments, which cause muscle contraction
What are the myocyte membrane pumps?
K+ is pumped in and Na+ and Ca2+ is pumped out, these are both against the electrical & concentration gradients, so they require active transport & ATP
How is action potential propagated?
The action potential spreads over the cell membrane. The Na+ affects adjacent cells & causes depolarisation. Newly depolarised cells also cause depolarisation. Ions can travel directly via gap junctions
What does the AVN do?
Transmits cardiac impulses between atria and ventricles. It delays the impulses which: allows the atria to empty blood into ventricles because it has less gap junctions so the AV fibres are smaller than atrial fibres
What does the His-Purkinje system do?
It transfers impulses from the AV mode to ventricles. It has rapid conduction to allow coordinated ventricular contraction, this is caused by very large fibres & it has high permeability at gap junctions
How is sympathetic cardiac stimulation controlled ?
It is controlled by adrenaline, noradrenaline & type 1 beta adrenoreceptors. It increases adenyl cyclase & cAMP.
What controls parasympathetic cardiac stimulation?
It is controlled by acetylcholine & M2 receptors, which inhibit adenyl cyclase & reduce cAMP
What is the absolute refractory period?
The Na+ and Ca2+ channels closed to stop further stimulation during the action potential. It has less time for atria than ventricles. It prevents excessively frequent contractions, which allows time for the heart to fill.
What is the relative refractory period?
It is after the absolute refractory period. It is when some Na+ channels are inactivated but some aren’t. Only strong stimuli can cause action potential. It is effected by heart rate
What does the SAN do?
It normally determines the heart rate at a higher resting potential of -55 to -60 mV. It gradually drifts towards the threshold for discharge. The steeper the drift, the faster the pacemaker. It is driven by slow Ca2+ channels.
Where in the cardiac cells has the highest automacity?
SAN cells have the highest automacity & the spontaneous discharge of the heart muscle cells decreases down the heart.
What causes platelet shape change?
Activation of platelets lead to change from smooth discoid shape to spiculated forms with pseuodopodia, increasing surface area & possibility for cell-to-cell interactions
What is the voltage of a resting potential?
It is -90mV and is maintained by the Na/K pump. K+ is inside the cell and Na+ is outside the cell
What is the glycoprotein IIb/IIIa receptor for?
Platelet activation. There are 50,000-100,000 copies on the resting platelet surface, this increases with platelet activation.
What does platelet activation do?
Platelet activation increases the affinity of the receptor for fibrinogen, which acts as a cross bridge linking platelets together into aggregates from one receptor to another.
What stimulates platelet activation?
When there is a rupture, collagen gets exposed and it has von Willebrand factor, which activates platelets
What platelet surface receptors are there?
Glycoprotein IIb/IIIa is the main receptor. Adhesive Luganda and soluble agonists.