Tuason, Theriz Angelique D.

BSN -3
Activity 1- Review of Cardiovascular Anatomy and Physiology

DEFINE/DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING TERMS:

1. Atria
● The heart has two chambers called atria, which are separated by a wall. The right atrium receives blood from the
body, while the left atrium receives blood from the lungs. The heart also has two other chambers called ventricles
that pump blood to the body and lungs.
2. Diastole
● Diastole is when blood fills the heart's ventricles. It starts when aortic or pulmonic valves close and ends when
mitral or tricuspid valves close. During diastole, blood vessels bring blood back to the heart to prepare for the
next ventricular contraction.
3. Endocardium
● The innermost layer of the heart is called the endocardium. It covers the inside of the heart chambers, including the
heart valves. The endocardium protects the cardiac muscles from the bloodstream and has vital blood vessels.
4. Epicardium
● The heart's outer layer is protected by a type of cell called mesothelium, which also covers and protects many other
organs in the body. This layer also contains fat and connective tissue.
5. Myocardium
● The heart has three layers: the endocardium, myocardium, and epicardium. The thickest layer is called the
myocardium, and it is located between the other two layers. The myocardium is made up of muscles and plays an
important role in the heart's function.
6. Pericardium
● The heart is surrounded by a sac filled with fluid that helps it function properly and also covers the great vessels
which are the roots of major blood vessels extending from the heart.
7. Systole
● When your heart beats, it goes through two cycles: systole and diastole. Systole is the contraction of the ventricles.
It starts when the mitral or tricuspid valve closes and ends when the aortic or pulmonic valve closes. During systole,
the ventricles push blood out into the arteries.
8. Ventricles
● The ventricles in the brain are a network of cavities that contain cerebrospinal fluid (CSF). They help remove
waste from the brain and deliver nutrients to it. The text uses simple language and short sentences to make it easy
to read and understand.

9. Afterload
● This is the amount of pressure the heart must create to push blood during ventricular contraction.
10. Cardiac output
● Is the amount of blood the heart pumps in one minute, and it is dependent on the heart rate, contractility, preload,
 and afterload. Cardiac output is logically equal to the product of the stroke volume and the number of beats per
minute (heart rate).

11. Depolarization
● Is the process by which the cells of the heart become less negative and contract. Because when the cells are at rest,
they are negatively charged or polarized. When an electrical impulse is generated, the cells become depolarized.
12. Ejection fraction
● It is a measurement, expressed as a percentage, of how much blood the left ventricle pumps out with each
contraction. A normal ejection fraction is 50 percent or higher, while below 40 percent means the heart isn’t
pumping enough blood.

13. Preload
● Is the force that stretches the cardiac muscles prior to contraction. This force is composed of the volume that fills
the heart from venous return.
14. Repolarization
● Is a common ECG variant characterized by an elevation of the J point, ST segment with upper concavity, and
tall/symmetric T waves in at least two contiguous leads. In addition, it is also the process or act of restoring the
polarized condition across the plasma membrane of a cell (e.g., nerve cell).
15. Stroke volume
● It represents the volume of blood ejected from the ventricle with each heartbeat. It can be calculated as the difference
between the volume inside the ventricle at the end of diastole (end-diastolic volume) and the end of systole (end-
systolic volume).
DEFINE AND DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING VALVES:

1. Aortic valve
● Located between the left ventricle and the aorta. The aorta is the largest blood vessel in your body. It brings
oxygenated blood from your heart to the rest of your body.
2. Mitral valve.
● Located between the left atrium and the left ventricle. And they prevent backward flow from the left ventricle to
the left atrium.
3. Pulmonary valve
● Located between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. This artery leads to the lungs, where the blood
picks up oxygen.
4. Tricuspid valve
● Located between the right atrium and the right ventricle. They also prevent blood from flowing backward from
the right ventricle to the right atrium.

DEFINE AND DESCRIBE THE FOLLOWING PARTS OF THE HEART THAT FUNCTION IN
THE CONDUCTION PATHWAY:
1. Bundle of His
● It is a part of the electrical system of the heart. It is a collection of cells that carry electrical signals from the AV
node to the bundle branches. The electrical system that controls the heartbeat is made up of several parts that signal
the heart muscle to contract.
2. SA Node
● It initiated the sequence, causing the atria, or upper chamber of the heart, to contract.
3. AV node
● The signal then passes through the AV node to the lower heart chambers (ventricles), causing them to contract, or
pump.
4. Purkinje fibers
● Causing the is the muscle cells that conduct electrical impulses that allow coordinated contraction of
cardiac muscle.

Describe the following properties of the heart in terms of its conduction system function:

1. Automaticity – The ability to contract without direct stimulation by the nervous system.

2. Excitability – This is the ability of a cardiac cell to generate an action potential at its membrane in response to
depolarization and to transmit an impulse along the membrane.

3. Conductivity – Each muscle cell can pass electrical impulses from cell to cell.

4. Refractoriness – It limits the maximum frequency of electrical activity and protects the heart from tonic contractions.

Heart sounds are produced by the closure of the atrioventricular valves. Describe the following:

• S1 – This is normally a single sound because mitral and tricuspid valve closure occurs almost simultaneously. In
addition, S1 corresponds to the pulse.

• S2 – is normally split because the aortic valve (A2) closes before the pulmonary valve (P2).

• S3 – Low-pitched sound that can be heard when blood rushes rapidly from the heart’s atrium into the ventricle.

• S4 – Is an abnormal late diastolic sound caused by forcible atrial contraction in the presence of decreased
ventricular compliance.
• Gallops – Triple rhythm. The type of tripling commonly called gallop rhythm occurs when the 3rd and 4th heart
sounds sum in the presence of tachycardia.

• Friction rubs – It is a short explosive sound; it is described as creaking or grating and likened to walking on fresh
snow. The sound may be intermittent or continuous.
 • Murmurs – A blowing, whooshing, or rasping sound heard during a heartbeat. The sound is caused by turbulent
(rough) blood flow through the heart valves or near the heart.

TRACE THE FOLLOWING BY SHOWING IT IN THE FORM OF A FLOWCHART: • Pulmonary

circulation

- Moves blood between the heart and the lungs. It transports deoxygenated blood to the lungs to absorb oxygen and
release carbon dioxide. The oxygenated blood then flows back to the heart.

• Systemic circulation

- Moves blood between the heart and the rest of the body. It sends oxygenated blood out to cells and returns
deoxygenated blood to the heart.

References:

• Bailey, R. (2021, September 2). Atria of the heart function. ThoughtCo. https://www.thoughtco.com/atria-of-the-heart-
anatomy-373232

• Pollock, J. D. (2022, October 3). Physiology, cardiac cycle. StatPearls - NCBI Bookshelf.
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/books/NBK459327/#:~:text=Diastole%20begins%20wit
h%20the%20closing,for%20the%20next%20ventricular%20contraction.

• Gurarie, M. (2023, August 11). Definition and function of endocardium. Verywell Health.
https://www.verywellhealth.com/endocardium-definition-5088789

• Osmosis - epicardium: what is it, functions, and more. (n.d.). Osmosis.