Which statement best describes systole?

Prepare for the Anatomy and Physiology II Exam with comprehensive questions and detailed explanations. Gain confidence with our tailored quizzes and maximize your exam performance!

Systole is the contraction phase where the ventricles contract and pump blood out of the heart into the aorta and pulmonary arteries. This forces blood through the semilunar valves while the AV valves are closed, and it ends as the ventricles finish contracting and begin to relax into diastole. Atrial contraction is a separate, atrial systole event that helps complete ventricular filling, and relaxing ventricles or atria refer to diastole, not systole. So ventricles contracting and pumping blood best describes systole.