Morphology of the Heart

Morphology of the Heart

Laurin McGlothlin

Kaplan University

HS 130-03

Abstract

The heart is composed of four chambers: the right atrium, the right ventricle, the left atrium and the left ventricle. Ventricles are the larger of the two types of chamber with thicker and more muscular walls. The ventricles are the pumping chambers, connected to the arteries to pump out blood to the rest of the body. The atria are the smaller, weaker chambers that receive blood from the rest of the body through the veins. The left side chambers are significantly larger than its right counter-part. The size difference is directly related to the function of the two sides. The right chambers direct blood to the supply the lungs while the left side must have enough power to supply blood to all of the extremities.

Oxygen deprived blood from the body enters the heart through the superior and inferior vena cava. The blood then enters the right atrium, passing through the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle. The right ventricle directs the blood through the pulmonary semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery releases blood into the lungs, where carbon dioxide is dumped and oxygen is absorbed.

The blood in the lungs returns to the heart via the pulmonary veins, using the left atrium as its portal. The left atrium then contracts, pushing blood through the bicuspid or mitral valve into the left ventricle. Blood present in the left ventricle is pumped into the aortic semilunar valve and then making its way into aorta. The aorta then distributes the blood evenly throughout the body eventually making way to the distant extremities. The blood then ventures back to the vena cava in a continuous cycle.

References

Taylor, T. (n.d.). Heart. InnerBody. Retrieved February 8, 2014, from http://www.innerbody.com/image/card01.html#full-description

Thibodeau, G. A., & Patton, K. T. (2008). Structure & function of the body (13th ed.). St. Louis, Mo.:...