The Anatomy and Physiology of the Cardiovascular System
ATI Exam Questions and Answers
1. The cardiovascular, or circulatory system is responsible for the movement of blood and
Answer: lymph around the body, which permits nutrient distribution, waste removal,
communication, and protection.
2. The cardiovascular system is made of four main components:
Answer: the heart, blood vessels, blood, and lymphatic system.
3. The heart is a large muscular organ comprised of cardiac tissue called myocardium
Answer: and is surrounded by a sac called the pericardium it contains four chambers divided by
a median septum
4. The two superior atria are the
Answer: receiving chambers and the two inferior ventricles are pumping chambers. the atria and
ventricle are separated by the atrioventricular valves. the right side of the heart pumps
deoxygenated blood from the heart toward the lungs and is called the pulmonary system.
5. The left side of the heart receives oxygenated blood from the
Answer: lungs and pumps it toward the rest of the body parts and is known as the systemic
system.
6. Arteries are the vessels that carry
Answer: blood away from the heart. They have a thick layer of smooth muscle in their walls to
withstand the pressure of the forceful heartbeat. the larger arteries branch into increasingly
smaller arterioles, which eventually connect to a bed of capillaries.
7. Capillaries are
Answer: microscopic blood vessels that's walls are only one cell thick. exchange of gases and
nutrients occurs between the alveoli of lungs and the capillary beds of the cardiovascular system.
8. Veins carry blood
Answer: from body parts toward the heart. they are connected to the capillary beds via smaller
branches called venules.
9. Veins and venules have thinner walls because they are
Answer: farther from the force of the heartbeat and so experience less pressure on their walls.
veins have one-way valves to prevent blood from flowing back into the system.
10. Blood is composed of
Answer: plasma and formed elements.
11. Plasma is a straw-colored liquid consisting of what?
Answer: water, immune proteins and other nutrients, the formed elements are the erythrocytes
(red blood cells) leukocytes (white blood cells) and platelets.
12. Red blood cells are a major component of blood and
Answer: contain the protein hemoglobin, which carries oxygen from the lungs to the body's
tissues and helps return carbon dioxide from the tissues back to the lungs.
13. The leukocytes function in the
Answer: immune response and defend the body against disease, the platelets are responsible for
the clotting mechanism.
14. The lymphatic vessels are linked to lymph nodes and lymphatic capillaries, like veins lymph
vessels are thin-wallet and contain
Answer: one-way valves to maintain flow in one direction only.
15. Lymphatic capillaries are
Answer: entwined with cardiovascular capillaries and absorb excess tissue fluid and blood
plasma that leaks form the capillaries.
16. This lymph fluid is filtered through hundreds of small organs called
Answer: lymph nodes distributed throughout the body, lymph nods are concentrated in the neck,
armpit, and groin, and contain lymphocytes, which seek out pathogens in the fluid.
17. The lymphocytes make antibodies, which target the pathogens so that other cells can destroy
them the filtered lymph fluid is essentially "cleaned" blood plasma
Answer: and is returned to the cardiovascular system via the veins.
18. It begins with the triggering of an impulse within the sinoatrial (SA) node, known as the
pacemaker, which is located in the upper wall of the right atrium. The impulse spreads to the
Answer: right and left atria causing them to contract and forcing blood into the ventricles.
