| oblique vein of left atrium | A small vein on the posterior wall of the left atrium which merges with the great cardiac vein to form the coronary sinus; it is developed from the left common cardinal vein, and occasionally persists as a left superior vena cava. Synonym: vena obliqua atrii sinistri, Marshall's oblique vein. (05 Mar 2000) |
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| left atrium | <anatomy> The thin-walled chamber of the heart which pumps blood into the left ventricle for ejection into the systemic circulation. (27 Sep 1997) |
| abnormal heart chamber dimensions | <radiology> Left ventricular volume overload, left ventricular hypertrophy, right ventricular volume overload, right ventricular hypertrophy, fixed subvalvular aortic stenosis, hypoplastic left/right ventricle; common ventricle, congestive cardiomyopathy (12 Dec 1998) |
| Abrams' heart reflex | A contraction of the myocardium when the skin of the precordial region is irritated. (05 Mar 2000) |
| american heart association | A voluntary organization concerned with the prevention and treatment of heart and vascular diseases. (12 Dec 1998) |
| apex of heart | The blunt extremity of the heart formed by the left ventricle. See: apex beat. Synonym: apex cordis, vertex cordis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| armored heart | Calcareous deposits in the pericardium due to subacute or chronic pericarditis. Synonym: panzerherz. (05 Mar 2000) |
| armor heart | Extensive to complete calcification (rarely ossification) of the pericardium usually producing constrictive pericarditis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart | A mechanical pump used to replace the function of a damaged heart, either temporarily or as a permanent prosthesis. (05 Mar 2000) |
| artificial heart valve | <cardiology> A synthetic or porcine (pigskin) valve surgically placed into the heart to replace a defective or malfunctioning valve. The aortic and mitral valves are the most frequently replaced with artificial valves. (27 Sep 1997) |
| athlete's heart | A more or less loose designation for cardiac findings in healthy athletes that would be or could be abnormal in patients with disease, including atrioventricular blocks, left ventricular hypertrophy and, sometimes, benign arrhythmias and atrioventricular blocks. (05 Mar 2000) |
| athletic heart | Hypertrophy of the heart supposedly due to systematic athletic conditioning. (05 Mar 2000) |
| backward heart failure | A concept (formerly considered mutually exclusive of forward heart failure) that maintains that the phenomena of congestive heart failure result from passive engorgement of the veins caused by a "backward" rise in pressure proximal to the failing cardiac chambers. Compare: forward heart failure. (05 Mar 2000) |
| baseline foetal heart rate | <paediatrics> The average heart rate for a particular foetus during the diastolic phase of uterine contractions. (05 Mar 2000) |
| baseline variability of foetal heart rate | The beat-to-beat changes in foetal heart rate as recorded on a graph. (05 Mar 2000) |