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