What is defined as the volume of blood expelled to bodily tissues per contraction of the left ventricle of the heart?

The volume of blood expelled to bodily tissues per contraction of the left ventricle of the heart is known as stroke volume. This measurement is a key indicator of the heart's efficiency and is critical in understanding overall cardiovascular health. When the left ventricle contracts during systole, it ejects a specific amount of blood into the aorta, which then circulates throughout the body; this amount is stroke volume.

Understanding stroke volume is essential, as it directly contributes to calculating cardiac output, which is the total volume of blood the heart pumps in a minute. However, cardiac output is the product of stroke volume and heart rate, which means stroke volume specifically refers to the volume per heartbeat, highlighting the heart's performance on a per-contraction basis.

Systemic circulation refers to the pathway that blood takes to travel throughout the body and return to the heart but does not define the volume of blood ejected with each heartbeat. Therefore, identifying stroke volume as the correct answer reflects an understanding of specific cardiovascular parameters that are critical for exercise physiology and overall health.