THE CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
The heart is a muscular organ that pumps blood through blood vessels to all parts of the
body. It sits between the lungs, in the mediasternum (medial = middle, sternum= the central
bone between the ribs).
The heart has two major functions
1 To pump blood rich in oxygen from the lungs and into the blood vessels where it is carried
to all the body tissues.
2 To collect blood low in oxygen and high in carbon dioxide, from the blood vessels and
pump it into the lungs (the pulmonary system) where the carbon dioxide is released and
fresh oxygen is taken in.
The heart pumps blood through the body at a rate of approximately 80 beats per minute, 24
hours a day.
Activity 1
Try to find your pulse. Open one hand with the palm upwards and place the fingers of the
other hand lightly over the wrist. Press the fingers firmly into the wrist, below the thumb and
to the outer side of the bones in the middle of the wrist. You are feeling for a soft, pulsing
sensation. If you cannot find it, gently move your finder tips over the area. Do not use your
thumb as it has its own pulse and it will confuse you. Count the number of beats you feel
over a minute. This is your pulse rate.
Heart
Organ
Root
Combining form
Example
Meaning
Heart
Card
Cardi/o
Carditis*
Inflammation of the
heart
(note the combining vowel ‘o’ and the ‘i’ of cardi are dropped when –itis is added. This is
because the combining vowel is normally dropped with the addition of a prefix beginning
with a vowel, and the general rule is that you may not have two of the same vowels
together – so one of the ‘i’s is dropped as well).
Heart Chambers
The heart is divided into four major chambers
1 The left and the right atria (atrium singular) that are at the top of the heart and receive
blood from the body and the lungs
2 The left and right ventricles (ventricle singular) that are at the bottom of the heart and
pump blood to the body and the lung
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
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The walls of the heart are thick and muscular, and are composed of three layers
1 The EPICARDIUM = (epi - prefix meaning above, upon or beside) the outer layer
2 The MYOCARDIUM = (my/o – combining form of muscle) the muscular middle layer
3 The ENDOCARDIUM = (endo - prefix meaning inner or within) the inner layer (also
known as the visceral layer)
The heart is covered with a membrane called the PERICARDIUM (peri – prefix meaning
around).
New
prefix
Peri-
Meaning
Example
Around
Pericardium – the sac that surrounds the heart
Activity 2
Fill in the blank cells with either the appropriate meaning or word
Word
1
Enlargement of the heart
2
Cardialgia
3
Pericarditis
4
5
Meaning
Relating to the outer layer of the heart wall
Cardiomyopathy
6
Heart specialist
Heart Valves
Valves are situated in the heart to stop blood from flowing backwards. There are valves
between each atrium and ventricle, and also between each ventricle and the blood vessels
they feed into.
Blood Vessels
There are three major types of blood vessels in the body.



ARTERIES carry blood away from the heart and to the body and lungs. Arteries have
thick walls and pulse as blood is being pumped through them. If they are cut blood will
spurt from them.
VEINS return blood from the body and lungs to the heart. If these are cut the blood will
seep from them.
CAPILLARIES are tiny blood vessels and connect the arteries to the veins.
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Organ
Blood
vessel
Root
Combining
form
Example
Meaning
Vas
Vas/o, vascul/o
Cardiovascular
Relating to the heart and blood
vessels
Angi
Angi/o
Angiogram
X-ray of a blood vessel
Ven
Ven/o
Venogram
X-ray of a blood vessel
Phleb
Phleb/o
Phlebitis
Inflammation of the vein
Arter
Arter/i. Arter/o
Arteritis
Inflammation of the artery
Vein
Artery
Activity 3
Fill in the blank cells with either the appropriate meaning or word
Word
1
Cardioangiogram
2
3
Meaning
Surgical repair of an artery
Arteriospasm
4
Incision into a vein (use phleb/o)
5
Vasoconstriction
6
Vasodilation
Blood circulation
Blood circulates through the body in a figure eight. The middle of the eight is the heart.
One side is the lungs, and the other represents the body.
