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.

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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

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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

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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

During diastole, the artery walls return to normal.

From Textbooks • Jun. 9, 2022

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

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 period of relaxation that occurs as the chambers fill with blood is called diastole.

From Textbooks • Jun. 19, 2013

Contraction or systole is followed by a pause or diastole during which the blood flows from the veins into the auricles.

From Disease and Its Causes by Councilman, William Thomas