Wednesday, December 28, 2011

Ekg Interpretation - The Heart - A Brief Glossary

Aorta - the body's largest artery; the blood vessel that carries blood out of the heart's left ventricle

Superior vena cava - The vein that carries blood from the upper body into the right atrium

Inferior vena cava - The vein that carries blood from the lower body into the right atrium

Pulmonary artery - Artery that carries blood from the right ventricle into the lungs. Upon exiting the heart, it immediately divides into the left pulmonary artery and the right pulmonary artery

Pulmonary veins - veins that carry freshly oxygenated blood from the lungs into the left atrium

Atria - one of two low-pressure and thin-walled chambers of the heart. The right atrium is the entry point of the heart for deoxygenated blood that has traveled straight through the body; the left atrium is the entry point for blood that has been oxygenated in the lungs.

Interatrial Septum - connective tissue that forms the wall in the middle of the left and right atria

Atrial kick - the occurrence of extra blood flowing into the ventricles as a follow of the contraction of the atria

Coronary arteries - the arteries that supply blood to the heart itself

Tricuspid atrioventricular valve - the valve in the middle of the right atrium and the right ventricle which prevents blood from flowing back to the right atrium once it has entered the right ventricle

Mitral (bicuspid) atrioventricular valve - the valve in the middle of the left atrium and left ventricle which prevents blood from flowing back into the left atrium once it has entered the left ventricle

Pulmonic semilunar valve - the valve in the middle of the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery which prevents blood from flowing back to the right ventricle once it has entered the pulmonary artery

Aortic semilunar valve - the valve in the middle of the left ventricle and the aorta which prevents blood from flowing back into the left ventricle once it has entered the aorta

Interventricular septum - connective tissue that separates the right and left ventricles

Ventricles - the lower, high-pressure, thick-walled chambers of the heart. The right ventricle receives blood from the right atrium and pumps it into the pulmonary artery. The left ventricle receives blood from the left atrium and pumps it ito the aorta.

Myocardium - the heart muscle. It is made up of muscle fibers, capillaries and nerve cells. The term can also refer to the heart itself.

Endocardium - the inside layer of the heart muscle

Epicardium-the outer layer of the heart muscle

Pericardium - the double walled sac that surrounds the heart

Subendocardial area - the innermost half of the myocardium

Subepicardial area - the outermost half of the myocardium

Visceral layer of the serous pericardium - other name for the epicardium

Fibrous parietal pericardium - the outer layer of the pericardium

Serous pericardium - the inner layer of the pericardium

4300 gallons - approximate number of blood that is pumped by the heart each day

150 mL - approximate volume of blood that each ventricle can hold

Cardiac cycle - refers to one complete cycle of pumping by the heart

Systole - period of contraction when blood is being ejected from a chamber. There is both atrial systole and ventricular systole. When the prefix is not supplied, however, ventricular systole is the assumed meaning

Asystole - when the period of contraction does not occur

Diastole - the period of free time during which the chambers are allowed to fill with blood due to the pressure differences inside the chambers.. There is both atrial diastole and ventricular diastole. When the prefix is not supplied, however, ventricular diastole is the assumed meaning

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