Cardiac physiology explains how the heart regulates its output to meet the body’s changing demands. This includes cardiac output, stroke volume, and heart rate — and how changes in one affect the others. It also covers the Frank-Starling law, which explains how the heart automatically adjusts its force of contraction based on how much blood it receives, and how the autonomic nervous system — through sympathetic and parasympathetic pathways — fine-tunes cardiac performance in response to exercise, stress, and rest. Use the practice activities below to master these concepts.
Flashcards
Use these flashcards to learn or review the physiology of the heart.
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Multiple Choice
Test your understanding of cardiac physiology with these multiple choice questions.
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Free Response Questions
Build and test your ability to explain cardiac physiology with these free response questions.
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What’s Next?
Continue to The Heart — Cumulative Review
Attribution: Portions of the content on this page were adapted from Anatomy and Physiology by OpenStax, used under CC BY 4.0.