4.2 key terms

heart rate


pulse

carotid pulse

radial pulse

blood pressure

electrocardiogram

diastolic pressure

systolic pressure

hypertension

sphygmomanometer

myocardial infarction

pacemaker

sinoatrial (SA) node

atrioventricular (AV) node

atrioventricular (AV) bundle

bundle branches

purkinje fibers

Pressure exerted by the blood upon the walls of the blood vessels, especially arteries, usually measured by means of a sphygmomanometer and expressed in millimeters of mercury.

A measurement of heart electrical activity.

A small mass of tissue that is made up of Purkinje fibers, ganglion cells, and nerve fibers, that is embedded in the musculature of the right atrium, and that originates the impulses stimulating the heartbeat -- called also S-A node, sinus node.

The pressure generated by the left ventricle during systole.


An instrument for measuring blood pressure and especially arterial blood pressure.

An abnormally high blood pressure.

Blood pressure that remains between heart contractions.

A measure of cardiac activity usually expressed as the number of beats per minute.

A specialized mass of conducting cells located at the atrioventricular junction in the heart.


The carotid sinus, or carotid bulb, is a widening of a carotid artery at its main branch point. The carotid sinus contains sensors that help regulate blood pressure. The carotid artery pulse can normally be felt in the neck by pressing the fingertips against the side of the windpipe, or trachea.

heart attack

An electrical device for stimulating or steadying the heartbeat or reestablishing the rhythm of an arrested heart.


cardiac end organ they are split in ventricle walls.

offshoots of His in the heart ventricle. they play an integral role in the electrical conduction of the heart and transmits cardiac action potentials from the bundle of His to the purkinje fibers.

bundle of specialized fibers that regulate the heartbeat by conducting impulses from the right atrium to the ventricles. (also called His)

n pulse of the radial artery. rate of which the heart beats.

The rhythmic expansion and recoil of arteries resulting from heart contraction; can be felt from the outside of the body.