Cardiac Surgery Flashcards
3 Surfaces of the Heart
- Sternocostal (Anterior)
- Diaphragmatic (Inferior)
- Base (Posterior)
• It also has an apex, which is directed downward, forward, and to
the left.
Borders of the Heart
- Right Border – formed by right atrium.
- Left Border – left auricle; and below, by the left ventricle.
- Lower/ Inferior Border – formed mainly by right ventricle but
also by the right atrium; the apex is formed by the left ventricle. - Upper/ Superior Border – right and left atrium and the great
vessels.
Blood Flow
Superior and Inferior Vena Cava -> Right Atrium -> Tricuspid Valve
-> Right Ventricle -> Pulmonary Valve -> Pulmonary Arteries (2
arteries) -> Lungs (Oxygenation) -> Pulmonary Veins (4 veins) ->
Left Atrium -> Bicuspid/ Mitral Valve -> Left Ventricle -> Aortic
Valve -> Aorta
2 Atrioventricular Valves
Bicuspid/ Mitral and Tricuspid Valve.
Tricuspid Valve – 3 cusps:
anterior, septal and inferior/posterior
cusps.
Mitral Valve – 2 cusps:
anterior and posterior.
2 Semilunar Valves –
Pulmonary and Aortic Valve.
Pulmonary Valve – 3 cusps:
1 posterior (left cusp), 2 anterior (anterior and right cusps).
Aortic Valve: 3 cusps:
1 situated in the anterior wall (right cusp),
2 located at posterior wall (left and posterior cusps). Behind
each cusp, the aortic wall bulges to form an aortic sinus.
Aortic Sinus/ Sinus of Valsalva –
anterior aortic sinus gives origin
to the right coronary artery, and the left posterior sinus give
origin to the left coronary artery.
Drains most of the blood from the heart wall. It opens into the right atrium between the inferior vena cava and
atrioventricular orifice. Guarded by a rudimentary, nonfunctioning valve.
Coronary Sinus
The remnant of a thin fibrous sheet that covered the foramen ovale during fetal development.
Fossa Ovalis
Projecting ridges that gives the ventricular
wall a sponge-like appearance.
Trabeculae Carnae
3 Types of Trabeculae Carnae
- Papillary Muscles, which project inward, being attached by their bases to the walls; their apices are connected by fibrous
chords (Chordae Tendineae) to the cusps of the valves. - Moderator Band, crosses the ventricular cavity from the septal to the anterior wall. It conveys the right branch of the AV bundle.
- Prominent Ridges
Conducting System of the Heart
Sinoatrial Node -> Atrioventricular Node -> Atrioventricular Bundle (Bundle of His) -> Right and Left Terminal Branches ->
Subendocardial Plexus of Purkinje Fibers.
Located in the wall of the right atrium in the upper part of the sulcus terminalis just to the right of the opening of the superior vena cava.
Sinoatrial Node/ SA Node
Strategically placed on the
lower part of the atrial septum just above the attachment of the septal cusps of the tricuspid valve.
Atrioventricular Node/ AV Node
Only pathway of cardiac muscle that connects the myocardium of the atria and the myocardium of the ventricles and is thus the only route along which the cardiac impulse can travel from the atria to the ventricles.
Atrioventricular Bundle/ Bundle of His
3 Internodal Conduction Pathways
- Anterior Internodal Pathway (Bachmann’s Bundle)
- Middle Internodal Pathway (Wenckebach)
- Posterior Internodal Pathway (Thorel)
Arises from the anterior aortic sinus of the ascending aorta and runs forward between the pulmonary trunk and the right auricle.
Right Coronary Artery
Right Coronary Artery Branches
- Right Conus Artery
- Anterior Ventricular Branches
- Posterior Ventricular Branches
- Posterior Interventricular (Descending) Artery
- Atrial Branches
Supplies the anterior surface of the pulmonary conus (infundibulum of the right ventricle) and the upper part of the anterior wall of the right ventricle.
Right Conus Artery
2 or 3 in numbers and supplies the anterior surface of the right ventricle. The
marginal branch is the largest and runs along the lower margin of the costal surface to reach the apex.
Anterior Ventricular Branches
2 or 3 in numbers and supply the diaphragmatic surface of the right ventricle.
Posterior Ventricular Branches
Runs toward the apex in the posterior interventricular groove. It supplies
branches to the posterior part of the ventricular septum but not to the apical part, which receives its supply from the
anterior interventricular branch of the left coronary artery.
Posterior Interventricular (Descending) Artery
supplies the anterior and lateral surfaces of the right atrium. One branch supplies the posterior surface of both the right and left atria.
Atrial Branches
Arises from the left posterior aortic sinus of the ascending aorta and passes forward between the pulmonary trunk and the left auricle.
Left Coronary Artery
Left Coronary Artery Branches
- Anterior Interventricular (Descending) Branch
2. Circumflex Artery
May arise directly from the trunk of the left
coronary artery.
Left Diagonal Artery (Branch of Ant. Interventricular Branch)
Supplies the pulmonary conus.
Left Conus Artery (Branch of Ant. Interventricular Branch)
Winds around the left margin of the heart
in the atrioventricular groove.
Circumflex Artery
Supplies the left margin of the left ventricle down to the apex.
Left Marginal Artery (Branch of Circumflex Artery)
Descends behind the septal cusp of the tricuspid valve to reach the inferior border of the membranous part of the ventricular septum.
Atrioventricular bundle
It usually divides into two branches (anterior and posterior), which eventually
become continuous with the fibers of the Purkinje plexus of the left ventricle.
Left bundle branch (LBB)
Passes down on the right side of the ventricular septum to reach the moderator band, where it crosses to the anterior wall of the right ventricle. Here, it becomes continuous with the fibers of the Purkinje plexus.
Right bundle branch (RBB)
Pierces the septum and passes down on its left side beneath the endocardium. It usually divides into two branches (anterior and posterior), which eventually become continuous with the fibers of the Purkinje plexus of the left ventricle.
Left bundle branch (LBB)
Leaves the anterior end of the SA node and passes anterior to the superior vena caval opening.
Anterior Internodal Pathway (Bachmann’s Bundle)
Descends on the atrial septum and ends in the AV node.
Anterior Internodal Pathway (Bachmann’s Bundle)
Leaves the posterior end of the SA node and passes posterior to the superior vena caval opening.
Middle Internodal Pathway (Wenckebach)
Descends on the atrial septum to the AV node.
Middle Internodal Pathway (Wenckebach)