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SAMPLE
Disclaimer:
Use this materials to help you in your studies. Add on additional materials
which you think these notes are not adequate in explaining. Please note that I
have not included any diagrams for the different body system. Those diagrams
are very important (for example, the upper respiratory tract and GI etc.)
which you should learn to recognize the important components of these
systems.
Describe the general organization of the cardiovascular system.
System: Cardiovascular system
Organs: Heart, arteries, veins, capillaries
Tissue : Connective tissue, muscle (cardiac muscle and smooth muscle aligning
arteries, veins and capillaries)
Cell : Epithelial cells making the blood vessels, muscle fibers
Orientate the heart within the thorax.
Located in Mediastinum, 2nd to 6th ribs
Anterior of heart:sternum, posterior: 6th to 8th cervicle vertebrae
2/3 mass lies to left, 1/3 right, lies on diaphragm
Describe the chambered structure of the heart and relate this to the
pumping action of the organ.
4 chambers: 2 atria 2 ventricles
Atria – receiving chambers, receive from veins, pump to ventricles
Ventricles – pumping chambers, receive from atria, pump to arteries
Ventricles require to move blood a greater distance hence thicker myocardial
wall.**
Name the layers of the heart wall.
Tunica intima, tunica media and tunica adventitia/externa **
Describe the heart valves & relate this to the flow of blood through the
heart chambers.
AV valves: Tricuspid(right atria), Bicuspid(left atria)
SL valves: Pulmonary valve(right ventricle), Aortic valve(left ventricle)
Cusp anchored to papillary muscle by chordae tendinae
Valves important to allow unidirectional blood flow, does not allow to go 2 ways and
only can go through the desired way
SAMPLE
Identify the vessels of the cardiac circulation.
Arteries  arterioles > gas exchange in capillaries > venules  veins
Arteries progress to become arterioles (resistance vessels), arterioles come to
capillary and connect to venules then veins (finally reach vena cava)
Compare and contrast the structural features of cardiac muscle with
that of skeletal muscle.
Cardiac muscle: Short, fat branched cells, one/two nuclei, centrally located nuclei,
organelles at poles, interconnected with neighbour cells by intercalated discs
Skeletal muscle: long, composed of sarcomeres (actin and myosin filaments), multinucleate, nuclei at periphery
Name the major arteries and veins within the body.
Need to know the aorta, brachiocephalic trunk, brachial artery and vein, carotid
arteries, jugular veins, subclavian arteries
**** question: what are the 3 branches of the brachiocephalic trunk?
Describe the layered structure of blood vessels.**
Tunica intima: composed of endothelium and internal elastic lamina
Tunica media: Smooth muscle to change the diameter of the blood vessels when
necessary
Tunica externa: wrap around tunica media
Compare the structures of arteries with that of veins and lymph channels.
Arteries no valves; veins and lymph have valves
Know the direction in which blood flows through the circulation.
Veins bring deoxygenated blood into heart **
Right atrium  right ventricle  pulmonary arteries  lungs  pulmonary veins 
left atrium  left ventricle  body blood vessels except lungs
Pulmonary circulation in series sequence with systemic circulation **
Regional systemic circulation parallel with one another **
Understand how unidirectional blood flow is achieved.
Achieved by valves. The valves make sure that the blood goes in a specific way.
Identify the two most important haemodynamic factors that affect blood
flow. ****
Q = change in P/R where Q is blood flow, P = pressure and R = resistance
SAMPLE
The factors: pressure and resistance
Understand what is meant by the statement that “the heart is two
pumps in series”. **
Right pump and left pump (pump = atrium+ventricle) in series with each other.
The heart is made of 2 pumps (right and left). Both pumps are in series ie. right
pump  arteries  capillaries  veins  left pump (know for terms test)
Know key phases of the cardiac cycle and accurately define the terms
‘systole’ and ‘diastole’.*****
Cardiac cycle – complete heartbeat
Systole – Contraction of the heart
Diastole – Relaxation of the heart
In cardiac cycle: systole has 3 phases
1. Atrial systole  contraction of left and right atria and as atria contract,
this creates increase pressure to push additional blood into ventricle
2. Isovolumetric ventricular contraction  volume of blood in ventricle does
not change but as ventricle contract, this push the pressure up (pressure
increase in preparation for ejection of blood out of ventricle)
3. Ejection  eject blod out of ventricle
Diastole has 2 phases
4. Isovolumetric ventricular relaxation  heart relaxes, volume of ventricle
stays the same and pressure decreases in ventricle
5. Passive ventricular filling  blood passively enters the heart (no contraction
whatsoever)
Correctly identify four measurements taken from the blood pressure
wave.
Systolic pressure, diastolic pressure, pulse, mean arterial pressure
Identify the key functional difference between contractile and electrical
cells of the heart.
Electrical no myosin and actin, conduct action potential
Contractile has myosin and actin, contract
Gap junctions for both these cells
Know the key parts of the electrical conduction pathway of the heart.
SA node, AV node, Interventricular bundle/bundle of His, Purkinje fibers,
interartrial bundle and internodal bundle