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Guide 3A

Cardiovascular System

Heart, cells, and blood.

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In this guide you will meet the heart and the blood it pumps through vessels.

Video Overview

Watch this guide overview video; you can select the closed captioning “cc” option if you would like to see the text.

Cardiovascular System Guide Contents

Complete all four of these sections before taking the quiz and making your media piece.

Cardiovascular System Objectives

Heart

Describe the structure of the heart, including the chambers, coronary vessels, and cardiac cells; explain what occurs in heart diastole (relaxation) and systole (contraction), including the part we experience as the “heart beat;” and chart the flow of blood through the heart, including the major vessels feeding into and out of the heart and the changing amounts of oxygen (high or low).


Vessels

List the various blood vessels, including arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins; describe the structures and functions of arteries, veins, and capillaries; and explain the blood pressure test, including how it relates to artery pressures and what the systolic and diastolic numbers indicate.

Blood

Describe the composition of blood, including the relative amounts and roles of red blood cells (RBCs), white blood cells (WBCs), and platelets; identify RBCs, platelets, and the five different types of WBCs under the microscope; and distinguish between A, B, AB and O blood types as well as Rh positive and negative blood, and explain why individuals can only accept certain donor blood.

Exercise

Provide examples of different types of aerobic exercise; describe three ways aerobic exercise can impact the heart; and demonstrate how to take your own heart rate by hand.

Cardiovascular Product Page

Look ahead to the products (quiz & media piece) you will be making after completing this guide’s four activity pages.

Cardiovascular Resource Page

Would you like to learn more than what is covered in this course?  Visit these extra resources for a lifetime of learning.

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3B: Cardiovascular Disorders