diastole

American  

[dahy-as-tl-ee, -tl-ee] / daɪˈæs tlˌi, -tl i /

noun

1. Physiology. the normal rhythmical dilatation of the heart during which the chambers are filling with blood.

2. Prosody. the lengthening of a syllable regularly short, especially before a pause or at the ictus.

---

diastole British  

/ ˌdaɪəˈstɒlɪk, daɪˈæstəlɪ /

noun

1. the dilatation of the chambers of the heart that follows each contraction, during which they refill with blood Compare systole

---

diastole Scientific  

/ dī-ăs′tə-lē /

1. 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.

2. Compare systole

---

Other Word Forms

• diastolic adjective

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.

Example Sentences

For example, 120/80 indicates a reading of 120 mm Hg during the systole and 80 mm Hg during diastole.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

Beginning with all chambers in diastole, blood flows passively from the veins into the atria and past the atrioventricular valves into the ventricles.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

One of the primary factors to consider is filling time, or the duration of ventricular diastole during which filling occurs.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Since pressure in the veins is normally relatively low, for blood to flow back into the heart, the pressure in the atria during atrial diastole must be even lower.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

The great heart of Nature itself beats with a regular systole and diastole.

From Open Water by Stringer, Arthur