Medical English Vocabulary and Heart Physiology

Medical Vocabulary

• Slide: Muestra de cristal / Portaobjetos
• Pipette: Pipeta
• Vein: Vena
• Syringe: Jeringa / Jeringuilla
• Drop: Gota
• Pump: Bombear
• Test tube: Tubo de ensayo
• Leaves: Dejar / Salir
• Microscope: Microscopio
• Valve: Válvula
• Enters: Entrar
• Artery: Arteria
• Flows: Fluir
• Atrium: Atrio
• Fills: Rellenar / Llenar
• Aorta: Aorta
• Opens: Abrir
• Closing: Cerrar
• Beat: Palpitar / Latido
• Bodily fluids: Fluidos corporales
• Cells: Célula
• Clot: Coágulo
• Drip: Goteo o gotear
• Forensic Analysis: Análisis forense

Grammar Exercises: Conditionals

1. If you explain, she will tell you what to do.
2. When you have an anaesthetic, it stops you feeling pain.
3. If I have time, I will help you with your homework.
4. You have a fever if your temperature is over 37.5.
5. If a person's brain doesn't get oxygen, they will die.
6. If you take a sleeping pill, you will sleep well tonight.

Laboratory Procedures

Use a syringe to draw blood from a vein into a test tube. Use a pipette to put a drop onto a slide, then place it under a microscope.

Complete Blood Count (CBC)

A CBC measures various components of the blood. It looks at red blood cells, which carry oxygen. It also measures the amount of haemoglobin and the shape of the cells. White blood cells protect the body against infection, while platelets make the blood clot.

The Heart and Circulation

The heart is a muscle as big as your fist. It acts as an efficient pump on its circular path. Blood enters the heart without oxygen. This deoxygenated blood fills the right atrium; then the tricuspid valve opens and the blood goes through. Next, the pulmonary valve opens and the blood leaves through the pulmonary artery.

Blood carrying oxygen enters the left side. The left atrium fills, the valve opens, and the blood flows into the left ventricle. The aortic valve opens and the blood leaves through the aorta. When you listen to a heart beat, you hear the sound of the valves closing.