NS121 Human Biology: Selected Topics in Medicine

NS 121 STUDY QUESTIONS
(please word process all your study question answers unless drawings are required)

Study Questions for Chapter 6
The Circulatory System

Read the chapter on The Circulatory System in Chiras (look carefully at the pictures and diagrams too) and complete the study questions below.

Read the chapter through once before trying to answer the questions.

If there are parts that confuse you even after you're read them several time, make notes to us about what you’d like to understand better.

STUDY QUESTIONS

  1. What was the most interesting new thing you learned about the circulatory system or heart? Describe what you understand about this one thing and ask us a question that will further your understanding of it.

  2. The two main jobs of the heart and circulatory system are to get oxygen and nutrients to all the cells in your body. Why is this so important? What is another job (there is more than one, so just choose what most intrigues you) that the circulatory system carries out and what do you understand about how that works (or what questions do you have about how it works)?

  3. How do arteries and veins differ in structure and function? If an artery is described as "diseased," what does this mean?

  4. What is the role of the coronary arteries and the carotid arteries?

  5. Choose one of the following quetsions to answer as best you can:

    • What is your understanding of what makes the heart beat and what controls how fast and how hard it beats? These aren't easy questions to answer, so do your best and ask questions about anything you find confusing.

    • After her annual physical exam, a doctor told a 57 year old woman that she was at risk for heart disease. She didn't understand what the doctor meant. Explain in terms that the patient could understand what some possible kinds of heart disease are, teaching her at the same time to understand the biology of the heart and how it works. Explain also what the doctor meant by "risk factors" and what are some possible risk factors the doctor might have been referring to.

      What additional information would you like to have about this patient to better understand her risk factor status?