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Brush up on key conceptsThe heart, arteries, and veins make up the cardiovascular system. These structures: transport life-supporting oxygen and nutri-ents to cells help remove metabolic waste products carry hormones from one part of the body to another.

At the center of the system, the heart pro-pels blood through the body by continuous rhythmic contractions.

At any time, you can review the major points of this chapter by consulting the Cheat sheet on pages 24 to 32.

2 atria & 2 ventriclesThe heart is a muscular organ composed of two atria and two ventricles.

A sacThe heart is surrounded by a pericardial sac that consists of two layers: the visceral (inner) layer and the parietal (outer) layer.

3 layersThe heart wall has three layers: epicardium (visceral pericardium), the outer layer myocardium, the thick, muscular middle layer endocardium, the inner layer.

4 valvesThere are four heart valves. The tricuspid valve (in the right side of the heart) and mitral valve (in the left side of the heart) lie between the atria and ventricles; because of their location, theyre also called atrioventricular (AV) valves. These valves pre-vent backflow of blood into the atria when the

ventricles contract. The pulmonic semilunar valve lies between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. The aortic semilunar valve lies between the left ventricle and the aorta. These valves prevent backflow of blood into the ventricles during diastole.

Pumping it inThe heart itself is nourished by blood from two main arteries, the left coronary artery and the right coronary artery. As it branches off the aorta, the left coronary artery branches into the left anterior descending (LAD) artery and the circumflex artery. The LAD artery then supplies blood to the anterior wall of the left ventricle, the anterior ventric-ular septum, and the apex of the left ventricle, while the circumflex artery supplies blood to the left atrium, the lateral and posterior por-tions of the left ventricle.

The right coronary artery (RCA) fills the groove between the atria and ventricles and gives rise to the acute marginal artery, which becomes the posterior descending artery. The RCA supplies blood to the sinoatrial (SA) and AV nodes, the septum, the right atrium, and the right ventricle. The posterior descending artery supplies the posterior and inferior wall of the left ventricle and the posterior portion of the right ventricle.

Pumping it through (and out)Blood circulates through the heart following this pathway: from the inferior and superior venae cavae to the right atrium through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle through the pulmonic valve to the pulmonary artery, to the lungs where blood is oxygenated, through the pulmonary veins to the left atrium through the mitral valve to the left ventricle

Cardiovascularsystem3

In this chapter, youll review:

the function of the heart, arteries, and veins

tests used to diagnose cardiovascular disorders

common cardiovascular disorders.

(Text continues on page 32.)

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