The Structure Of The Heart

Question 1

what is the heart?

Answer 1

• a muscular organ in the thoracic cavity

- it operates continuously throughout a lifetime

Question 2

what is the structure of the heart?

Answer 2

• it’s made of two separate pumps lying side by side
• the left pump deals with oxygenated blood from the lungs
• the right pump deals with deoxygenated blood from the body

Question 3

what are the chambers of the heart?

Answer 3

• the right and left atrium

- the right and left ventricle

Question 4

why does the heart have two separate pumps?

Answer 4

• the blood has to pass through tiny capillaries in order to gain a large surface area for the exchange of gases
• this means there is a very large drop in pressure so the blood flow to the rest of the body would be very slow so blood so it’s returned to the heart to increase its pressure before it Is distributed to the rest of the body

Question 5

what are the similarities between the right ventricle and the left ventricular?

Answer 5

• the right ventricle only pumps blood to the lungs and has a thinner muscular wall
• the left ventricle has a thicker muscular wall
• they pump in time together even though they are separate
• both the atria contract together and both ventricles contract

Question 6

what are the valves between the atrium and the ventricle?

Answer 6

• left atrioventricular valve (bicuspid)

- right atrioventricular valve (tricuspid)

Question 7

which vessels connect the 4 chambers of the heart?

Answer 7

• aorta
• vena cava
• pulmonary artery
• pulmonary vein

Question 8

which vessels connect the heart to the lungs?

Answer 8

-the pulmonary vessels

Question 9

what do the ventricles do?

Answer 9

-pump blood away from the heart into the arteries

Question 10

what does the atria do?

Answer 10

-receives blood from the veins

Question 11

what is the aorta?

Answer 11

-its connected ti the left ventricle and carries oxygenated blood to all parts of the body except the lungs

Question 12

what is the vena cava?

Answer 12

-its connected to the right atrium and brings deoxygenated blood back from the tissues of the body except the lungs

Question 13

what is the pulmonary artery?

Answer 13

-its connected to the right ventricle and carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs where its oxygen is replenished and its carbon dioxide is removed

Question 14

what is the pulmonary vein?

Answer 14

-its connected to the left atrium and brings oxygenated blood back from the lungs

Question 15

how is the heart muscle supplied with oxygen?

Answer 15

• the heart muscle is supplied by its own blood vessels called coronary arteries which branch off the aorta shortly after it leaves the heart
• blocking these arteries leads to myocardial infraction of a heart attack since an area of the heart muscle is deprived of blood and oxygen so the muscle cells in that area are unable to respire and die

Question 16

what is the atrium?

Answer 16

-a thin walled and elastic chamber that stretches as it collects blood

Question 17

what is the ventricle?

Answer 17

-it has a much thicker muscular wall as it has to contract strongly to pump blood some distance wither to the lungs or the rest of the body