The structure and function of the heart Flashcards
What is cardiac hypertrophy?
An enlargement of the heart.
There are four chambers in the heart. What are they?
Two superior chambers called atria. Two inferior chambers called ventricles.
Why are ventricles more muscular?
They pump the blood through the pulmonary and systemic circuits.
What is the muscular partition in the heart called?
The septum
What is systemic circulation?
The component of the circulatory system which conducts oxygenated blood from the left ventricle to all the major muscles and organs of the body (excluding the lungs) and returns it to the right atrium via the vena cava.
What is pulmonary circulation?
The component of the circulatory system which conducts blood between the heart and the lungs.
What is the thick muscular wall of the heart called? What is it composed of?
Myocardium.
Cardiac muscle fibres.
What prevent the back flow of blood in the heart?
Valves.
What kind of arteries cover the exterior of the heart?
Coronary arteries.
Blood low in oxygen return to the heart via what?
The inferior and superior vena carvae.
Oxygenated blood returns to the heart via what?
The pulmonary veins.
What valves does the blood pass through to enter into the ventricles?
The atrioventricular valves.
What are the specific names of the right and left atrioventricular valves?
Right valve is bicuspid
Left valve is tricuspid
When the ventricles contract through what valve does the blood in the right ventricle travel through? Where does it enter?
The semilunar pulmonary valve
Pulmonary artery
When the ventricles contract through what valve does the blood in the left ventricle travel through? Where does it enter?
The semilunar systemic aortic valve
Into the aorta
