Heart and Circulation Flashcards
Aidan
What is the heart?
The pump that generates blood flow around the system.
What is the arterial system?
The conductance vessels that carry the blood around the body.
What is microcirculation?
Where transfer of nutrients, waste and water occurs.
What is the venous system?
The capacity vessels, that store and return blood to the heart.
Two parts of the vena cava?
Superior and inferior
Flow of blood through the chambers of the heart with the two valves named?
Right atrium through tricuspid valve into right ventricle, (out into lungs), back into left atrium through mitral valve into left ventricle then (out into body)
What wall of the heart is thicker? and why?
Left handed wall is thicker as it has to pump blood a further distance than the right hand side.
What is the heart surrounded by?
The pericardial sac.
What is the pericardial sac?
fibrous tissue lined with a serous, slippy membrane that secretes a minuscule amount of lubricating fluid.
Where is the heart situated?
Lies centrally in the chest, between the lungs and pleura, in the mediostinum.
What stops the back flow of blood?
Valves
What stops the blood coagulating inside the heart/circulatory vessels
Endothelium.
What are the right and left auricles?
extensions of the right and left atria.
What structures/surfaces does the pericardial cavity (and the heart)..
Front = sternocostal, Bottom = diaphramatic surface.
base aligns itself with the spine.
what part of the heart forms the base
The left atrium
In what ways do blood vessels vary?
In number, in diameter, wall thickness, smooth muscle, elastic tissue, fibrous tissue
what are blood vessels lined by?
Endothelial cells.
when not in contact with endothelial cells what does blood start to do?
Blood starts to clot when not in contact with endothelial cells.
what can the endothelial cells that line the blood vessels do to regulate bloodflow etc.
They can release a selection of chemicals to regulate bloodflow.