Key Terms
- arteries
- blood vessels that carry oxygenated blood from the heart to the body
- arterioles
- arteries shrink to this smallest form and link with capillaries
- atria
- the top two heart chambers
- atrioventricular (AV) node
- a second node in the heart that creates a delay in the electrical impulse from the SA node to the bundle of His to allow time for ventricular filling
- bundle of His
- a bundle of conducting fibers that branch to each ventricle of the heart
- capillaries
- the point at which arteries and veins exchange blood supply
- cardiovascular system
- a system within the body that includes the heart, blood vessels, blood, lymph, lymphatic vessels, and glands that moves blood and lymph through the body
- circulatory systems
- interconnected blood vessels that flow through the body
- electrocardiogram (ECG/EKG)
- a recording of a heart’s electrical activity in which electrodes are placed on the chest to capture signals
- hypoalbuminemia
- a condition where the body does not produce enough albumin, a protein that keeps fluids in blood vessels
- normal sinus rhythm (NSR)
- the heart’s cardiac rhythm that originates from the sinus node
- perfusion
- the movement of blood, oxygen, and nutrients to tissues in the body
- pulseless electrical activity (PEA)
- electrical conduction throughout the heart without physical movement of the heart muscle
- Purkinje fibers
- terminal-conducting fibers in the ventricles
- sinoatrial (SA) node
- the pacemaker of the heart
- telemetry
- the measurement of a heart’s ECG through a portable device that automatically transmits to a monitor
- veins
- blood vessels that carry deoxygenated blood from the body to the heart
- ventricles
- the bottom chambers of the heart
- venules
- the smallest veins that link with capillaries