Veins
Lungs
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
Heart
Arteries
Body
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In this diagram, the blue/dark arrows indicate the blood has low levels of oxygen. The lighter
/red arrows show that the blood is rich in oxygen.
Blood low in oxygen flows from the body, through large veins called the inferior and superior
vena cava. These veins feed into the right atrium of the heart. From the right atrium, blood
moves into the right ventricle and into the pulmonary arteries that takes the blood to the lungs.
In the lungs the blood is filled with oxygen, and this oxygen rich blood is then transported
back to the heart through the pulmonary veins. The pulmonary veins flow into the left atrium
of the heart, and then into the left ventricle. From there the oxygen rich blood is pumped into
the aorta, the largest artery in the body. Then the cycle begins again.
Coronary circulation
The heart muscle also needs a continual supply of oxygen rich blood. The arteries and veins
that supply oxygen rich blood to the heart muscle and drain away oxygen poor blood are
known as coronary circulation
Activity 4
Look at the diagram of the heart and the circulation and answer the following questions
1. How many chambers does the heart have?
2. What are the names of the two top chambers of the heart?
3. What are the names of the bottom two chambers?
4. Is the blood that flows from the lungs to the heart rich or poor in oxygen?
5. Does an artery or a vein carry blood from the heart to the body?
Diseases and disorders of the cardiovascular system
Disease
Definition
Angina pectoris
Pain caused by an insufficient supply of oxygen to the heart muscle
Arrhythmia
Abnormal heart beat
Bradycardia
Slow heart beat
Cardiomegaly
Enlargement of the heart
Embolism
A clot in a blood vessel
Endocarditis
Inflammation of the inner layer of the heart
Hypertension
High blood pressure
Hypotension
Low blood pressure
Ischaemia
Lack of oxygen to an organ
Myocardial infarct
Heart attack – where part of the heart muscle dies
Myocarditis
Inflammation of the middle layer of the heart
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Pericarditis
Inflammation of the membrane around the heart
Tachycardia
Fast heart beat
Thrombosis
The abnormal condition of having a clot in a blood vessel
Activity 5
Read the following paragraph and rewrite it using lay terms
The patient, a middle aged man, had no previous history of cardiopathy, apart from mild
hypertension. On the day of his hospitalisation, he went for his normal morning walk and felt
acute cardialgia. On returning home he collapsed and his wife called the ambulance. On
arrival at CCU he was unconscious, pale and tachycardic. The cardiac tracing showed many
arrhythmias. Within minutes of arrival, the patient suffered a myocardial infarct resulting in
death. The autopsy results showed a thrombosis of the coronary artery had caused massive
ischaemia to the myocardium.
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Terms and Word Parts:
angi/o
blood or lymph vessels
arteri/o
artery -blood vessel carrying blood away from the heart
ather/o
fatty degeneration
atri/o
chamber
brady-
slow
cardi/o
heart
dextro-
right
diastolic
"expansion", lesser figure in BP reading (resting) 140/90
embolism
"plug", clot of blood, fat or air, carried by the blood to lodge elsewhere
phleb/o
vein
septum
partition, dividing wall
steth/o
chest, breast
systolic
top figure in BP reading (contracting) 140/90
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tachy-
fast
thrombus
blood clot
ven/o
vein (carries blood back to the heart)
Procedures:
arteriogram
tracing of wave form of arterial pulse
arteriography
x-ray examination of an artery
Doppler technique
echocardiography, ultrasound is used to calculate blood
flow and pressure with the heart and great vessels
electrocardiogram (ECG)
recording of the electrical activity of the heart
electrocardiography
technique recording the electrical activity of the heart
electrocardiophonography
technique to record heart sounds and murmurs
simultaneously with the ECG
sphygmomanometer
an instrument for measuring blood pressure
venography
x-ray of veins in a particular region
