B4.3 The Heart

Question 1

What is the heart?

Answer 1

An organ that pumps blood around the body. It beats roughly 70 times a minute.

Question 2

What supplies the heart with oxygen?

Answer 2

The coronary arteries.

Question 3

Describe the structure of the heart.

Answer 3

It is made up of two ventricles, with arteries coming in and vein going out from the atria at the top of the heart.
The ventricles contract and force blood out.
The right ventricle forces deoxygenated blood to the lungs.
The left ventricle forces oxygenated blood to the the body.

Question 4

Name the main parts of the heart.

Answer 4

Left Ventricle
Right Ventricle
Left Atrium
Right Atrium
Vena Cava (from body)
Pulmonary Artery (to lungs)
Aorta (to body)
Pulmonary Vein (from lungs)
Heart Valves

Question 5

Where is the muscle wall thicker? Why?

Answer 5

It is thicker on the left ventricle to allow it to develop the pressure needed to force blood through the arterial system around the body.

Question 6

What is coronary heart disease?

Answer 6

Where the coronary arteries become narrow, limiting the amount of blood supplied to the heart.

Question 7

Explain how a stent is used.

Answer 7

It is a metal mesh placed in the artery. A tiny balloon in inflated to open up the vessel, and the stent surrounding it stays in place after the balloon is deflated, keeping the vessel open.