Basic Anatomy of the Heart
About the heart:
The heart is the hardest working
muscle in the human body. Located almost in the
center of the chest, the adult human heart is
about the size of two fists held side-by-side.
At an average rate of 80 times
a minute, the heart beats about 115,000 times
in one day or 42 million times in a year. During
an average lifetime, the human heart will beat
more than 3 billion times - pumping an amount
of blood that equals about 1 million barrels.
Even at rest, the heart continuously works hard.
How the heart works:
The cardiovascular system, composed
of the heart and blood vessels, is responsible
for circulating blood throughout your body to
supply the body with oxygen and nutrients.
The heart is the muscle that
pumps blood filled with oxygen and nutrients
through the blood vessels to the body tissues.
It is made up of:
- Four chambers (two
atria and two ventricles) that receive blood
from the body and pump out blood to it.
- The atria receive blood
coming back to the heart.
- The ventricles pump the
blood out of the heart.
- Blood vessels, which
compose a network of arteries and veins that
carry blood throughout the body.
- Arteries transport blood
from the heart to the body tissues.
- Veins carry blood back
to the heart.
- Four valves to prevent
backward flow of blood.
- Each valve is designed
to allow the forward flow of blood and prevent
the backward flow.
- An electrical system of the
heart that stimulates contraction of the heart
muscle.
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Resources of Cardiovascular Disease
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