Reading Assignments MIDTERM

• Hand hygiene


  Proper procedures for putting on and removing personal protective equipment (PPE)
• Circulatory System


  Carries oxygen and food to the cells of the body and carries carbon dioxide and other wastes away from the cells, coagulation process, defends body against disease, regulates body's temperature
• Main components of the Circulatory System

  • Cardiovascular System
  • Lymphatic System
• Heart


  • Four chambered, hollow, muscular organ
  • Surrounded by Pericardium
  • Layers: Epicardium, Myocardium, Endocardium
• Chambers of the Heart

  • Atria (upper chambers, receiving)
  • Ventricles (lower chambers, delivering)
• Valves of the Heart

  • Atrioventricular valves (entrance to the ventricles)
  • Semilunar valves (exit the ventricles)
• Septa of the Heart

  • Interatrial septum (partition that separates the right and left atria)
  • Interventricular septum (partition that separates the right and left ventricles)
• Main components of the Circulatory System

  • Cardiovascular System
  • Lymphatic System
• Heart


  • Four chambered, hollow, muscular organ
  • Surrounded by Pericardium
  • Layers: Epicardium, Myocardium, Endocardium
• Chambers of the heart

  • Atria (upper chambers, receiving)
  • Ventricles (lower chambers, delivering)
• Valves of the heart

  • Atrioventricular valves (entrance to the ventricles)
  • Semilunar valves (exit the ventricles)
• Septa of the heart

  • Interatrial septum (partition that separates the right and left atria)
  • Interventricular septum (partition that separates the right and left ventricles)
• Coronary Circulation


  The heart receives its blood supply via the right and left coronary (also called cardiac) arteries. Coronary (cardiac) veins return oxygen poor blood from the heart muscle back to the heart.
• Cardiac Cycle


  One complete contraction and subsequent relaxation of the heart. The contracting phase is called systole, and the relaxing phase is called diastole.
• Electrical Conduction System


  Specialized muscle cells that synchronize the heart's contractions, initiated by an electrical impulse generated from the Sinoatrial Node/SA node (pacemaker)
• Electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)


  A graphic record of the heart's electrical activity during the cardiac cycle. The P wave represents the activity of the atria, and the QRS complex and T wave represent the activity of the ventricles.
• Heart Rate and Cardiac Output


  The heart rate is the number of heart beats per minute, averaging 72 beats per minute in adults. Cardiac output is the volume of blood pumped by the heart in 1 minute, averaging 5 liters per minute.
• Heart Rhythm Disorders


  • Arrhythmia (irregularity in the heart's rate, rhythm, or beat)
  • Bradycardia (slow rate, less than 60 beats per minute)
  • Tachycardia (fast rate, over 100 beats per minute)
  • Extrasystole (extra beats before the normal beat)
• Pulse


  Palpable rhythmic throbbing caused by the alternating expansion and contraction of an artery as a wave of blood passes through it.
• Blood Pressure


  Force (pressure) or tension exerted by the blood on the walls of blood vessels, measured using a sphygmomanometer and expressed in millimeters of mercury (mm Hg). Systolic pressure is the pressure during contraction of the ventricles, and diastolic pressure is the pressure during relaxation of the ventricles.
• Heart Disorders


  • Angina pectoris (ischemic heart disease)
  • Aortic stenosis
  • Bacterial endocarditis
  • Congestive heart failure (CHF)
  • Myocardial infarction (MI)
  • Myocardial ischemia
  • Pericarditis
• Heart Diagnostic Tests


  • Arterial blood gases (ABGs)
  • Aspartate aminotransferase (AST) or serum glutamic–oxaloacetic transaminase (SGOT)
  • Cholesterol
  • Creatine kinase (CK)
  • Creatine kinase (CK)-MB
  • Digoxin
  • Electrocardiogram (ECG or EKG)
  • Lactate dehydrogenase (LD) isoenzymes
  • Microbial cultures
  • Myoglobin
  • Potassium (K)
  • Triglycerides
  • Troponin T (TnT)
• Divisions of the Vascular System

