Vocabulary & Check Your Knowledge

Cardiovascular System-Blood Vocabulary

ABG

Arterial blood gas. This test measures blood pH, oxygen and CO2 levels in a sample of arterial blood, usually taken from the wrist.

AIDS

Acquired immunodeficiency syndrome, caused by infection with the HIV virus.

Aneurysm

Weakening of the wall of a blood vessel, causing it to thin and balloon out, and possibly eventually burst, resulting in internal bleeding.

Angioplasty

A balloon-tip catheter is fed through a blood vessel up to the site of the narrowing, the balloon is inflated to re-open the artery. A stent is sometimes placed at the site to reinforce the arterial wall and to prevent re-occlusion.

Anti-B Antibodies

Proteins that will mount an immune response against B antigens.

Antibodies

Also called immunoglobulins, proteins produced by B lymphocytes in response to a non-self antigen.

Antigens

A substance that provokes an immune response. This happens because the immune system sees the antigen as foreign, or ‘non-self” (does not belong in that body).

Arteries

Blood vessels that transport blood away from the heart.

Arterioles

A very small artery that leads to a capillary.

Arteriosclerosis

Hardening of arteries.

Atherosclerosis

A hardening of the arteries that involves the accumulation of plaque.

Brachial Artery

Large artery in the upper arm near the biceps muscle.

Capillary

A microscopic channel that supplies blood to the tissues through perfusion.

Cardiac Output

Cardiac output is the measurement of blood flow from the heart through the ventricles, and is usually measured in liters per minute. Any factor that causes cardiac output to increase, by elevating heart rate or stroke volume or both, will elevate blood pressure and promote blood flow.

Cardiac Tamponade

The pericardial sac surrounding the heart has filled with blood or other fluid and the resulting pressure is preventing the heart from beating effectively.

Cardiogenic

Originating from the heart.

Carotid Artery

A large artery in the neck.

Celiac Disease

Inflammation of the intestines caused by exposure to gluten.

Centrifuged

A centrifuge is a common piece of laboratory equipment used to spin test tubes at a high speed in order to separate components in a liquid by weight.

Chemoreceptors

Cells that sense changes in chemical levels.

Chemotaxis

Movement in response to chemicals; a phenomenon in which injured or infected cells and nearby leukocytes emit the equivalent of a chemical “911” call, attracting more leukocytes to the site.

Compliance

The ability of any compartment to expand to accommodate increased content. The greater the compliance of an artery, the more effectively it is able to expand to accommodate surges in blood flow without increased resistance or blood pressure.

Coronary Artery Bypass Graft (CABG)

In a coronary bypass procedure, a non-vital superficial vessel from another part of the body (often the great saphenous vein) or a synthetic vessel is inserted to create a path around the blocked area of a coronary artery.

Coronary Heart Disease

Also called coronary artery disease (CAD); the blood vessels that supply blood to the myocardium become hardened and narrowed, impairing the delivery of oxygen to the heart muscle.

Crohn Disease

A type of inflammatory bowel disease.

Diapedesis

dia- = “through”; -pedan = “to leap”

Diastolic Pressure

The diastolic pressure is the lower value (usually about 80 mm Hg) and represents the arterial pressure of blood during ventricular relaxation, or diastole.

Edema

Swelling.

Embolus

A freely moving piece of a substance (plaque or blood clot) that travels through the circulation until it blocks a smaller blood vessel, cutting of the supply of oxygen to the tissue.

Endothelium

The lining of the lumen of a blood vessel.

Epiphyses

The ends of long bones, singular is epiphysis.

EPO

Erythropoietin is a hormone produced by the kidneys that plays an important role in the homeostasis of red blood cells levels in the body.

Erythrocytes

Red blood cells.

Extramedullary Hemopoiesis

Hemopoiesis outside the medullary cavity of adult bones.

Heart Rate

The number of times the heart contracts in one minute.

Hematocrit

A lab test which measures the percentage red blood cells in a sample of whole blood. It represents how much of the person’s blood is made up of red blood cells, by volume.

Hemolysis

Breaking apart of the erythrocyte cell membrane, allowing its contents to leak out.

Hemopoiesis

Also called hematopoiesis; from the Greek root haima- = “blood”; -poiesis = “production”.

Hemopoietic Growth Factors

Chemical messengers which promote the proliferation and differentiation of formed elements and include erythropoietin, thrombopoietin, colony-stimulating factors, and interleukins.

Hemorrhage

Excessive or uncontrolled bleeding from the blood vessels.

Hemostasis

The process by which the body seals a ruptured blood vessel to prevent further blood loss.

