Systole is when the heart squeezes to send blood out.

Heartbeat Phase

Pronounce 'systole' with the stress on the first syllable: 'SIS-tuh-lee'.

Pronunciation Clue

Systole is technical, used mainly by healthcare professionals.

Medical Context

In linguistics, systole makes a syllable shorter.

Linguistic Shrink

Systole often occurs in classical languages like Latin or Greek.

Pronouncing Latin

Systole is unusual in spoken language, more common in poetry or analysis.

Rare in Conversation

 All that blood exerts a force on the muscular walls of the blood vessels. That force is called blood pressure, and it rises and falls with the phases of the heartbeat. It's highest during systole,