Heart Flashcards
Bundle of HIS
Two branches of the conduction system of the heart that run down the entire length of the septum
AVN (atrioventricular node)
A mass of conducting cells located in the right atrial wall which delays transmission of the cardiac impulse and then passes it down the septum
SAN (sinoatrial node)
Mass of specialised cells found in the right atrium responsible for emitting the cardiac impulse. Also known as the pacemaker of the heart
Purkinje fibres
Specialised cardiac tissue which causes ventricles to contract as it passes the cardiac impulse throughout the myocardium
Sympathetic nervous system
Part of the autonomic nervous system that speeds up heart rate
Parasympathetic nervous system
Part of the autonomic nervous system that decreases heart rate
Medulla oblongata
Part of the brain that regulates process that keep us alive
Chemoreceptors
Structures in the carotid arteries that detect an increase in carbon dioxide (detect blood pH)
Baroreceptors
Special sensors in tissues in the aortic arch, carotid sins, heart and pulmonary vessels that respond to changes in blood pressure. ONLY ONE WHICH DECREASES HEART RATE
Proprioreceptors
Detect changes in muscle movement
Mechanoreceptors
Detect muscle contraction
Ejection fraction
Percentage of blood pumped out by the left ventricle per beat
Myogenic
The capacity of the heart to generate its own impulses and its own heart rate at rest
What is the cardiac impulse journey?
1) beat starts with an electrical signal in the sinoatrial node
2) electrical impulse spreads through walls of atria, causing themto contract + force blood into ventricles
3) impulse passes through atrioventricular node which delays transmission to enable to atria to fully contract before ventricular systole begins
4) electrical impulse passes down the bundle of HIS
5) bundle of HIS branch into purkinje fibres -> cause ventricles to contract
What is atrial diastole?
Relaxation of the atria meaning the atria fill with blood