Homeostasis

Biological process that results in stable equilibrium.

Hypertension

High blood pressure.

Hypothyroidism

Underactive thyroid gland, insufficient production of thyroid hormones (T3 and T4).

Hypovolemic

hypo=below, lower than normal, volemic=pertaining to volume (in this case, the volume of blood in the body).

Hypoxemia

Low blood oxygen levels.

Hypoxia

Literally: ‘lower than normal amount of oxygen to tissues’. Hypoxia means that a tissue is not getting enough oxygen to survive and cell death is likely.

Ischemia

Insufficient blood and oxygen to cells of an organ. These cells are starving for oxygen, but they are still alive.

Leukocytes

White blood cells.

Lupus

An autoimmune disease in which the body mounts an immune response against its own tissues, causing chronic inflammation and tissue damage.

Macrophages

A type of leukocyte (usually a monocyte) that has the ability to ingest and destroy other cells or pathogens.

Medulla Oblongata

A part of the brain stem responsible for control of heart rate and breathing.

Perfusion

The delivery of blood to an area/tissue/organ.

Peripheral Arterial Disease

The obstruction of vessels in peripheral regions of the body.

pH

A measure of how acidic or alkaline a substance is, as determined by the number of free hydrogen ions in the substance.

Phagocytized

Also phagocytosed, this is the process by which certain cells are able to ‘eat’ other cells or substances by engulfing them.

Placenta

The organ of gas and nutrient exchange between the baby and the mother.

Plaque

A fatty material including cholesterol, connective tissue, white blood cells, and some smooth muscle cells.

Plasma Cells

A type of B lymphocyte that produces antibodies which bind to specific foreign or abnormal antigens, in order to destroy them.

Pneumothorax

An excessive amount of air is present in the thoracic cavity, outside of the lungs, putting pressure on the lungs and interfering with venous return, pulmonary function, and delivery of oxygen to the tissues.

Polycythemia Vera

A type of bone marrow disease that causes an excessive production of immature erythrocytes.

Pulmonary Embolism

A piece of a blood clot or other substance has broken free from its original location and traveled through the bloodstream to lodge in a smaller vessel in the lungs. This causes an obstruction in that vessel and hypoxia to the tissues supplied by that vessel.

Rheumatoid Arthritis

An autoimmune disorder in which the body mounts an immune response against its own joint tissues, causing inflammation and damage to the joints.

Sickle Cell Disease

Also called sickle cell anemia: A genetic disorder involving the production of an abnormal type of hemoglobin which delivers less oxygen to tissues and causes erythrocytes to assume a sickle (or crescent) shape.

Silent Disorder

A disease or disorder that often lacks signs or symptoms.

Sphygmomanometer

A blood pressure cuff attached to a measuring device, or gauge.

Systolic Pressure

The systolic pressure is the higher value (typically around 120 mm Hg) and reflects the arterial pressure resulting from the ejection of blood during ventricular contraction, or systole.

Thalassemia

An inherited condition typically occurring in individuals from the Middle East, the Mediterranean, African, and Southeast Asia, in which maturation of the RBCs does not proceed normally. The most severe form is called Cooley’s anemia.

Thrombocytes

Also called platelets, these are cell fragments that aid in blood clotting.

Thrombocytosis

A condition in which there are too many platelets.

Thrombosis

Formation of unwanted blood clots.

Tissue Rejection

Also called organ rejection. The recipient’s immune system recognizes the transplanted tissue, the graft, as non-self and mounts an immune response against it, ultimately destroying it.

Vasoconstrict

The smooth muscle layer in the blood vessel wall contracts, causing the vessel diameter to narrow. This increases blood pressure in the vessel.

Vasodilate

The smooth muscle layer in the wall of the blood vessel relaxes, allowing the vessel to widen. This decreases blood pressure in the vessel.

Vein

Blood vessels that carry blood back to the heart.

Venules

Extremely small veins.

Vessel Compliance

The ability of any compartment to expand to accommodate increased content. The greater the compliance of an artery, the more effectively it is able to expand to accommodate surges in blood flow without increased resistance or blood pressure.

Viscosity

The thickness of fluids that affects their ability to flow.

Attribution

Except where otherwise noted, this chapter is adapted from “Cardiovascular System – Blood Vessels and Blood” in Building a Medical Terminology Foundation by Kimberlee Carter and Marie Rutherford, licensed under CC BY 4.0. / A derivative of Betts et al., which can be accessed for free from Anatomy and Physiology (OpenStax). Adaptations: dividing Cardiovascular System – Blood Vessels and Blood chapter content into sub-chapters.