NBE Cardiac Anatomy & Physiology 2 — Questions and Answers
Question 1: The aortic valve normally has how many leaflets (cusps)?
- One
- Two
- Three (Correct answer)
- Four
Correct answer: Three
The normal aortic valve is tricuspid, consisting of three semilunar cusps: left, right, and non-coronary.
Question 2: Which cardiac chamber has the thickest myocardial wall under normal physiological conditions?
- Right atrium
- Left atrium
- Right ventricle
- Left ventricle (Correct answer)
Correct answer: Left ventricle
The left ventricle has the thickest wall (8–12 mm) because it must generate high pressure to eject blood into the systemic circulation.
Question 3: The fossa ovalis is a remnant of which fetal structure?
- Ductus arteriosus
- Foramen ovale (Correct answer)
- Ductus venosus
- Umbilical vein
Correct answer: Foramen ovale
The fossa ovalis is a depression in the interatrial septum that marks the location of the foramen ovale, which closes after birth.
Question 4: Preload in the heart is best defined as:
- The resistance the ventricle must overcome to eject blood
- The ventricular wall tension at the end of diastole (Correct answer)
- The contractile force of the myocardium
- The heart rate times stroke volume
Correct answer: The ventricular wall tension at the end of diastole
Preload is the end-diastolic ventricular wall tension (or filling pressure/volume) that stretches the myocardium before contraction.
Question 5: The coronary sinus drains deoxygenated blood from the myocardium into which cardiac chamber?
- Left atrium
- Right atrium (Correct answer)
- Left ventricle
- Right ventricle
Correct answer: Right atrium
The coronary sinus opens into the right atrium, delivering venous blood from the cardiac veins back into the systemic venous circulation.
Question 6: Which wall motion segment supplied by the left anterior descending (LAD) artery is best visualized in the apical 4-chamber view?
- Basal inferior wall
- Mid anteroseptal wall
- Apical segment (Correct answer)
- Basal lateral wall
Correct answer: Apical segment
The LAD artery typically supplies the apex, and the apical segment is prominently seen in the apical 4-chamber view.
Question 7: Stroke volume is calculated as:
- EDV × EF
- ESV + EF
- EDV − ESV (Correct answer)
- HR × EDV
Correct answer: EDV − ESV
Stroke volume = End-Diastolic Volume (EDV) minus End-Systolic Volume (ESV), representing the volume ejected with each beat.
NBE Cardiac Anatomy & Physiology 2
The aortic valve normally has how many leaflets (cusps)?