ANATOMY AND PHYSIOLOGY OF THE HEART

The heart is a muscular organ a little larger than your fist weighing between 7 and
15 ounces (200 to 425 grams). It is responsible for pumping blood through the blood
vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. The average heart beats 100,000 times per
day pumping about 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of blood. The average human heart
beating at 72 BPM (beats per minute), will beat approximately 2.5 billion times during a
lifetime of 66 years.

The heart is usually situated in the middle of the thorax with the largest part of the
heart slightly offset to the left underneath the breastbone or sternum and is surrounded by
the lungs. The sac enclosing the heart is known as the pericardium.

The heart consists of the following parts:

Aorta: It is the largest artery and carries oxygenated blood from the heart to the rest of
the body.
Superior Vena Cava: Deoxygenated blood from the upper parts of the body returns to
the heart through the superior vena cava.
Inferior Vena Cava: Deoxygenated blood from the lower parts of the body returns to the
heart through the inferior vena cava.
Pulmonary Veins: They carry oxygenated blood from the lungs back to the heart.
Pulmonary Arteries: They carry blood from the heart to the lungs to pick up oxygen.
Right Atrium: It collects deoxygenated blood returning from the body (through the vena
cavas) and then forces it into the right ventricle through the tricuspid valve.
Right Ventricle: It collects deoxygenated blood from the right atrium and then forces it
into the lungs through the pulmonary valve.
Left Atrium: It collects oxygenated blood returning from the lungs and then forces it
into the left ventricle through the mitral valve.
Left Ventricle: It is the largest and the strongest chamber in the heart. It pushes blood
through the aortic valve and into the body.

Common carotid artery is an artery that supplies the head and neck with oxygenated
blood; it divides in the neck to form the external and internal carotid arteries.

Subclavian arteries are two major arteries of the upper thorax (chest), below the clavicle
(collar bone). They receive blood from the top (arch) of the aorta. The left subclavian
artery supplies blood to the left arm and the right subclavian artery supplies blood to the
right arm, with some branches supplying the head and thorax.

• On the left side of the body, the subclavian comes directly off the arch of aorta.
• On the right side of the body, the subclavian arises from the relatively short
brachiocephalic artery (trunk) when it bifurcates into the subclavian and the right
common carotid artery.

Coronary arteries are vessels that deliver oxygen-rich blood to the myocardium.

Mitral valve Also known as the "bicuspid valve" contains two flaps. It allows the blood
to flow from the left atrium into the left ventricle. It is on the left side of the
heart and has two cusps.
Tricuspid valve is the three-flapped valve on the right side of the heart, between the right
atrium and the right ventricle which stops the backflow of blood between the two. It has
three cusps.

Aortic valve The aortic valve lies between the left ventricle and the aorta. The aortic
valve has three cusps. During ventricular systole, pressure rises in the left
ventricle. When the pressure in the left ventricle rises above the pressure in the
aorta, the aortic valve opens, allowing blood to exit the left ventricle into the
aorta. When ventricular systole ends, pressure in the left ventricle rapidly drops.
When the pressure in the left ventricle decreases, the aortic pressure forces the
aortic valve to close. The closure of the aortic valve contributes the A2
component of the second heart sound (S2).

Pulmonary valve The pulmonary valve (sometimes referred to as the pulmonic valve) is
the semilunar valve of the heart that lies between the right ventricle and the
pulmonary artery and has three cusps. Similar to the aortic valve, the pulmonary
valve opens in ventricular systole, when the pressure in the right ventricle rises
above the pressure in the pulmonary artery. At the end of ventricular systole,
when the pressure in the right ventricle falls rapidly, the pressure in the
pulmonary artery will close the pulmonary valve.