The Heart
The heart is often thought to be the most important organ in your body. However, the heart is not only an organ, but a strong muscle located slightly to the left of your chest. Your heart is about the size of a fist. It pumps blood through thousands of veins and arteries throughout the body.
The heart has four main chambers: the right atrium, which gets blood from veins and pumps it into the right ventricle. The blood goes through valves, which regulates whether blood leaves or enters a chamber. From there, the blood is pumped to the lungs to pick up oxygen. It then goes back to the heart, specifically the left atrium. The oxygen rich blood is pumped from the left atrium to the left ventricle which pumps the blood to all other parts of the body. As the blood gives away its oxygen to the cells and picks up carbon dioxide as waste, the blood turns darker. The left ventricle is the most powerful chamber of the heart and its beating creates our blood pressure. The largest artery in the body is the aorta which comes from the left ventricle. The thick wall that separates the right and left sides of the heart is called the septum. Along the surface of the heart, there are arteries called coronary arteries that give the actual heart cells nutrients. The pericardium is the sac the surrounds the heart and protects it.
To better understand the heart, go to the links page or click the button below and watch a short video about your heart.
The heart has four main chambers: the right atrium, which gets blood from veins and pumps it into the right ventricle. The blood goes through valves, which regulates whether blood leaves or enters a chamber. From there, the blood is pumped to the lungs to pick up oxygen. It then goes back to the heart, specifically the left atrium. The oxygen rich blood is pumped from the left atrium to the left ventricle which pumps the blood to all other parts of the body. As the blood gives away its oxygen to the cells and picks up carbon dioxide as waste, the blood turns darker. The left ventricle is the most powerful chamber of the heart and its beating creates our blood pressure. The largest artery in the body is the aorta which comes from the left ventricle. The thick wall that separates the right and left sides of the heart is called the septum. Along the surface of the heart, there are arteries called coronary arteries that give the actual heart cells nutrients. The pericardium is the sac the surrounds the heart and protects it.
To better understand the heart, go to the links page or click the button below and watch a short video about your heart.