diastole
Americannoun
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Physiology. the normal rhythmical dilatation of the heart during which the chambers are filling with blood.
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Prosody. the lengthening of a syllable regularly short, especially before a pause or at the ictus.
noun
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The period during the normal beating of the heart in which the chambers of the heart dilate and fill with blood. Diastole of the atria occurs before diastole of the ventricles.
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Compare systole
Other Word Forms
Etymology
Origin of diastole
1570–80; < Late Latin diastolē < Greek diastolḗ a putting asunder, dilation, lengthening; compare diastéllein to set apart, equivalent to dia- dia- + stéllein to put, place
Explanation
When your heart beats, it squeezes and relaxes; diastole is when it relaxes and fills with blood. Since the 16th century, doctors have used the Greek word diastole, or "dilation," for the stage in the cardiac cycle when the heart muscle relaxes and its ventricles dilate, or widen. The contraction that follows is called systole. Every beat of your heart is a repetition of these two phases, with a drop in blood pressure during diastole as its chambers are refilled.
Vocabulary lists containing diastole
Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 1
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Vocabulary from Readings 4, Unit 1
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"Frederick Douglass" by Robert Hayden
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Example Sentences
Examples are provided to illustrate real-world usage of words in context. Any opinions expressed do not reflect the views of Dictionary.com.
During systole, when new blood is entering the arteries, the artery walls stretch to accommodate the increase of pressure of the extra blood; during diastole, the walls return to normal because of their elastic properties.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
The heart contracts to pump blood through the body during systole and is filled with blood during diastole.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
During diastole, the artery walls return to normal.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 9, 2022
Figure 19.27 Overview of the Cardiac Cycle The cardiac cycle begins with atrial systole and progresses to ventricular systole, atrial diastole, and ventricular diastole, when the cycle begins again.
From Textbooks ● Jun. 19, 2013
The great heart of Nature itself beats with a regular systole and diastole.
From Open Water by Arthur Stringer
Definitions and idiom definitions from Dictionary.com Unabridged, based on the Random House Unabridged Dictionary, © Random House, Inc. 2023
Idioms from The American Heritage® Idioms Dictionary copyright © 2002, 2001, 1995 by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company. Published by Houghton Mifflin Harcourt Publishing Company.
