4 Cardiovascular System Physiology Free Online FlashCards

How does the cardiovascular system help maintain homeostasis?

It delivers oxygen, nutrients, and hormones; carries away carbon dioxide and other wastes; distributes heat; and helps defend the body and limit blood loss.

What is albumin’s role in plasma?

Albumin helps maintain the osmotic pressure that keeps fluid in the bloodstream.

What do red blood cells transport using hemoglobin?

Hemoglobin in red blood cells carries most of the blood’s oxygen and some carbon dioxide.

What do platelets do when a vessel is damaged?

Platelets are cell fragments that help form clots when a blood vessel is damaged.

Where does each ventricle pump blood?

The right ventricle pumps blood toward the lungs; the left ventricle pumps blood to the body.

Why is the left ventricle’s wall thicker?

It must generate enough pressure to drive blood through the systemic circulation.

How do heart valves help maintain one-way blood flow?

They open and close in response to pressure differences, helping blood flow in one direction and preventing backflow.

What is the role of the SA and AV nodes in a heartbeat?

The SA node normally sets the pace. The AV node briefly delays the signal before it travels through the ventricles, allowing atrial contraction to occur first.

How are arteries and veins defined, and what is the pulmonary exception?

Arteries carry blood away from the heart, while veins carry it toward the heart. Pulmonary arteries carry oxygen-poor blood; pulmonary veins carry oxygen-rich blood.

How is cardiac output calculated?

Cardiac output is the volume pumped by one ventricle per minute: $\text{CO} = \text{HR} \times \text{SV}$.

How can increased preload affect contraction force?

Greater filling generally stretches cardiac muscle and increases contraction force, within physiological limits. This is the Frank–Starling mechanism.

What is the main exchange function of capillaries?

Their thin walls permit gases, nutrients, and wastes to move between blood and surrounding tissues.