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About This Quiz
The famous doctor, William Ostler, once said, "A man is only as old as his arteries." How much do you know about this essential bodily system and how to keep it healthy? Take our quiz now and find out!
Which of these is NOT a component of the circulatory system?
heart
kidneys
Also not part of the circulatory system? The lungs, surprisingly. Obviously, they are key to the oxygenation of blood, but aren't considered part of the cardiovascular system.
blood vessels
blood
How many chambers does the heart have?
one
two
three
four
The human heart is divided into four chambers. Two atria (aka "atriums") and two ventricles.
What is the name of the system that includes the lungs?
endocrine
hepatic
respiratory
The Latin word "spirare," to "to breathe," gives us several important words in English besides "respiratory." They include "inspire" and "expire." Once just meaning "breathe in" and "breathe out," these words now can mean "to stimulate emotionally" and "to die."
exocrine
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Which of these does the circulatory system deliver to tissues of the body?
hormones
oxygen
glucose
all of these
The circulatory system delivers more than these three things. It also carries nutrients and, when you're on medication, the bioavailable component of that medicine. ('Bioavailable' means the part that isn't filtered out by your kidneys and liver).
Which of these does the blood carry AWAY from body tissues?
carbon dioxide
Your blood delivers oxygen to cells and carries away the carbon dioxide made in those cells. Then carbon dioxide and oxygen are exchanged in the lungs.
carbon monoxide
hydrogen
zinc
Humans would be better off if there was no carbon dioxide in our system at all.
true
false
Though carbon dioxide is often called a waste product, we need some. Without it, the oxygen would have nothing to bind to on our red blood cells, and couldn't be delivered to the rest of the body.
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Does a heart attack happen because one of the chambers is clogged?
true
false
Though blood moves constantly through the four chambers of the heart, that blood doesn't nourish the heart muscle. Rather, a network of arteries run through the heart muscle, feeding it nutrients and oxygen -- and those arteries can get narrowed and blocked like any others.
True or false: Blood leaves your blood vessels to enter tissues?
true
false
The human circulatory system is a closed system. This means blood never leaves the veins, arteries and capillaries.
To reach body tissues, nutrients and oxygen are transferred into the _______ fluid.
amniotic
interstitial
Interstitial fluid is the fluid between cells. It's the intermediary between the capillaries and tissues like muscle.
ocular
oncologic
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Which of these is NOT a component of blood?
white blood cells
marrow
Bone marrow -- specifically, "red marrow" -- is the body's "factory" in which blood cells are made. It is not actually part of blood.
platelets
plasma
Which prefix tells you a word has to do with blood?
neuro-
hemo-
Important words in this group are hemoglobin (which transports oxygen) and hematopoesis (the making of blood cells). It comes from the Greek "haima," for "blood."
fibro-
endo-
Is stroke a malfunction of the circulatory system?
true
Stroke, and the more minor "transient ischemic attack," are considered neurological problems, because they affect brain function. However, the core problem is a clot or rupture in a blood vessel serving the brain -- it's the lack of blood to a part of the brain that causes the neurological issues.
false
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Which of these is the most important predictor of stroke?
blood pressure
While stress and weight affect your stroke risk, that's in large part because they affect blood pressure, which is generally considered to be the most important marker. According to the American Heart Association, a rise from 120 to 140 in systolic blood pressure doubles your stroke risk.
body weight
caloric consumption
stress level
Which of these is NOT a kind of stroke?
hemorrhagic
ischemic
Wernicke's
Ischemic stroke, caused by a clot, is the more common kind. Hemorrhagic stroke refers to bleeding in the brain. Wernicke's area, on the other hand, is a part of the brain that controls understanding of speech, and not a kind of stroke at all.
Does the circulatory system help regulate the body's Ph level?
true
Efficient exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide in the body -- regulated by both the respiratory and circulatory system -- keeps the body's Ph at the correct level (between 7.35 and 7.45). Despite recent hype, diet is NOT a factor in the body's Ph. Nor would you want your body to be very alkaline -- substances with high alkalinity are very corrosive, like alkaline batteries!
false
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Which substance found in the bloodstream is implicated in cardiovascular disease?
cholesterol
Most people are aware of cholesterol, but less knowledgeable about where it comes from and how to control it. Eating cholesterol does not directly raise your cholesterol level; saturated fat does, because the body turns it into cholesterol, which enters the bloodstream.
carbon dioxide
hemoglobin
tocopherol
Would humans be better off if there was no cholesterol in our system?
true
false
As with so many supposedly harmful substances, cholesterol plays a role in the body. For one thing, it repairs damage to artery walls. The problem comes when we produce far more cholesterol than needed. The body keeps slapping cholesterol onto walls that don't need it, like a contractor trying to get rid of overstock paint -- and the result is narrowed arteries.
