Cards (23)

  • Cardiac muscle
    Found within the layers of the walls of the heart, can contract and relax without input from the nervous system or hormones, doesn't fatigue as long as it has glucose and oxygen
  • Unique properties of cardiac muscle
    • Can contract and relax without input from the nervous system or hormones
    • Doesn't fatigue as long as it has glucose and oxygen
  • Coronary arteries are the blood vessels surrounding the heart that supply the cardiac muscle with oxygenated blood to prevent fatigue
  • Myocardial infarction or a heart attack is caused by blockages in coronary arteries leading to a lack of oxygenated blood supply to the cardiac muscle
  • Chambers of the heart
    • Atria (left and right)
    • Ventricles (left and right)
  • Atria
    • Thinner walls made of cardiac muscle, have a thin wall and a stick within them to stretch as blood moves in, contract to push blood down into the ventricles
  • Ventricles
    • Thicker muscular walls compared to atria, contract with greater force to push blood out at higher pressure, right ventricle pumps blood to the lungs with a thinner wall, left ventricle pumps blood around the body with a thicker wall
  • Right ventricle

    Has a thinner muscular wall compared to the left ventricle to pump blood to the lungs at a lower pressure for better gas exchange
  • Left ventricle
    Has a thicker muscular wall to pump blood around the body at a higher pressure to ensure all cells receive blood
  • Blood after leaving the left ventricle
    Has a much thicker muscular wall for large contractions to create high pressure to ensure blood reaches all cells in the body
  • Major blood vessels entering from the left and right hand side
    • Aorta
    • Left pulmonary artery
    • Right pulmonary artery
    • Right pulmonary vein
    • Left pulmonary vein
    • Inferior vena cava
    • Superior vena cava
  • Veins
    Blood vessels which bring blood into the heart
  • Vena cava
    Carries deoxygenated blood from the body back into the heart
  • Pulmonary vein
    Carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium
  • Arteries
    Carry blood away from the heart
  • Pulmonary artery

    Carries deoxygenated blood from the right ventricle to the lungs to become oxygenated
  • Aorta
    Carries oxygenated blood from the left ventricle to the rest of the body
  • Semilunar valves
    Found in the aorta and the pulmonary arteries, between the ventricles and the arteries
  • Atrioventricular valves

    Found between the atrium and the ventricles
  • Types of atrioventricular valves
    • Bicuspid or mitral valve
    • Tricuspid valve
  • Types of semilunar valves
    • Found in the pulmonary artery and the aorta
  • Function of valves
    Ensure blood flows in one direction by opening only with higher pressure from behind and closing with higher pressure in front
  • Septum
    Piece of cardiac muscle that runs down the middle separating the left and right side of the heart, maintaining the separation of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood