Heart Questions:
Embryology of Heart
1. What are the initial stages of heart formation?
2. Run through the stages of septation and where problems can occur and
their affects, are they cyanotic or acyanotic?
3. Is the conduction tissue of the heart nervous or muscular derived?
Cardiac Cycle
1. Why do we need a CVS?
2. What are the laws of cardiac output, flow and BP?
3. Describe the electrical stages of the cardiac cycle
4. Describe the physical stages of the cardiac cycle
5. What is EDV, ESV, SV and Ejection fraction?
6. What does the volume-pressure loop tell us? How may it change in
disease states?
7. Heart sounds?
How Filling Pressure and Inotropic State Govern Cardiac Output
1. What are the three parameters affecting stroke volume?
2. What is the energy of contraction? What is stroke work used to do?
3. Describe Starlings law, the ventricular function curve and the molecular
basis of Starlings law
4. What are the roles of Starling’s law?
5. What is La Place’s law?
6. What are the roles of La Place’s law?
7. What is afterload?
8. Why does La Place’s law explain ventricular hypertrophy in heart failure?
9. How does BP effect stroke volume?
10. How does the vol-pressure loop change with increased CVP,
hypertension and low BP
Cardiac Contraction
1. How do we control cardiac muscle contractility?
2. How do we increase Ca2+ in cardiac myocytes and why does this cause
contraction?
3. How do we reduce Ca2+ levels in the cell?
4. How does the sympathetic system alter cardiac function?
5. Explain how cardiac glycosides work
Red Blood Cell Production
1. What is the general differentiation sequence of a erythrocyte?
2. What components are needed to make haemoglobin?
, 3. What is importance of iron, B12 and folate? What may cause their levels to
be low?
4. Discuss red cell metabolism? What are the two important enzymes? What
is glutathione?
5. What makes up red cell membrane?
6. Discuss breakdown of RBCs.
Blood Vessel Structure
1. What are the three layers of blood vessel wall? What are they made up of?
2. What are the different types of vessels?
Solute and Fluid Exchange – Solutes
1. Why do we need to transport solutes?
2. What is the barrier?
3. Different types of transport?
4. What are capillaries and what are the three broad classes?
5. Run through factors that affect diffusion, properties of diffusion itself, of
the solute and of the membrane. Also Fick’s law.
6. What features of capillary can affect transport?
7. Discuss concept of permeability
8. How do we control diffusion rate?
Solutes and Fluid Exchange – Fluid
1. Why is fluid exchange important?
2. What are the forces acting at a capillary?
3. Discuss Starling’s Law of fluid exchange.
4. What occurs in normal capillaries?
5. What do the lymphatic vessels do?
6. Balance between what 3 factors determines ECFV (extra-cellular fluid
volume)
7. What can happen if we have low capillary pressure? When may this occur
and why is it useful?
8. What can happen if we have increased capillary pressure? When may this
occur?
9. What four things can cause oedma? Discuss each one giving examples
Nervous and Hormonal Control of the Circulation
1. What are extrinsic and intrinsic control mechanisms of blood vessel tone?
2. What are the two main extrinsic controls?
3. Describe the sympathetic vasoconstrictor control of arterioles and veins.
How does it work? What does it do?
4. Discuss the three types of vasodilator nerves?
5. Effect of adrenaline and noradrenaline on resistance vessels?
6. Effect of RAAS system on vessels and blood pressure?
7. Effect of vasopressin on vessels and blood pressure?
Embryology of Heart
1. What are the initial stages of heart formation?
2. Run through the stages of septation and where problems can occur and
their affects, are they cyanotic or acyanotic?
3. Is the conduction tissue of the heart nervous or muscular derived?
Cardiac Cycle
1. Why do we need a CVS?
2. What are the laws of cardiac output, flow and BP?
3. Describe the electrical stages of the cardiac cycle
4. Describe the physical stages of the cardiac cycle
5. What is EDV, ESV, SV and Ejection fraction?
6. What does the volume-pressure loop tell us? How may it change in
disease states?
7. Heart sounds?
How Filling Pressure and Inotropic State Govern Cardiac Output
1. What are the three parameters affecting stroke volume?
2. What is the energy of contraction? What is stroke work used to do?
3. Describe Starlings law, the ventricular function curve and the molecular
basis of Starlings law
4. What are the roles of Starling’s law?
5. What is La Place’s law?
6. What are the roles of La Place’s law?
7. What is afterload?
8. Why does La Place’s law explain ventricular hypertrophy in heart failure?
9. How does BP effect stroke volume?
10. How does the vol-pressure loop change with increased CVP,
hypertension and low BP
Cardiac Contraction
1. How do we control cardiac muscle contractility?
2. How do we increase Ca2+ in cardiac myocytes and why does this cause
contraction?
3. How do we reduce Ca2+ levels in the cell?
4. How does the sympathetic system alter cardiac function?
5. Explain how cardiac glycosides work
Red Blood Cell Production
1. What is the general differentiation sequence of a erythrocyte?
2. What components are needed to make haemoglobin?
, 3. What is importance of iron, B12 and folate? What may cause their levels to
be low?
4. Discuss red cell metabolism? What are the two important enzymes? What
is glutathione?
5. What makes up red cell membrane?
6. Discuss breakdown of RBCs.
Blood Vessel Structure
1. What are the three layers of blood vessel wall? What are they made up of?
2. What are the different types of vessels?
Solute and Fluid Exchange – Solutes
1. Why do we need to transport solutes?
2. What is the barrier?
3. Different types of transport?
4. What are capillaries and what are the three broad classes?
5. Run through factors that affect diffusion, properties of diffusion itself, of
the solute and of the membrane. Also Fick’s law.
6. What features of capillary can affect transport?
7. Discuss concept of permeability
8. How do we control diffusion rate?
Solutes and Fluid Exchange – Fluid
1. Why is fluid exchange important?
2. What are the forces acting at a capillary?
3. Discuss Starling’s Law of fluid exchange.
4. What occurs in normal capillaries?
5. What do the lymphatic vessels do?
6. Balance between what 3 factors determines ECFV (extra-cellular fluid
volume)
7. What can happen if we have low capillary pressure? When may this occur
and why is it useful?
8. What can happen if we have increased capillary pressure? When may this
occur?
9. What four things can cause oedma? Discuss each one giving examples
Nervous and Hormonal Control of the Circulation
1. What are extrinsic and intrinsic control mechanisms of blood vessel tone?
2. What are the two main extrinsic controls?
3. Describe the sympathetic vasoconstrictor control of arterioles and veins.
How does it work? What does it do?
4. Discuss the three types of vasodilator nerves?
5. Effect of adrenaline and noradrenaline on resistance vessels?
6. Effect of RAAS system on vessels and blood pressure?
7. Effect of vasopressin on vessels and blood pressure?
