The heart is a four-chambered muscular organ located in the chest's mediastinum, responsible for pumping blood throughout the body to deliver oxygen and nutrients. It consists of left/right atria and ventricles, utilizing valves to maintain one-way flow, powered by an electrochemical system.
Blood Flow Through Heart
Vena cava —> Right atrium —> Right ventricle —> Pulmonary trunk —> Pulmonary artery —> Pulmonary vein —> Left atrium —> Left ventricle —> Aortic arch
Coronary Arteries
The heart requires a continuous supply of oxygen to function. Under normal conditions, these arteries can dilate (widen) to increase blood flow during periods of high demand, such as during exercise.
Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Sed malesuada faucibus ex nec ultricies. Donec mattis egestas nisi non pretium. Suspendisse nec eros ut erat facilisis maximus. In congue et leo in varius. Vestibulum sit amet felis ornare, commodo orci ut, feugiat lorem.
The heart sounds heard during ascultatiion are the opening and closing of cardiac valves.
The heart has four valves—mitral, tricuspid, aortic, and pulmonary—that act as one-way gates, ensuring blood flows in the correct direction with each heartbeat. They open to allow blood flow and close tightly to prevent backward leakage (regurgitation). Common problems include stenosis (stiff/narrowed) or regurgitation
The Cardiac Conduction System
The cardiac conduction system is a network of specialized muscle cells that initiates and coordinates the electrical signals required for the heart to beat. These signals ensure that the heart's chambers contract in a synchronized sequence—first the atria, then the ventricles—to efficiently pump blood throughout the body.
The sequence of activation of the specialized myocytes that comprise the cardiac conduction system is as follows:
