1. List the major structures blood travels through in order

2. List some of the substances the cardiovascular system transports throughout the body

3. Describe the relationship between flow, pressure, and resistance

4. Name the factors that affect resistance. Which are physiologically most important?

5. Compare/contrast the different chambers of the heart: atria vs. ventricles, right vs. left

6. Describe the path of blood flow through the heart. Where is blood oxygenated and where is

it deoxygenated?

7. Identify the different valves in the heart and describe the mechanism for opening and closing

8. Describe the pericardium and its function

9. Describe cardiac muscle.

10. Compare/contrast contractile to autorhythmic cells

11. Describe pacemaker/action potentials in autorhythmic cells

a. Ion channels- opening and closing

b. Ion movement during the different phases

12. Identify the different components of the conduction pathway

13. Explain the pacemaker of the heart

14. Describe what happens when conduction through the AV node is blocked

15. Describe action potentials in contractile cells. Identify the 5 phases and their ionic bases.

16. Describe the excitation-contraction coupling mechanism of cardiac muscle

17. Compare/contrast the action potential in cardiac contractile cells to skeletal muscle cells. Why is there no

tetanic contraction of the heart?

18. Understand the technique of external recordings of electrical activity

19. Understand the concepts of Einthoven’s triangle and Leads I, II, and III EKGs

20. Identify the P, QRS, and T waves in a Lead II EKG and explain the significance of each

21. Understand the significance of the PR segment, ST segment, and TP interval

22. Define tachycardia and bradycardia

23. Define heart block (1st vs. 2nd vs. 3rd degree), ventricular fibrillation, extrasystole, and pre-mature

ventricular contraction (PVC)

24. Define systole and diastole

25. Understand when the valves open and close, and why

26. Understand the different phases of the cardiac cycle: ventricular filling, isovolumetric ventricular

contraction, ventricular emptying, and isovolumetric ventricular relaxation.

27. Define stroke volume. What is the relationship of stroke volume to end diastolic volume and end

systolic volume?

28. Describe the two heart sounds: when do they occur and why?

29. Understand the relationship between the EKG and the different periods of the cardiac cycle.

30. Define cardiac output. Understand the relationship between cardiac output, stroke volume, and heart

rate.

31. Describe the extrinsic regulation of heart rate.

32. Describe the intrinsic regulation of stroke volume (Frank-Starling’s Law of the Heart).

33. Describe the extrinsic regulation of stroke volume.

34. Describe the 3 mechanisms by which the sympathetic nervous system increases cardiac contractility.