Cardiovascular system vocab

A closed-circuit system composed of the heart, blood vessels, and blood.

A blood vessel that carries oxygenated blood away from the heart to vital organs and the extremities.

The smallest blood vessels that supply blood to the tissues, and the site of all gas and nutrient exchange in the cardiovascular system. They connect the arterial and venous systems.

Blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood toward the heart from vital organs and the extremities.

The fluid component of the cardiovascular system that links the internal environment of the body to the external environment by transporting materials between the two environments as well as among the various cells and tissues. Therefore, its primary function is transportation.

The liquid portion of the blood responsible for carrying hormones, plasma proteins, food materials (e.g., carbohydrates, amino acids, lipids), ions (e.g., sodium, chloride, bicarbonate), and gases (e.g., oxygen, nitrogen, carbon dioxide) throughout the body.

One of the disc-shaped components of the blood; involved in clotting.

Small-diameter blood vessels that extend and branch out from an artery and lead to capillaries; the primary site of vascular resistance.

Smaller divisions of veins.

The major artery of the cardiovascular system; arises from the left ventricle of the heart.

A chronic disease in which thickening, hardening, and loss of elasticity of the arterial walls result in impaired blood circulation; develops with again, and in hypertension, diabetes, hyperlipidemia, and other conditions.

Fluid between the cells or body parts.

Serves as a pump, pushing blood throughout the body; located between the lungs and lies just left of center, behind the sternum; divided into four chambers, and is often considered two chambers in one, as the right two chambers are responsible for pulmonary circulation and the left two chambers are responsible for systemic circulation.

The two lower chambers of the heart (right and left ventricles).

The two upper chambers of the heart (right and left atrium).

Muscular wall that separates the right and left sides of the heart, preventing the mixing of blood from the two sides of the heart.

The circulatory vessels of the lungs; involved in the circulation of blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the lungs and back to the left atrium of the heart.

The circulatory vessels of the body.

The period from the beginning of one heartbeat to the beginning of the next heartbeat; the systolic and diastolic phases and the interval in between.

The contraction phase of the cardiac cycle.

The period of filling of the heart between contractions; resting phase of the heart.

contain hemoglobin and carry oxygen from the lungs to the body’s tissues. transports oxygen to the cells and removes carbon dioxide

fight off infections and keep the body healthy. special cells in the blood.