  • Pulmonary Circulation (carries blood from the heart to the lungs)
  • Systemic Circulation (carries blood and nutrients from heart to the body cells)
• Blood Vessels


  • Arteries (carry oxygenated blood away from the heart)
  • Veins (carry deoxygenated blood to the heart)
  • Arterioles (smallest branches of arteries that join with the capillaries)
  • Aorta (largest artery in the body)
  • Venules (smallest veins at the junction of the capillaries)
  • Venae Cavae (largest veins in the body)
  • Great Saphenous Vein (longest vein in the body)
  • Capillaries (microscopic vessels that connect the arterioles and venules)
• Layers of Blood Vessels

  • Tunica Adventitia (outer layer)
  • Tunica Media (middle layer)
  • Tunica Intima (inner layer or lining)
• Lumen


  Internal space of a blood vessel
• Valves in Blood Vessels


  Help keep blood flowing toward the heart by allowing blood to flow in only one direction
• Antecubital Fossa


  Shallow depression in the arm that is anterior to (in front of) and below the bend of the elbow, where antecubital veins are found
• Antecubital Veins


  • Median Cubital Vein (1st choice)
  • Cephalic Vein (2nd choice)
  • Basilic Vein (3rd choice)
  • Median Vein (also called the intermediate antebrachial vein)
  • Median Cephalic Vein (also called the intermediate cephalic vein)
  • Median Basilic Vein (also called the intermediate basilic vein)
• Other Sites for Venipuncture

  • Other arm and hand veins
  • Leg, Ankle, and Foot Veins
  • Arteries (not used for routine blood collection!)
• Vascular System Disorders


  • Aneurysm
  • Arteriosclerosis
  • Atherosclerosis
  • Disseminated intravascular coagulation (DIC)
  • Embolism
  • Embolus
  • Hemorrhoids
  • Phlebitis
  • Thrombophlebitis
  • Thrombus
  • Varicose veins (varices)
• Tests for Vascular System Disorders

  • D-Dimer
  • Fibrin degradation products (FDP)
  • Lipoproteins
  • Prothrombin time (PT)
  • Partial thromboplastin time (PTT/APTT)
  • Triglycerides
• Blood


  A pH of about 7.4, a mixture of fluid (plasma) and cells (formed elements)
• Formed Elements of Blood

  • Erythrocytes or RBCs
  • Leukocytes or WBCs
  • Thrombocytes or Platelets
• Erythrocytes (RBCs)


  • Most numerous cells in the blood, average 4.5 to 5 million per cubic millimeter, main component is Hemoglobin, main functions are to carry oxygen from the lungs to the cells and carry carbon dioxide from the cells back to the lungs, produced in the bone marrow, mature RBCs have a life span of approximately 120 days, described as anuclear (having no nuclei) and biconcave (indented from both sides) disks
• Types of Leukocytes (WBCs)

  • Agranulocytes
  • Granulocytes (Neutrophils, Eosinophils, Basophils)
• Thrombocytes (Platelets)


  Smallest formed element that is just a fragment of megakaryocyte, average adult ranges from 150,000 to 450,000 per cubic millimeter, essential for coagulation
• WBC Types


  • Neutrophils (most numerous, destroy pathogens by phagocytosis)
  • Eosinophils (ingest and detoxify foreign protein, help turn off immune reactions, increase with allergies and pinworm infestations)
  • Basophils (release histamine and heparin, enhance the inflammatory response)
  • Monocytes (destroy pathogens by phagocytosis, first line of defense in the inflammatory process)
  • Lymphocytes (second most numerous, involved in immune response)
• Blood Type


  Determined by the presence or absence of certain proteins called antigens on the surface of the red blood cells. Two blood group systems: ABO and Rh Factor.
• ABO Blood Group System


  • Type A (has the A antigen, has anti-B antibody)
  • Type B (has the B antigen, has anti-A antibody)
  • Type AB (has both the A and B antigens, neither anti-A nor anti-B antibody)
  • Type O (has neither A nor B antigens, has BOTH anti-A and anti-B antibody)