The word myocardium refers to the thick, muscular layer of the heart wall. Its spelling can be explained using the International Phonetic Alphabet (IPA) phonetic transcription as /maɪəʊˈkɑːdɪəm/. The word starts with the sound "my-" followed by the vowel sound "əʊ", which is equivalent to the "o" sound in "home". The stressed syllable is "-kar-", followed by the vowel sound "ɑː", similar to the "a" sound in "father". The word ends with the syllable "-di-əm", pronounced like "dee-uhm".
The myocardium refers to the thick and muscular middle layer of the heart wall, situated between the outer epicardium and the inner endocardium. Comprised mainly of cardiac muscle tissue, the myocardium is responsible for the contraction and relaxation of the heart that allows it to pump blood throughout the body. It plays a crucial role in maintaining the heart's function and ensuring adequate blood supply to the body's tissues and organs.
The myocardium consists of specialized cardiac muscle fibers that are densely packed together and arranged in a complex network. These fibers are interconnected and organized in a way that allows electrical signals to propagate rapidly and efficiently across the heart, resulting in synchronized contractions.
The myocardium receives oxygen and nutrients from the coronary arteries, which branch off from the aorta and encircle the heart, ensuring proper blood flow to the heart muscle itself. Conversely, waste products are removed from the myocardium through the coronary veins.
Several conditions can affect the myocardium, including myocardial infarction (heart attack), myocarditis (inflammation of the heart muscle), and cardiomyopathy (disease of the heart muscle). These conditions can compromise the heart's ability to pump blood effectively, potentially leading to serious complications and cardiovascular problems. Timely medical intervention and management are essential to preserve the health and function of the myocardium and maintain overall cardiovascular well-being.
The muscular substance of the heart, consisting of striated muscular tissue, differing somewhat from that of the voluntary muscles in that the fibers are shorter, many of them being oblong cells with central nuclei and forked extremities.
A practical medical dictionary. By Stedman, Thomas Lathrop. Published 1920.
The word myocardium is derived from two Greek words: myo which means muscle, and kardia which means heart. So, the etymology of myocardium literally translates to muscle of the heart.