Overview of the Cardiovascular System Flashcards
What is the cardiovascular system?
A combination of three components, 1. the heart, 2. the vessels, and 3. the blood.
What does the cardiovascular system do?
In conjunction with the heart, vessels, and blood; it pumps oxygenated blood, nutrients, hormones and other needed substances throughout the body. While also carrying waste product such as carbon dioxide out of the body.
What is the Heart?
A unique organ made of cardiac muscle that also has its own nervous system that allows the heart to contact on its own to pump blood in the body.
What is part of the Heart’s nervous system?
The SA node, AV Node, bundle of His, and Purkinji fibers.
What are arteries?
Large blood vessels that carry blood away from the heart.
What are veins?
Large Blood vessels that carry blood to the heart.
What are Arterioles?
Small arteries that carry blood to the capillaries
What are capillaries?
Small vessels that act as connectors to carry blood between arterioles and venules
What are venules?
small veins that transport blood from capillaries to larger veins back towards the heart.
What is the pericardium or pericardial sac?
A double walled membranous sac that encloses and protects the heart.
What are the muscular walls of the heart called?
The epicardium (top layer)
the myocardium (muscle layer)
endocardium (inner layer)
What is the Heart composed of?
Composed of chambers and four valves. With a septum to divide the chambers into left and right.
What does the superior and inferior vena cava do?
Brings oxygen poor blood from the body into the heart
What does the pulmonary arteries do?
Pulls oxygen poor blood from the heart and to the lungs to be re-oxygenated.
What does the Aorta do?
Pumps oxygenated blood from the heart into the body
What does the pulmonary vein do?
Brings oxygen rich blood from the lungs and into the heart.
What are the Coronary Arteries?
Arteries that bring oxygen rich blood to the heart muscles itself.
What are Coronary Veins
Pulls oxygen poor blood out of the heart muscles.
What is Blood?
Fluid tissue in the body made up of about 55% blood plasma and 45% other formed elements.
What is plasma
straw colored fluid that contains nutrients, hormones, and waste products from the metabolic reaction in the body and respiration.
What are formed elements?
Erythrocytes, leukocytes, and thrombocytes
What are erythrocytes?
Red blood cells produced by the red bone marrow. they transport oxygen to tissues
what is hemoglobin?
oxygen carrying proteins in RBCs
What are leukocytes?
White blood cells
What are Thrombocytes?
Platelets that are important for blood clotting.
What is Pulmonary Circulation?
the flow of blood between the lungs and the heart
What is Systemic Circulation?
the flow of blood from the heart to the rest of the body, except to the heart muscles
What does the Right Atrium do?
receives oxygen poor blood from all tissues, except from the lungs, from the superior and inferior venae cava and carries it into the right ventricle
What does the Right Ventricle do?
receives oxygen poor blood from the RA and pumps it through the pulmonary semicircular valve and into the pulmonary artery.
What does the Left Atrium do?
receives oxygen rich blood from the lungs through the pulmonary veins. It then flows into the mitral valve and into the LV
What does the Left Ventricle do?
receives oxygen rich blood from the LA. Blood then flows from the LV, through the aortic semicircular valve and into the aorta.
What is a pulse?
The rhythmic pressure against the walls of an artery when the heart contracts.
What is Blood Pressure?
The measurement of the amount of systolic and diastolic pressure exerted against the walls of the arteries
What is Systolic Pressure?
occurs when the heart contracts. this is the highest pressure of blood on the artery wall
What is Diastolic Pressure?
Occurs when the ventricles relax. Lowest pressure of blood against the artery wall.
