The Heart Flashcards
What are veins
Blood vessels that take low-oxygen blood to the heart
What are arteries
Blood vessels that takes oxygenated blood away from the heart
Right and left sides of the heart
The right side only pumps blood to the lungs and the left side pumpa blood to the rest of the body
Main parts of the heart
Right side=
Pulnonary artery, Vena cava, Right atrium , Right ventricle
Left side=
Aorta, Pulmonary veins, Left atrium, Left ventricle
Both sides=
Atrioventricular valves, Semi lunar valves
What are capillaries
The smallest type of blood vessel that connects arterioles to venules to form a network of blood vessels in almost all parts of the body
Vena cava
A large vein that carries deoxygenatad blood to the heart
Pulmonary artery
An artery that carries blood from the right ventricle to the lungs for oxygenation
Aorta
The main artery of the body , supplying oxygenated blood to the circulatory system
Pulmonary veins
A vein that carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium
Characteristics of arteries
Very thick walls
Thick layer of muscle tissue
Small hole to maintain high pressure
Elastic tissue to withstand high pressure
Characteristics of veins
Elastic tissue to withstand high pressure
Thin walls
Thin layer of muscle tissue
Small hole for low pressure
Contains valves to keep blood flowing
Characteristics of capillaries
Very thin walls
No muscle tissue
No valves
1cm thick to allow a fast rate of diffusion
What is a valve
To make sure that blood travels in one direction and there is no bacwards flow of blood
