Lab Worksheet

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Module 03 Lab Worksheet: Cardiovascular System- Heart and Blood Vessels

Introduction

This week’s lab will focus on understanding the concepts of heart physiology and blood vessels of the body.

Objectives

Objectives for this week’s lab include: 1) Describe and measure the changes to cardiac output and blood pressure with aerobic activity, 2) Map out the major blood vessels of the body, 3) Locate and palpate various pulses, 4) Map the flow of blood throughout the body.

Overview

The cardiovascular system includes the heart and blood vessels of the body and has, in a very general concept, the responsibility of transporting nutrients throughout the body. The heart can be thought of as two pumps that work side by side that pump blood out to two different circuits of the body- pulmonary and systemic circuit. The pulmonary circuit pertains to blood flow to and from the lungs and the systemic circuit pertains to blood flow to and from the body.

The cardiac cycle represents all of the events associated with one complete heartbeat including the blood flow, cardiac conduction system, heart valves, and the contraction of the heart muscle. Cardiac output and blood pressure are a result of the cardiac cycle. Cardiac output is the amount of blood pumped out by a ventricle in one minute. Blood pressure is the pressure placed or exerted on the walls of the blood vessels during the cardiac cycle. It is measured in terms of systolic (ventricular contraction) / diastolic (ventricular relaxation) and normal measurement of blood pressure is 120/80 mmHg or less. A number of factors can influence blood pressure including: Improper measurement technique, emotional state, talking, stress, alcohol, caffeine, full bladder and smoking.

The blood vessels form a close circuit system that starts and ends at the heart and allows for nutrients to be transported throughout the body. Blood vessels are dynamic structures that...