| Term | Definition |
|---|
| alveoli | the tiny air sacs of the lungs |
| anemia | a deficiency of red blood cells |
| aorta | the largest vessel of the systemic arterial system, from which the main arteries carrying oxygenated blood branch and subdivide into smaller and smaller vessels |
| ateriole | a small diameter blood vessel that extends and branches out from an artery and leads to capillaries |
| artery | a blood vessel that carries blood from the heart to the body |
| atherosclerosis | The clogging or hardening of arteries or blood vessels caused by plaque |
| atrium | any chamber that is connected to other chambers or passageways |
| AV node | a bundle of fibers of the impulse conducting system of the heart |
| blood pressure | The force that blood exerts against vessel walls |
| capillary | any of the minute blood vessels connecting arterioles with venules |
| cardiac output | the amount of blood ejected from the left ventricle per minute |
| clogging | preventing movement caused by plaque |
| congestive heart failure | a problem with the structure or function of the heart impairs its ability to supply sufficient blood flow to meet the body's needs |
| diastolic pressure | the blood pressure after the contraction of the heart while the chambers of the heart refill with blood |
| embolus | an abnormal particle (e.g. an air bubble or part of a clot) circulating in the blood |
| heart | the hollow muscular organ located behind the sternum and between the lungs |
| heart attack | death of an area of heart tissue due to a blockage of blood flow to the heart muscle |
| heart murmur | an abnormal sound of the heart; sometimes a sign of abnormal function of the heart valves |
| hemoglobin | a hemoprotein composed of globin and heme that gives red blood cells their characteristic color; function primarily to transport oxygen |
| hypertension | high blood pressure: a common disorder in which blood pressure remains abnormally high |
| infection | the detrimental colonization of a host organism by a foreign species |
| kidney | either of two bean-shaped excretory organs that filter wastes (especially urea) from the blood and excrete them and water in urine |
| lungs | two saclike respiratory organs in the chest of vertebrates; serves to remove carbon dioxide and provide oxygen to the blood |
| lymph | A colourless, watery, bodily fluid carried by the lymphatic system, that consists mainly of white blood cells |
| nephron | any of the small tubules that are the excretory units of the vertebrate kidney |
| plasma | the colorless watery fluid of the blood and lymph that contains no cells, but in which the blood cell |
| platelet | tiny bits of protoplasm found in vertebrate blood; essential for blood clotting |
| pulmonary artery | one of two arteries that carry venous blood from the heart to the lungs |
| pulmonary circuit | the portion of the cardiovascular system which carries oxygen-depleted blood away from the heart, to the lungs, and returns oxygenated blood back to the heart |
| pulmonary vein | any of four veins that carry arterial blood from the lungs to the left atrium of the heart |
| red blood cell | contains hemoglobin to carry oxygen to the bodily tissues; a biconcave disc that has no nucleus |
| SA node | pacemaker: a specialized bit of heart tissue that controls the heartbeat |
| stroke | the rupture or occlusion of a blood vessel leads to oxygen lack in the brain |
| systemic circuit | The loop of the circulatory system that carries blood through the body and back to the heart |
| systolic pressure | the blood pressure (as measured by a sphygmomanometer) during the contraction of the left ventricle of the heart |
| urea | the chief solid component of mammalian urine |
| uric acid | a white tasteless odorless crystalline product of protein metabolism; found in the blood and urine |
| valve | a structure in a hollow organ (like the heart) with a flap to insure one-way flow of fluid through it |
| varicose veins | twisted, widened veins caused by swollen or enlarged blood vessels |
| vein | a blood vessel that carries blood from the capillaries toward the heart |
| vena cava | either of two large veins that return oxygen-depleted blood to the right atrium of the heart |
| ventricle | a chamber of the heart that receives blood from an atrium and pumps it to the arteries |
| venule | a small blood vessel that allows deoxygenated blood to return from the capillary beds to the larger blood vessels called veins |
| white blood cell | blood cells that engulf and digest bacteria and fungi; an important part of the body's defense system |
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