Week 7 Bioscience Flashcards
Size of the heart
■ Cone-shaped, muscular organ
■ Typically:
- 12-14 cm long, 9 cm wide
- weights 250-350 grams approx. the size of your fist
Location of the heart
The heart sits in the mediastinum – the cavity between the two pleural cavities and rests on the superior surface of the diaphragm.
Coverings of the heart
Where the parietal pericardium meets the large blood vessels attached to the base of the heart, the epithelial layer turns to cover the heart itself, forming the epicardium
Components of the heart wall
Epicardium (or visceral pericardium) – the outermost layer of epithelial tissue
Myocardium - the middle layer of of cardiac muscle cells
Endocardium - the inner layer of endothelial cells (flattened epithelial cells)
Coronary circulation - arteries
- Right and left coronary arteries arise from base of the aorta and encircle the heart in the coronary sulcus
- Blood moves into the coronary arteries when the ventricles relax, in between heart beats i.e. the ventricles relax and ventricular pressure drops below arterial pressure - arterial blood flows back towards to the ventricles (down pressure gradient) - as it flows backwards within the aorta it moves into the coronary arteries
- Left coronary artery gives rise to the anterior interventricular artery and supplies oxygenated blood to the anterior ventricles
- Right coronary artery supplies the right atrium and gives rise to the posterior interventricular artery which supplies oxygenated blood to the posterior ventricles
Coronary circulation - veins
- Great cardiac vein drains deoxygenated blood from the anterior ventricles
■ Middle cardiac vein drains the posterior ventricles - All veins all drain into the coronary sinus (thin-walled, expanded vein)à empties into the right atrium
Coronary artery disease (CAD)
- CAD = coronary arteries become narrowed and hardened (less elastic)
- Most commonly as a result of atherosclerosis (fatty plaques occluding the arteries)
- Over time, reduced blood flow weakens the myocardium and contributes to heart failure
Innervation of the heart
- The mechanical activity of the heart (i.e. muscle contraction or heart beat) always begins with electrical activity (i.e. an action potential in the myocardial cells)
- Myocardial activity is controlled by two separate electrical systems:
1. Intrinsic conduction system (from the inside) - myocardium is able to stimulate its own contractions
2. Extrinsic innervation (from the outside) = autonomic nervous system - modifies myocardial activity
Intrinsic conduction system
The myocardium includes some auto-rhythmic cells called pacemaker cells:
* Unstable resting membrane potential
* Continually depolarise to generate action potentials (AP) * All cardiac muscle cells have electrical connections - an AP in pacemaker cells can be conducted to the adjacent muscle cells and so on - allows coordinated contraction of the entire myocardium
The pacemaker cells form the intrinsic conduction system:
1. Sinoatrial node
2. Atrioventricular node
3. Atrioventricular bundle (bundle of His)
4. Bundle branches
5. Purkinje fibres (subendothelial conducting network)
Sinoatrial node
- Right atrial wall, inferior to entry point of s. vena cava
- Depolarises 80-100x per minute (fastest component)
- Acts as pacemaker and determines heart rate (sinus rhythm)
- Parasympathetic NS reduces this to 75x per minute at rest
Internodal pathway
- SA node myocardial cells depolarize the surrounding myocardial cells until all atrial myocardium is depolarized
- Depolarisation triggers atrial contraction
Atrioventricular node
- At the junction between the atria and ventricles
- Depolarises 40-60x per minute (max. 230x per min = upper limit of heart rate)
- Delays depolarisation for 0.1 s while atria complete contraction
- Becomes the pacemaker if SA node damaged
Atrioventricular bundle (bundle of His)
- In the upper interventricular septum
- Only electrical connection between the atria and ventricles
- Damage - heart block - neither SA or AV node can control heart rate
Bundle branches (right and left)
Travels in the interventricular septum to the apex of the heart
Purkinje fibres (subendothelial conducting network)
- Penetrate ventricle walls, depolarise ventricular myocardium
- Depolarises 30x per minute (this heart rate is too slow for adequate CO)