Heart Anatomy

Question 1

What makes up the right heart border?

Answer 1

R.A and superior vena cava.

Question 2

What makes up the inferior border?

Answer 2

Right ventricle

Question 3

Left heart border?

Answer 3

L.V, left pulmonary artery, aortic knuckle and LA appendage

Question 4

What makes up the superior border?

Answer 4

R + L atrium, superior vena cava, ascending aorta, pulmonary trunk.

Question 5

What separate the superior and inferior mediastinum?

Answer 5

The mediastinum is the space between the lungs pleura and it is separated into and inferior and superior section by the sternal angle.

Note it is then further divided into an anterior (in front of the pericardium)
Middle (by the heart) and posterior (behind the heart) mediastinum

Question 6

What is the pericardium?

Answer 6

Thin sac that surrounds the heart - protect, lubricates and helps keep it in place.

Formed of 2 layers with a very small amount of fluid in between. The visceral pericardium is the outer layer of the heart and the sac is made up of fibrous pericardium.

Question 7

What is a pericardial effusion?

Answer 7

Fluid collected in the pericardium layers. Due to the fibrous pericardium this fluid can not escape. It impairs the filling of the heart (by limiting its ability to expand fully).

The condition is known as cardiac tamponade

Question 8

What does the pulmonary trunk divide into?

Answer 8

The right and left pulmonary arteries

Question 9

What does the aorta divide into?

Answer 9

Right and left coronary artery
Brachiocephalic artery
Left common carotid
Left subclavian artery

The brachiocephalic artery then divides into the right common carotid and the right subclavian

Question 10

What is the fossa ovalis?

Answer 10

It is the foetal bypass of the lungs that closes after birth.

Question 11

What is the coronary sinus?

Answer 11

It is the main venous drainage of the heart feeding blood back into the right atrium.

Question 12

What is the job of the Christa terminalis?

Answer 12

Joins to the trabeculated portion of the heart to the the smooth portion (sinus Venosus)

Question 13

What is the aorta-mitral continuity?

Answer 13

The aortic and mitral valve are joined by the fibrous skeleton of the heart known as…

Question 14

What are the papillary muscles?

Answer 14

The papillary muscles attach to the two atrioventricular valves and contract during systole to stop the valve inverting.

Question 15

What are all the grooves of the heart?

Answer 15

Atrioventricular groove

Left ventricular groove or anterior inter ventricular groove.

Posterior inter ventricular groove

Question 16

What do the coronary arteries divide into?

Answer 16

The left coronary artery divides into the left anterior descending artery and the circumflex

The circumflex further divides into the septal and diagonal and the LAD further divides into obtuse marginal

The right coronary artery divides into the right posterior descending artery and the right marginal artery.

Question 17

What does the left circumflex artery supply?

Answer 17

The left atrium and left ventricle

Question 18

What does the right coronary artery supply?

Answer 18

Right atrium and right ventricle and also the inferior left ventricle

Question 19

What does the LAD artery supply?

Answer 19

The septal and anterior surfaces of the left ventricle and the right ventricle

Question 20

What does the right marginal artery supply?

Answer 20

Right ventricle and apex of heart

Question 21

Oxygen saturation of heart muscle is very high and hence it significantly reduces the 02 saturation in the coronary arteries

Answer 21

..

Question 22

What is the job of the tri-cuspid valve?

Answer 22

Stops the backflow of blood from the right ventricle to right atrium and hence also stops the build up of pressure in the vena cava

Question 23

Where is the apex of the heart?

Answer 23

The left midclavicular line 5th intercostal space

Question 24

How many pulmonary veins are there?

Answer 24

There are 2 left and 2 right pulmonary veins.

Question 25

What makes up the posterior border?

Answer 25

Mainly left ventricle and pulmonary veins

Question 26

What is the function of pleasurable reflection?

Answer 26

Pleural reflection allows drainage of pericardial fluid from the left of the xiphisternum

Question 27

What is the role of chordae tendinae?

Answer 27

Papillary muscles (part of ventricle) attach to atrioventricular valves via chordae tendinae

Question 28

Why can a surgeon perform a heart bypass?

Answer 28

Coronary arteries are epicardial and therefore accessible to the surgeon

Question 29

Where does the LAD run?

Answer 29

The LAD runs in the anterior interventricular groove

Question 30

Where does the circumflex run?

Answer 30

In the left atrioventricular groove

Question 31

Where does the right coronary artery run?

Answer 31

In the right atrioventricular groove

Question 32

What else does the right coronary artery supply?

Answer 32

The SAN and the AV node

Question 33

What branches into the posterior descending artery?

Answer 33

Distal RCA branches into posterolateral and posterior descending arteries (latter in about 70% of people)

Question 34

What is the function of the posterior descending artery?

Answer 34

The posterior descending artery runs in the posterior interventricular groove and supplies inferior septum and LV

Question 35

What does dominance refer to?

Answer 35

Dominance refers to the artery (RCA or Cx) which supplies the posterior descending artery

Most people (70%) are right dominant – RCA supplies the PDA

About 20% are co-dominant – RCA and Cx both help supply the PDA

About 10% are left dominant – Cx supplies the PDA