Human heart
The human heart is a muscular organ that provides a continuous blood circulation
through the cardiac cycle and is one of the most vital organs in the human body.[1] It is
divided into four main chambers: the two upper chambers are called the left and right
atria and two lower chambers are called the right and left [Link] is a thick wall
of muscle separating the right side and the left side of the heart called the septum.
Normally the right ventricle pumps the same blood amount into the lungs with each bit
that the left ventricle pumps out. Physicians commonly refer to the right atrium and right
ventricle together as the right heart and to the left atrium and ventricle as the left heart.
[2]
The electric energy that stimulates the heart occurs in the sinoatrial node, which produces
a definite potential and then discharges, sending an impulse across the atria. The Purkinje
fibers transmit the electric charge to the myocardium while the cells of the atrial walls
transmit it from cell to cell, making the atrial syncytium. The heart is an organ but made
up of a collection of tissues.
The human heart and its disorders (cardiopathies) are studied primarily by cardiology.
Structure
The human heart has a mass of between 250 and 350 grams and is about the size of a fist.
[3]
It is enclosed in a double-walled protective sac called the pericardium.[4] The superficial
part of this sac is called the fibrous pericardium. This sac protects the heart, anchors its
surrounding structures, and prevents overfilling of the heart with blood.
The outer wall of the human heart is composed of three layers. The outer layer is called
the epicardium, or visceral pericardium since it is also the inner wall of the pericardium.
The middle layer is called the myocardium and is composed of muscle which contracts.
The inner layer is called the endocardium and is in contact with the blood that the heart
pumps. Also, it merges with the inner lining (endothelium) of blood vessels and covers
heart valves.[5]
The human heart has four chambers, two superior atria and two inferior ventricles. The
atria are the receiving chambers and the ventricles are the discharging chambers.
The pathways of blood through the human heart are part of the pulmonary and systemic
circuits. These pathways include the tricuspid valve, the mitral valve, the aortic valve,
and the pulmonary valve.[6] The mitral and tricuspid valves are classified as the
atrioventricular (AV) valves. This is because they are found between the atria and
ventricles. The aortic and pulmonary semi-lunar valves separate the left and right
ventricle from the pulmonary artery and the aorta respectively. These valves are attached
to the chordae tendinae (literally the heartstrings), which anchors the valves to the papilla
muscles of the heart.
The interatrioventricular septum separates the left atrium and ventricle from the right
atrium and ventricle, dividing the heart into two functionally separate and anatomically
distinct units.
Lateral section
The blood supply of the heart is provided by the coronary circulation. Coronary arteries labeled
in red text and other landmarks in blue text.
Functioning
Blood flows through the heart in one direction, from the atria to the ventricles, and out of
the great arteries, or the aorta for example. Blood is prevented from flowing backwards
by the tricuspid,bicuspid, aortic, and pulmonary valve.
The heart acts as a double pump. The function of the right side of the heart (see right
heart) is to collect de-oxygenated blood, in the right atrium, from the body (via superior
and inferior vena cavae) and pump it, via the right ventricle, into the lungs (pulmonary
circulation) so that carbon dioxide can be dropped off and oxygen picked up (gas
exchange). This happens through the passive process of diffusion.
The left side (see left heart) collects oxygenated blood from the lungs into the left atrium.
From the left atrium the blood moves to the left ventricle which pumps it out to the body
(via the aorta).
On both sides, the lower ventricles are thicker and stronger than the upper atria. The
muscle wall surrounding the left ventricle is thicker than the wall surrounding the right
ventricle due to the higher force needed to pump the blood through the systemic
circulation.
Starting in the right atrium, the blood flows through the tricuspid valve to the right
ventricle. Here, it is pumped out of the pulmonary semilunar valve and travels through
the pulmonary artery to the lungs. From there, blood flows back through the pulmonary
vein to the left atrium. It then travels through the mitral valve to the left ventricle, from
where it is pumped through the aortic semilunar valve to the aorta and to the rest of the
body. The (relatively) deoxygenated blood finally returns to the heart through the inferior
vena cava and superior vena cava, and enters the right atrium where the process began.
Blood flow diagram of the human heart. Blue components indicate de-oxygenated blood
pathways and red components indicate oxygenated pathways.
External view
Surface view of the heart
Artery
Right coronary artery, left coronary artery, anterior interventricular artery
Vein
Superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, right pulmonary veins, left pulmonary veins