systole
systole
UK[ˈsɪstəli]US[ˈsɪstəli]
n
the phase of the heartbeat when the heart muscle contracts and pumps blood from the chambers into the arteries.
n
the shortening of a long syllable in classical prosody.
Etymology
the term 'systole' entered english in the late 16th century via late latin from the greek 'sustolē', meaning 'a drawing together' or 'contraction'. this greek noun derives from the verb 'sustellein', which combines 'sun-' (meaning 'together') and 'stellein' (meaning 'to place' or 'to send'). the physiological application to the heart's contraction was established in ancient greek medicine, directly linking the literal idea of 'drawing together' to the specific, rhythmic tightening of the cardiac muscle. this precise meaning has been preserved in modern medical terminology.
Analysis
the word is a simplex loanword from greek. it is not productively segmented using modern english spelling substrings.
Examples
blood pressure is recorded as two numbers: the systolic pressure during heart contraction and the diastolic pressure during relaxation.
the duration of ventricular systole is a key parameter in assessing cardiac function.
in the poetic meter, a systole can change the rhythm by shortening an expected long syllable.