Final answer:
Stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped by the heart with each contraction, calculated as the difference between end-diastolic volume (EDV) and end-systolic volume (ESV). It is an important factor in determining cardiac output.
Step-by-step explanation:
Stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped by the heart with each contraction. It is the difference between the volume of blood in the ventricles at the end of diastole (end-diastolic volume, EDV) and the volume of blood remaining in the ventricles after contraction (end-systolic volume, ESV). Stroke volume is an important component in calculating cardiac output, which is the volume of blood pumped by the heart in one minute.