Anatomy of the Heart Flashcards
Know the pathway of pulmonary and systemic circulation
Right side of the heart receives what type of blood
receives oxygen-poor blood and pumps it to the lungs (pulmonary circuit)
Left side of the heart receives what type of blood
receives oxygen-rich blood and pumps it to the body (systemic circuit)
The atriums
The receiving chambers
Right atrium
receives blood returning from the systemic circuit
Left atrium
receives blood returning from the lungs
The ventricles
the pumping chambers
Right ventricle
pumps blood into the pulmonary circuit
Left ventricle
pumps blood into the systemic circuit
Pericardium
the double-walled sac that encloses the heart
Fibrous pericardium
loose fitting superficial part of the pericardium
- made of dense connective tissue
- protects the heart, keeps it from overfilling, anchors it to the mediastinum
Serous Pericardium
deep to the fibrous pericardium, made of 2 thin layers
Parietal layer (serous Pericardium)
lines the internal surface of the fibrous pericardium
visceral layer (serous Pericardium)
lines the external surface of the heart
pericardial cavity
space between the parietal + visceral layers, filled with serous fluid
- reduces friction
Pericarditis
inflammation of the pericardium
- beating heart rubs against the pericardial sac - an audible sound is produced
- symptoms: pain deep to the sternum
- can lead to adhesions, impeded cardiac activity
cardiac tamponade
compression of the heart by large amounts of inflammatory fluid in the pericardial cavity
- heart’s ability to pump blood is reduced
- management: removal of excess fluid by syringe
epicardium
visceral pericardium
- most superficial layer
myocardium
middle, muscle layer
- composed of contracting, cardiac muscle, bulk of the heart
- cardiac muscles cells are arranged in spiral bundles. tethered to each other by crisscrossing connective tissue fibers
Cardiac sckeleton
a reinforcing, dense network formed by the connective tissue fibers
- skeleton prevents overstretching from the continuous stresses and ensures that action potentials only spread along desired pathways
endocardium
deepest layer, made of endothelium
- lines the heart’s chambers, continuous with lining of the great vessels
auricles
small, wrinkled appendages that sit atop each atrium
- expand the volume capacity of the right and left atria as needed
blood enters the right atrium via
- coronary sinus
- superior vena cava
- inferior vena cava
blood enters the left atrium via
4 pulmonary veins