Question | Answer |
Swelling due to fluid in the tissues | Edema |
An electric device that can control the beating of the heart by a rhythmic discharge of electrical impulses | Electric cardiac pacemaker |
A graphical RECORD of the electric currents produced by the heart | Electrocardiogram |
An INSTRUMENT which RECORDS electric currents produced by the heart | Electrocardiograph |
Any substance which, in solution, is capable of conducting electricity by means of its atoms. (Examples: Sodium - Potassium) | Electrolyte |
Blocking of a blood vessel by a clot or other substance carried in the blood stream | Embolism |
Inflammation of the inner layer of the heart (Endocardium) usually associated with acute rheumatic fevers or some infectious agents | Endocarditis |
A thin, smooth membrane forming the inner surface of the heart | Endocardium |
Outer layer of the heart wall. (Also called visceral pericardium) | Epicardium |
A secretion of the adrenal gland that constricts the small blood vessels (arterioles), increases the rate of the heartbeat, and raises blood pressure. (Also called a vasoconstrictor or vasopressor) | Epinephrine |
Red blood cell | Erythrocyte |
Elevated BP not caused by kidney or other evident disease. (Sometimes called primary hypertension) | Essential hypertension |
Sum of knowledge about the causes of a disease | Etiology |
Circulation of the blood outside the body as by a mechanical pump-oxygenator | Extracorporeal circulation |
A contraction of the heart which occurs prematurely and interrupts the normal rhythm | Extrasystole |
Main blood vessel supplying blood to the leg | Femoral artery |
Uncoordinated contractions of the heart muscle occuring when the individual muscle fibers take up independent irregular contractions | Fibrillation |
An extra heart sound which, when the heart rate is fast, resembles a horse's gallop | Gallop rhythm |
Interference with the conduction of the electrical impulses of the heart which can be either partial or complete. Can result in dissociation of the rhythms of the upper & lower heart chambers | Heart block |
A machine through which the blood stream is diverted for pumping and oxygenation while the heart is opened for surgery | Heart-Lung machine |
The study of the flow of blood & forces involved | Hemodynamics |
Loss of blood from a blood vessel. (External - Blood escapes from the body; Internal - Blood passes inti tissues) | Hemorrhage |
A chemical substance which tends to prevent blood from clotting. (An Anticoagulant) | Heparin |
German anatomist who discovered bundle of muscle fibers running from the upper to lower chambers of the heart. (Known as the bundle of His) | His, Wilhelm |
An unstable or persistent elevation of blood pressure above the normal range, which may eventually lead to increased heart size and kidney damage | Hypertension |
Enlargement of a tissue or organ due to increase in the size of its constituent cells | Hypertrophy |
Most commonly used to describe an acute fall in blood presssure, as occurs in shock. BP below the normal range or low BP. | Hypotension |
Less than normal content of oxygen in the organs & tissues of the body. (Can be caused by high altitude) | Hypoxia |
Also called valvular insufficiency; Any valve that does not close tight and leaks blood back in the wrong direction. | Incompetent valve |
An area of a tissue which is damaged or dies as a result of not receiving a sufficient blood supply. | infarct |
Muscular wall dividing left and right upper chambers of the heart which are called atria. Sometimes called auricular septum or interauricular septum or atrial septum | Inter-atrial septum |
Muscular wall, tinnera t the top, dividing the left and right lower chambers of the heart called ventricles. Sometimes called ventricular septum. | Inter-ventricular septum |
A local, usually temporary, deficiency of blood in some part of the body, often caused by a constriction or an obstruction in the blood vessel supplying that part | Ischemia |