Sophia Chaudhry

Heart System
Glossary
Aorta- the main artery of the body, supplying oxygenated blood to the circulatory system. In
humans, it passes over the heart from the left ventricle and runs down in front of the backbone.

Superior Vena Cava- a large vein carrying deoxygenated blood into the heart from the
head, arms, and upper body.

Inferior Vena Cava- a large vein carrying deoxygenated blood into the heart from the
lower body.

Pulmonary Veins- a vein carrying oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium of
the heart.

Pulmonary Artery- the artery carrying blood from the right ventricle of the heart to the
lungs for oxygenation.

Right Atrium- In the right upper chamber of the heart. It receives deoxygenated blood from
the body through the vena cava and pumps it into the right ventricle which then sends it to the
lungs to be oxygenated.

Right Ventricle- one of the four chambers of the heart, the chamber within the heart that
is responsible for pumping oxygen-depleted blood to the lungs.

Left Atrium- one of the four chambers of the heart, located on the left posterior side. Its
primary roles are to act as a holding chamber for blood returning from the lungs and to act as a
pump to transport blood to other areas of the heart.

Left Ventricle- one of four chambers of the heart. It is in the bottom left portion of the heart
below the left atrium, separated by the mitral valve. The left ventricle is the thickest of the
hearts chambers and is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to tissues all over the body.
By contrast, the right ventricle solely pumps blood to the lungs.

Interventricular Septum- the curved slanting wall that separates the right and left
ventricles of the heart and is composed of a muscular lower part and a thinner more
membranous upper part.

Endocardium- the thin, smooth membrane that lines the inside of the chambers of the
heart and forms the surface of the valves.

Epicardium- a serous membrane that forms the innermost layer of the pericardium and the
outer surface of the heart.

Myocardium- the muscular tissue of the heart.

Pericardium- the membrane enclosing the heart, consisting of an outer fibrous layer and
an inner double layer of serous membrane.

Intercalated Discs- microscopic identifying features of cardiac muscle. Cardiac muscle

consists of individual heart muscle cells (cardiomyocytes) connected by intercalated discs to
work as a single functional organ or syncytium.

Conduction System- is a group of specialized cardiac muscle cells in the walls of the
heart that send signals to the heart muscle causing it to contract. The main components of the
 Sophia Chaudhry
Heart System
Glossary
cardiac conduction system are the SA node, AV node, bundle of His, bundle branches, and
Purkinje fibers.

Internodal Pathway- The conduction of the electrical impulses throughout the atria is
seen on the ECG as the P wave. As the electrical activity is spreading throughout the atria, it
travels via specialized pathways, known as internodal tracts, from the SA node to the AV node.

Sinoatrial Node- a small body of specialized muscle tissue in the wall of the right atrium
of the heart that acts as a pacemaker by producing a contractile signal at regular intervals.

Atrioventricular Node- The AV node, which controls the heart rate, is one of the major
elements in the cardiac conduction system. The AV node serves as an electrical relay station,
slowing the electrical current sent by the sinoatrial (SA) node before the signal is permitted to
pass down through to the ventricles.

Purkinje Fibers- special fibers that are in the atrioventricular, or AV, bundle of the heart.
Their function is to send nerve impulses to the cells in the ventricles of the heart and cause
them to contract and pump blood either to the lungs or the rest of the body.