The heart and its parts

Blood Vessels

• Artery – a blood vessel that moves blood away from the heart

• Vein – a blood vessel that moves blood towards the heart

Chambers

Heart has 4 chambers

• 2 atria – top

• 2 ventricles - bottom

Blood flows into right Atrium (“space”)– under low pressure – Comes from veins

• Blood moves through the Tricuspid valve

• Blood then flows to right ventricle

• After right ventricle its then pumped to lungs through pulmonary artery

• Goes to lungs

• then returns to heart through pulmonary vein

• Goes to left atrium

• Goes through mitral valve to left ventricle

• then returns to body through aorta

Ventricles: much thicker than atriums

• Left thicker than right

• Why?

• Bigger muscle to force the blood thru whole body

Vessels of the heart

Superior vena cava (vein): draining from head and neck.

• Inferior vena cava: below heart brings deoxygenated blood from rest of body

• Pulmonary truck (artery): takes blood from heart to lungs

• Has two branches –Why?

• because you have 2 lungs

• Pulmonary arteries: takes deoxygenated blood from heart to lungs. Only artery in body that carries deox. blood.

• Pulmonary veins: takes oxygenated blood from lungs to heart. Only vein in body that carries Ox. blood.

• Empties into

Left atrium

• Aorta: carries blood from left ventricle to all of body