Mini-Glossary
Root Words
algesia (sense of pain)
angi/o (vessel)
arteri/o (artery)
cardiac arrest (stopped heart)
dactyl/o (fingers)
defibrillation (heart shocked to a regular heartbeat)
embolism (obstruction of a blood vessel)
embolus (foreign particle in the bloodstream)
esthesia (feeling, sensation)
fibrillation (very fast,irregular heartbeat)
myel/o (spinal cord, bone marrow)
phas/o (speech)
phleb/o (vein)
plas/o (formation)
thrombosis (blood clot occluding a vessel)
thrombus (a blood clot)
Prefixes
Suffixes
a-, an- (absent, without)
poly- (many)
brady- (slow)
sym-, syn- (together)
dys- (bad, difficult, painful)
-orrhexis (rupture, bursting apart)
macro- (large)
-tripsy (rubbing, crushing)
micro- (small, very small)
-emia (blood)
tachy- (fast)
The heart is the pump of the circulatory system. It is about the size of a fist. It’s hollow and
cone-shaped, with its apex at the bottom.
The heart uses arteries to deliver oxygen-rich blood to the cells, tissues, and organs. Oxygendepleted blood returns to the heart via the veins. The heart then pumps oxygen-deficient
blood to the lungs where it becomes oxygen-enriched and returns to the heart for another
circulatory round.
Heart
Heart
Artery
Arteriole
Cappillary
Vein
Venule
Blood Plasma
Red Blood cell Erythrocyte
White Blood cell Leukocyte
Plasma
Platelets
Haemogloblin