2 - The Mediastinum and Heart Flashcards
What demarkates the superior and inferior mediastinum?
The sternal angle
Where does the main aortic arch (ascending) sit?
In the superior mediastiunum
Where does the trachea split into 2?
Below the transthoracic plane / At the sternal angle / At the level of the 4th or upper 5th thoracic vertebrae
Where is the transthoracic plane?
Between the sternal angle and 4th and 5th vertebrae
The base (of the heart)
Faces posterially, mainly made up of the left atrium
The Apex
Faces anteriorly and to the left.
The Chordae tendanae (role)
important role in the pressure of the heart, stop the valves form from flipping back into the aorta
The Papillary Muscle (role and structure)
- helps with the stroke volume regulation
- cone shaped ad connected to the chordae tendanae
- subsets of the trabeculae carnae (ridges)
The 3 Branches of the Aorta (the great vessles)
- The Brachiocephalic Branch -> divides into the common carotid and right subclavian
- Left Common Carotid
- Left Subclavian
Where are veins positioned in relation to the arteries?
posteriorly
What vein does both sides of the vena cava have and why is one longer?
Brachiocephalic veiin, the left is longer as the vena cava sits on the right and so it has a longer way to travel to the left atrium.
Left coronary artery splits into the…
Left anterior interventicular artery
The circumflex artery
Right coronary artery splits into the…
Right marginal branch/artery
Posterior interventricular artery
What was the function of the embryological remenant the formen ovale?
to allow the fetal oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to mix in the heart
What does the forman ovale close to become?
the fossa ovalis
