9.1 – Introduction to the Heart
Learning Objectives
- Identify the anatomy and describe the main functions of the heart
- Analyze, translate, and define medical terms and common abbreviations of the heart
- Practice the spelling and pronunciation of heart terminology
- Identify the medical specialties associated with the heart and explore common diseases, disorders, and diagnostic tests and procedures
Cardiovascular System – Heart Word Parts
Click on prefixes, combining forms, and suffixes to reveal a list of word parts to memorize for the cardiovascular system – Heart.
Prefix
- a- (absence of, without)
- bi- (two)
- brady- (slow)
- endo- (within, in)
- epi- (on, upon, over)
- hypo- (below, deficient)
- hyper- (above, excessive)
- inter- (between)
- pan- (all, total)
- peri- (surrounding, around)
- tachy- (fast, rapid)
- tri- (three)
Combining Form
- atri/o (atrium)
- cardi/o/ (heart)
- ech/o (sound)
- electr/o (electricity)
- symptomat/o (symptom)
- valv/o (valve)
- valvul/o (valve)
- ventricul/o (ventricle)
Suffix
- -ac (pertaining to)
- -apheresis (removal)
- -ar (pertaining to)
- -centesis (surgical puncture to aspirate fluid)
- -ectomy (excision, surgical removal)
- -genic (producing, originating, causing)
- -gram (record, radiographic image)
- -graph (instrument used to record)
- -graphy (process of recording, radiographic imaging)
- -ia (condition of, diseased state, abnormal state)
- -ic (pertaining to)
- -itis (inflammation)
- -lysis (loosening, dissolution, separating)
- -megaly (enlarged, enlargement)
- -logist (specialist, physician who studies and treats)
- -oma (tumour)
- -osis (abnormal condition)
- -tomy (cut into, incision)
- -ous (pertaining to)
- -pathy (disease)
- -penia (abnormal reduction in number)
- -pexy (surgical fixation, suspension)
- -plasty (surgical repair)
- -poiesis (formation)
- -sclerosis (hardening)
- -scope (instrument used to view)
- -scopy (process of viewing)
- -stasis (stop, stopping, controlling)
- -stenosis (narrowing, constriction)
Activity source: Cardiovascular System Heart Word Parts by Kimberlee Carter, from Building a Medical Terminology Foundation by Kimberlee Carter and Marie Rutherford, licensed under CC BY- 4.0. / Text version added.
Introduction to the Heart
The heart is a fist-sized vital organ that has one job: to pump blood. If one assumes an average heart rate of 75 beats per minute, a human heart would beat approximately 108,000 times in one day, more than 39 million times in one year, and nearly 3 billion times during a 75-year lifespan. At rest, each of the major pumping chambers of the heart ejects approximately 70 mL blood per contraction in an adult. This would be equal to 5.25 liters of blood per minute and approximately 14,000 liters per day. Over one year, that would equal 10,000,000 liters of blood sent through roughly 100,000 km of blood vessels. In order to understand how that happens, it is necessary to understand the anatomy and physiology of the heart.
Watch The Heart, Part 1 – Under Pressure: Crash Course Anatomy & Physiology #25 (10 min)
Media 9.1: CrashCourse. (2015, July 6). The heart, part 1 – Under pressure: Crash Course anatomy & physiology #25 [Video]. YouTube. https://youtu.be/X9ZZ6tcxArI
Cardiovascular System – Heart Medical Terms
Cardiovascular System – Heart Medical Terms (Text Version)
Practice the following cardiovascular system – heart medical terms by breaking into word parts and pronouncing.
- endocarditis
- end/o/card/itis
- Inflammation of the inner (lining) of the heart
- echocardiogram
- ech/o/cardi/o/gram
- a record (using) sound of the heart
- bradycardia
- brady/card/ia
- condition of slow heart (rate)
- electrocardiograph
- electr/o/cardi/o/graph
- instrument used to record the electrical (activity) of the heart
- tachycardia
- tachy/card/ia
- condition of fast/rapid heart (rate)
- pericardiocentesis
- peri/cardi/o/centesis
- Surgical puncture to aspirate fluid from the (sac) surrounding the heart
- electrocardiogram
- electr/o/cardi/o/gram
- a record of electrical (activity) of the heart
- electrocardiography
- electr/o/cardi/o/graphy
- process of recording the electrical (activity) of the heart
- valvulitis
- valvul/itis
- inflammation of a valve
- pericarditis
- peri/card/itis
- inflammation of the (sac) surrounding the heart
- asymptomatic
- a/symptomat/ic
- pertaining to without symptoms
- myocarditis
- my/o/card/itis
- inflammation of the muscle of the heart
- cardiomegaly
- cardi/o/megaly
- enlarged heart
- atherosclerosis
- ather/o/scler/osis
- abnormal condition of plaque (build up) causing constriction
- valvuloplasty
- valvul/o/plasty
- surgical repair of a valve
- Cardiologist
- Cardi/o/logist
- A physician who studies and treats diseases of the heart
- cardiac
- cardi/ac
- pertaining to the heart
- cardiology
- cardi/o/logy
- study of the heart
- atrioventricular
- atri/o/ventricul/ar
- pertaining to the atrium and ventricle
- cardiogenic
- cardi/o/genic
- originating in the heart
- cardiomyopathy
- cardi/o/my/o/pathy
- disease of the heart muscle
Activity source: Cardiovascular System – Heart Medical Terms by Kimberlee Carter, from Building a Medical Terminology Foundation by Kimberlee Carter and Marie Rutherford, licensed under CC BY- 4.0. /Text version added.
Attribution
Except where otherwise noted, this chapter is adapted from “Cardiovascular System – Heart” 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 – Heart chapter content into sub-chapters.
The number of times the heart contracts in one minute.
The amount of blood ejected from the ventricle in one contraction is called the stroke volume.
The volume of blood ejected by the ventricle in one minute is called the cardiac output