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Abbreviations:
ABE
acute bacterial endocarditis
ABG
arterial blood gas
AMI
acute myocardial infarction
AV
atrioventricular, arteriovenous
BBB
bundle branch block
BP
blood pressure
CAGs
coronary artery graft(s)
CABGs
coronary artery bypass graft(s)
CCF
congestive cardiac failure
CCU
coronary care unit
CHF
congestive heart failure
CVA
cerebral vascular accident
CVP
central venous pressure
ECG
electrocardiogram
IVC
inferior vena cava
LA
left atrium
LV
left ventricle
MI
myocardial infarction
RA
right atrium
RF
rheumatic fever
RHF
right sided heart failure
RV
right ventricle
TIA
transient ischaemic attack
Symptomatic terms:
acrocyanosis
bluish-purple discolouring of hands and feet due to bad
circulation (also known as peripheral cyanosis)
angiospasm
spasm of the fingers, Raynaud's disease
arrhythmia
deviation from normal rhythm of heart beat
blood pressure
pressure of blood against heart wall
bradycardia
slowing of the heart beat (< 50)
cyanosis
bluish discolouration of skin (insufficient oxygen in blood)
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extravasation
leakage of blood/fluid into tissue
hypotension
low blood pressure
hypertension
high blood pressure
intermittent claudication
cramping pain caused by inadequate blood supply to the
affected muscles
ischaemia
inadequate flow of blood
murmur
noise of heart heard through stethoscope
shock
condition associated with circulatory collapse
tachycardia
rapid heart beat
Diagnostic terms:
aneurysm
balloon-like swelling of an artery
angina pectoris
atheroma
pain in centre of chest
narrowing and hardening of blood vessels resulting from
atheromatous deposits
degeneration of arterial walls due to formation of fatty plaques
atresia
congenital absence of a body opening or channel
cardiac arrest
cardiopulmonary
arrest
cardiomyopathy
halt of pumping action of heart
heart/lung arrest caused by sudden cessation of respiration and
circulation
disease of heart muscle
coarctation
congestive heart
failure
cor pulmonale
congenital narrowing of aorta
dilatation
enlargement or expansion of a hollow organ
endocarditis
inflammation of the inner lining of the heart
fibrillation
hypertension
localised rapid contraction of individual muscle fibers
condition in which the pumping of the ventricle of the heart is
inadequate
high blood pressure
hypotension
low blood pressure
hypoxia
ischaemic heart
disease
mitral stenosis
deficiency of oxygen in the tissues
atherosclerosis
heart failure
failure of the heart to pump blood
enlargement of right heart ventricle
inadequate flow of blood to the heart producing angina pectoris
narrowing of the opening of the mitral valve
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mitral incompetence
myocardial infarction
(MI) (AMI)
myocarditis
failure of the mitral valve to close
pericarditis
peripheral vascular
disease (PVD)
Raynaud's disease
rheumatic heart
disease
inflammation of the outer membrane of the heart
rheumatic fever
stenosis
death of part of heart muscle (heart attack)
inflammation of the heart muscle
narrowing of blood vessels, mainly in the legs, causing pain
angiospasm, spasm of the fingers
disorder of the valves of the heart
infection of the upper respiratory tract, can cause inflammation or
the heart valves, muscles and membranes
thrombosis
abnormal narrowing of an opening
inflammation of the wall of the vein with secondary
thrombosis (blood clot) occurring in the vein
blood clot
varicose veins
enlarged veins (superficial)
vasoconstriction
narrowing of the blood vessels
thrombophlebitis
Operative Terms:
anastomosis
joining (of vessels)
atherectomy
removal of fatty deposit in artery
cardiectomy
removal of heart
commissurotomy
surgical division of a stenosed cardiac valve
coronary angioplasty
repair of heart vessel
coronary bypass graft bypass of part of coronary artery
conversion of abnormal rhythms of the heart to normal ones using
defibrillation
electric shock
embolectomy
removal of blood clot
endarterectomy
removal of obstruction of inner wall of artery
sternotomy
surgical division of breast bone
transplantation
implantation of organ or tissue
valvotomy
surgical cutting through a valve
CARDIOVASCULAR SYSTEM
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