The Heart pt. 1 Flashcards
Location of the heart
middle of the thoracic cavity in the mediastinum
the mediastinum is the space between the two lungs and is bounded by ……
by the thoracic inlet cranially
by the sternum ventrally
by the spinal column dorsally
beside the heart, what other things are found in the mediastinum
blood vessels, thoracic portion of the trachea, thymus gland (young animals), lymph nodes, and nerves
the heart has a rounded cranial end called the ____
base of the heart
the more pointed caudal end of the heart is called the
apex of the heart
the heart doesn’t sit straight along the median plane in the animal. the base is shifted __________ and the apex is shifted __________
the base is shifted to the right nd faces more dorsally
the apex is shifted to the left and sits more ventrally
the heart is contained in a fibrous sac called
the pericardium
the pericardium is divided into two parts
the fibrous sac is called the pericardial sac
the other portion is called the serous pericardium
the pericardial sac is a little loose. why?
so the heart can beat inside
however, it is not elastic so it cannot stretch if the heart becomes abnormally enlarged
the serous membrane consists of two other membranes
the smooth, moist serous membrane is called the parietal layer
the other moist serous membrane is called the visceral layer
what does the parietal layer of the serous membrane line?
lines the pericardial sac
where does the visceral layer of the serous pericardium lie
lies directly in the surface of the heart
The space in between the two serous membranes is known as the
pericardial space
the pericardial space is filled with ______ which helps prevent ____
filled with pericardial fluid
prevents friction as the layers rub together when the heart contracts
The middle and thickest layer of the heart, which is also the muscular layer is called
the myocardium - made of cardiac muscle
Remember that the muscle fibers of the heart are jointed side-to-side by multiple branches and end-to-end by intercalated discs. These two features mean that myocardium is made up of _____
continuous muscle sheets that wrap around the chambers of the heart. These sheets make a greater force of contraction possible
what are two other advantageous traits of cardiac muscle
it is autorhythmic and it doesn’t fatigue
what does autorhythmic mean?
without an outside stimulus, it can start beating in a steady rhythm before an animal is born and continue beating throughout its life
The _______ is the outermost layer of the heart wall. It’s a membrane that lies on the external surface of the myocardium.
epicardium
another name for this layer is the visceral layer of the serous pericardium