Glossary In Heart Disease - (E-Z) |
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echo-cardiography: the recording of echoes from high-frequency sound beamed through the chest wall which allows the structure and function of the heart to be seen. ectopics: abnormally early heartbeats which are generated from parts other than those which normally produce heartbeats. electrocardiogram: recording of the heart's electrical activity. embolus: blood clot which forms in one part of the circulation and travels in the blood to obstruct an artery. endocarditis: infection of- the inner lining of the heart, especially the valves. endocrine glands: glands which secrete hormones into the bloodstream. fibrillation: rapid, chaotic, irregular rhythm in either the atria or ventricles; if in the latter, life is threatened. gamma camera: machine used to record the image of the distribution of radio-isotopes after they have been injected into the body. haemoglobin: the oxygen-carrying substance which gives blood its red color. heart attack: common name for myocardial infarction. heart,block: abnormality in the electrical conducting system which slows down or prevents the transmission of impulses from the atria to the ventricles. hormone: naturally occurring chemical substance which plays a part in the control of body processes. hypertension: high blood pressure. hypertrophy: a thickening or enlargement (of muscle). infarction: irreversible damage to body. -tissue caused by an interruption of its blood supply'. ischaemia: reversible reduction of blood supply to the body tissues. jaundice: condition where a yellow tinge to the skin created by the retention of substances normally crated by the liver. mitral valve: valve between the left atrium and the ventricle. murmur: noise generated 'by the flow of blood within the heart or large blood vessels. It is not wearily always abnormal. myocardial infarction: commonly called a heart attack: when part of the heart muscle dies after the artery which supplies its blood is completely blocked. myocardium: heart muscle. nitrites: drugs which widen the smaller blood is in the body. occlusion: total blockage. open heart surgery: surgery in which cardiopulmonary bypass is used so that work may be done within the heart itself. oxygenated: full of oxygen; oxygenated blood is bright red. pacemaker (artificial): electronic device which rates regular impulses to cause the heart to beat the absence of its natural pacemaker function. platelets: microscopic elements in blood which play an important part in the formation of blood clots. prosthetic valves: artificial valves made out of special plastics or metal. pulmonary artery: vessel which takes blood from right ventricle to the lungs. pulmonary valve: valve between the right ventricle the pulmonary artery. pulmonary veins: four vessels which deliver blood the lungs to the left atrium. pulse: flow of blood generated by each heartbeat, can be felt over the main arteries of the body. radio-isotopes: safe radioactive compounds. When , they may lodge in body tissue and be seen gamma camera. rheumatic
fever: disease usually occurring in the main symptoms of which are
rashes, joint
pains and fever; in half the cases, there is damage to the heart.
septal defect: hole in the septum either between the two atria or
the two ventricles. septum: structure
separating the left heart from the right heart. sinus node: part of the
electrical system of the heart located at the top part of the right
atrium, which acts as the heart's natural pacemaker. sphygmomanometer:
device used for measuring blood pressure stenosis: narrowing (of
a valve or an artery). stethoscope: device used
for listening directly to noises generated in the body, such as heart
sounds or breath sounds. stroke:
also called cerebral infarction: damage to part of the brain caused-by
a total blockage of an artery, or bleeding from it. systole:
contraction phase of the ventricles' pumping rhythm. systolic pressure: blood
pressure measured the systole. tachycardia: rapid
beating of the heart. transposition:
congenital defect in which the pulmonary artery and the aorta are
attached to the wrong ventricles. tricuspid valve:
valve between the right atrium and the right ventricle. veins: vessels that take
the blood from the body and return it to the heart. venue caves: two
large veins—the superior vena cave and the inferior vena cave—which
take venous blood from the body into the right atrium. venous blood: relatively bluish-red blood, low in oxygen content, which is returned to the heart via the veins. ventricles: the main pumping chambers of the heart. |
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