Which of these abbreviations is the "good" cholesterol?
CDC
LDC
HDL
High-density lipoprotein is the name of cholesterol which removes harmful cholesterol from your system, so higher is better. Some doctors refers to HDL as a "garbage truck," saying that "the more garbage, the more garbage trucks are needed."
LDL
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What is the name for the "bad" cholesterol?
BDL
LDL
Low-density lipoprotein is the dangerous kind. Health educators suggest that people remember the difference between HDL and LDL by thinking of them as "healthy" and "lethal."
HDC
ABC
Are all plant-based fats good and all animal fats bad?
true
false
Usually, this is a good rule of thumb -- animal fats are sources of unhealthy saturated fats, and plants of unsaturated. But there are exceptions. Coldwater fish, for example, are great sources of healthy omega-3 and omega-6 fats.
Is coconut oil good for your cardiovascular system?
true
false
Surprise! This darling of 'clean food' bloggers turns out to be not very good for your heart and arteries. Of course, anyone who read the label on the back should have seen the high saturated fat content, but sometimes a popular misconception just catches fire, and it can be very hard to turn around.
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Is avocado good for your cardiovascular system?
true
This fruit used to get a bad rap, maybe because it is a key ingredient in guacamole, which is often served alongside unhealthy foods. But avocado is high in soluble fiber, which binds to cholesterol and carries it out of the bloodstream.
false
Hypertension is another name for ______.
high blood pressure
High blood pressure can occur for several reasons. Some of them, like physical exercise or high blood volume (from excessive fluid consumption), are temporary and not necessarily unhealthy. But when high blood pressure is ongoing, it's time to get a handle on factors like smoking, stress, and poor diet.
high stress
low blood pressure
racing heart
As your heart rate goes up, your blood pressure will ...
go up at a directly proportional rate
go up, but not necessarily proportionally
It's typical for blood pressure to rise as the pulse goes up, for example, as a result of exercise. But since healthy artery walls are elastic, they will expand to accommodate the more vigorous pumping of blood, meaning that BP shouldn't rise at a directly proportional rate. Note also that long-term, exercise will create a lower blood pressure while the body is at rest.
go down at a directly proportional rate
stay the same
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As you grow older, your target heart rate during exercise should ________.
go up
go down
The target heart rate decreases gradually over the decades. If you exercise at a gym or a YMCA, there's almost certainly a chart on the wall you can consult. If not, you can also find it online.
stay the same
Myocardial infarction is the medical name for which phenomenon?
hemorrhage
arterial narrowing
heart attack
The myocardium is the thick middle layer of heart muscle, between the endocardium and epicardium. When it is deprived of blood, the result is a heart attack.
ischemic stroke
The jugular is a/an _______.
artery
vein
The jugular is a vein, carrying blood back from the head. Its counterpart is the carotid artery, which carries blood up to the head and thus the brain.
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The huge artery carrying blood away from the left ventricle is the _______.
aorta
You may remember this from the movie "Girl Interrupted" in which Angelina Jolie's character threatens to "jam [a pen] into my aorta." An unimpressed doctor at the mental hospital tells her, "the aorta's in your heart." (Though it actually continues a good way from the heart, down to the abdomen).
atria
brachia
pulmonary
The vein-system equivalent to the aorta is the _________.
atrial
jugular
hepatic portal
vena cava
Actually, there are two vena cava, superior and inferior. They deliver oxygen-depleted blood to the heart, just like the aorta carries oxygen-rich blood back out to outlying areas.
What are systole and diastole?
diseases of the heart
chambers in the heart
the two phases of the heartbeat
Systole is the heart contracting, causing a spike in blood pressure (the systolic number). Diastole is the heart at rest, causing lower blood pressure (the diastolic number).
directions of blood flow
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The blood vessels between the arteries and capillaries is called the ______.
arterioles
The arterioles are smaller blood vessels. Their opposites, in the half of the system that returns oxygen-depleted blood to the heart, are called venules.
corpuscles
interstice veins
veins
The wall that divides the heart in half is called the _______.
atrial wall
brachium
septum
The septum divides the left atrium and ventricle from the right one. It comes from the Latin "saeptum," meaning "fence."
ventricular wall
In what part of the body would you find the femoral vein?
the arm
the neck
the lower leg
the upper leg
The femoral artery is a very large blood vessel running from the hip area down to approximately the knee. This is what makes shark attack so dangerous to swimmers and surfers -- the leg is a common target, and if the femoral artery is severed, a person can bleed out very quickly.
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A blood clot in the legs is known as deep vein ________.
cytosis
hemorrhage
histosis
thrombosis
Deep vein thrombosis is not always in the legs -- but that's most often the site. Painful and reddened at the site, DVT can become deadly if they break free and travel to the lungs
You Got:
/35
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