Anatomy of Cardiovascular System: Structures and Overview

Oral Cavity

• The function of teeth in the oral cavity is to mechanically break down food into smaller particles.
• The oral cavity is bounded by the lips, cheeks, palate, and tongue, but not the nostrils.
• A set of 20 deciduous teeth is usually complete by the age of 3 years.
• The first permanent teeth to emerge around the age of 6 years are the first molars.
• The liver is not considered an accessory organ of the digestive system.
• The function of salivary glands in the oral cavity is to produce saliva, which aids in mechanical and chemical digestion.
• The outermost layer of the crown of a tooth is enamel.
• Ameloblasts are the cells that produce enamel in the tooth.
• The sensory nerve for taste on the tongue is the chorda tympani nerve.
• The parotid gland is located just below and in front of the ears and contributes to saliva production.
• The sensation of smell increases saliva secretion through a parasympathetic response mediated by the facial and glossopharyngeal nerves.
• The enzyme in saliva that breaks down starch molecules to shorter chains of glucose molecules or to maltose, a disaccharide, is amylase.
• The hypoglossal nerve innervates the tongue.
• The submandibular/submaxillary glands are located in the neck, below the lower jaw.

Tooth Structure and Swallowing

• Erosion of the enamel and dentin layers by bacterial acids may result in bacterial invasion of the pulp cavity and a very painful toothache.
• The first step in swallowing is the voluntary stage, where food is chewed and mixed with saliva.

Cardiovascular System

• The pericardium is a protective sac surrounding the heart.
• The function of the coronary arteries is to supply oxygenated blood to the heart muscle.
• The left ventricle is responsible for pumping oxygenated blood to the body.
• The main function of venules in the circulatory system is to collect deoxygenated blood from capillaries.
• The pulmonary artery supplies deoxygenated blood to the lungs for oxygenation.
• The primary function of arterioles in the circulatory system is to regulate blood pressure.
• The mitral valve prevents backward flow of blood from the left ventricle into the left atrium.
• The heart is located in the thoracic cavity, which is the medical term describing the location where the heart is located within the body.
• Arteries are a type of blood vessel that carries blood away from the heart to various parts of the body.
• The myocardium is the layer of the heart wall that consists of cardiac muscle tissue responsible for pumping blood.