Term | Definition | | |
Adrenalin | (Epinephrine). Hormone secreted under stress. Contributes to the fight-or-flightresponse by increasing heart rate, shunting blood to muscles, increasing blood glucose levels, and other her functions. | | |
Aorta | Largest artery in the body; carries oxygenated blood away from the heart and delivers it to the rest of the body through many branches | | |
Aneurysm. | Ballooning of the arterial wall cause by a degeneration of the tunica media. | | |
Angina | Pain felt when the supply of oxygen to the myocardium is reduced | | |
Arteriole | Smallest of all arteries; usually drains into capillaries | | |
Arteries | Vessels that transport blood away from the heart | | |
Atherosclerosis | The buildup of cholesterol plaque in the walls of arteries | | |
Atrioventricular bundle | Tract of modified cardiac muscle fibers that conduct the pacemakers impulse into the ventricular muscle tissue | | |
Atrioventricular node (AV node) | Knot of tissue located in the right ventricle. Picks up the electrical signal arriving from the atria and transmits it down the atrioventricular bundle | | |
Atrioventricular valve. | Valves between the atria and ventricles. | | |
Atrium | Each of the two upper cavities of the heart from which blood is passed to the ventricles. | | |
Blood pressure | The force that blood applies to the walls of a blood vessel. | | |
Capillary | Tiny vessels in body tissues whose walls are composed of a flattened layer of cells that allowed water and other molecules to flow freely into and out of the tissue fluid. | | |
Capillary bed | Branching network of capillaries supplied by arterioles and drained in venules. | | |
Cardiac arrest | When the heart stops beating all together. | | |
Cordage tendineae | Thread-like bands of fibrous tissue which attach on one end to the edges of the triscuspid and mitral valves of the heart and on the other end to the papillary muscles witin the heart that serve to anchor the valves. | | |
Diastolic pressure | The pressure at they moment the heart relaxes. The lower of the two readings. | | |
Edema | Swelling resulting from the build up of fluid in the tissues. | | |
Electrocardiogram | A record or display of a personâs heartbeat produced by electrocardiography. | | |
Endocardium | The thin smooth membrane that lines the inside of the chambers of the heart and forms the surface of the valves. | | |
Epinephrine | More commonly known as adrenaline, is a hormone secreted by the medulla of the adrenal glands. Strong emotions such as fear or anger cause epinephrine to be released into the bloodstream, which causes and increase in heart rate, muscle strength, blood pre | | |
Fibrillation | Cardiac muscle spasms occurring during heart attacks due to a loss of synchronized electrical signals. | | |
Hearth | Is a muscular organ that propels blood to thousands of miles of blood vessels. | | |
Hypertension | High blood pressure. | | |
Inferior vena cava | Large vein that empties deoxygenated blood from the body below the heart in to the right atrium of the heart. | | |
Left atrium | The left atrium is one of the four chambers of the heart, located on the left posterior side. Itâs s primary roles are to act as a holding chamber for blood returning from the lungs and to act as a pump to transport blood to other areas of the heart. | | |
Left ventricle | Is one of the four chambers of the heart. Itâs located in the bottom left portion of the heart below the left atrium. As the heart contracts, blood eventually flows back into the left atrium an then through the mitral valve, where upon it next enters th | | |
Lymph capillaries (or Lymphatic capillaries) | Are tiny thin-walled vessels located in the spaces between cells (except in the central nervous system and non-vascular tissues) which serves to drain and process extra-cellular fluid. | | |
Lymph node | Small modular organ interspersed along the course of the lymphatic vessels. Serves as a filter for lymph. | | |
Lymphatic system | Network of vessels that drains extra cellular fluid from body tissues, and returns it to the circulatory system. | | |
Myocardial infarction | A blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle. | | |
Myocardium | Is the thickest part of the wall and is composed chiefly of cardiac muscle cell. | | |
Pericardium | Forms a thin, close sac that surrounds the heart and the bases of large vessels that enters and leave the heart. | | |
Pulmonary circuit (or circulation) | Shorty circulatory loop the that supplies blood to the lungs and transports it back to the heart. | | |
Purkinje fibers | Modified cardiac muscle fiber that conducts nerve impulses to individual heart muscle cells. | | |
Right atrium | The right upper chamber of the heart. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the body of through the vena cava and pumps it into the right ventricle which then sends it to the lungs to be oxygenated. | | |
Right ventricle | As deoxygenated blood flows into the right atrium, it passes through the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle, which pumps blood up through the pulmonary valve and through the pulmonary artery to the lungs. | | |
Sinoatrial (SA) node | The heartâs pacemaker. Located in the wall of the right atrium, it send time impulses t o the heart muscle thus synchronizing muscle contractions. | | |
Sudden cardiac arrest | Sudden unexpected loss of heart function, breathing and unconsciousness. | | |
Superior Vena Cava | Part of the systemic circuit empties directly into the right atrium, is a large vein carrying deoxygenated blood into the heart. | | |
Systemic Circuit | Is the part of the cardiovascular which carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to the body, and returns deoxygenated blood back to the heart | | |
Systolic pressure | Peak pressure at the moment the ventricles contract. The higher of the two numbers in a blood pressure reading. | | |
Varicose Veins | Gnarled, enlarged veins, most commonly appearing in the legs and feet. | | |
Vein | Type of blood vessel that carries blood to the heart | | |
Ventricle | Each of the two main chamber or the heart. Left and right. | | |
Venule | Smallest of all the veins. Empties into capillary networks. | | |
Right atrium | The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the veins of the body. | | |
Left Atrium | Receives oxygenated blood from the pulmonary vein. | | |
A heart murmur | Occurs when blood leaks
back into the atria and ventricles after | | |