The Ventricles, Atria, and Valves of the Heart

The heart is a muscle that pumps oxygenated blood and nutrients to the body's cells. The heart muscle contracts and relaxes with each heartbeat. There are four chambers in the heart: the top two chambers are called the right and left atria, and the bottom two chambers are the right and left ventricles. There are four valves which maintain the free flow of blood in a forward direction through the heart chambers, then out through the arteries. The valves open to allow blood to move in a forward direction, then they close tightly to prevent a backwards flow of blood. The opening & closing of these valves creates the heart sounds, Lub Dub. These sounds are best heard by the use of a stethoscope.

Blood Flow Through the Heart

1) Oxygen-poor blood returns from the body, flows into the heart through the right atrium. During this time the tricuspid valve is closed, allowing the blood to fill the right atrium 2) The muscle walls of the right atrium contract and push the blood through the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle

3) Once the right ventricle has filled with blood, the right ventricle contracts and pushes the blood through the pulmonic valve, into the pulmonary artery. This artery divides and transports the blood throughout the lungs. In the lungs, the blood gives up carbon dioxide in exchange for oxygen.

4) The oxygen-rich blood is then returned from the lungs to the left side of the heart, into the left atrium. During this time, the mitral valve is closed, allowing the blood to fully fill the left atrium.

5) Contraction of the heart muscle of the left atrium pushes the blood out of the left atrium, past the mitral valve, and into the left ventricle.

6) Once the left ventricle is full of blood, the muscle walls contract pushing the blood past the aortic valve, into the aorta, and out into the body.

Both the left side and the right side of the heart contract at the same time, in a balanced symmetry. The coordination of these events is determined by the electrical activity which originates in the right atrium and moves throughout the heart. The electrical impulses that cause the heart muscle to contract are measured by an EKG. The opening and closing of the valves generate the heart sounds. These heart sounds are best heard with the use of a stethoscope. Damaged valves can cause turbulent blood flow and are called heart murmurs.

Blood Flow Around the Heart in the Coronary Arteries:

Although the inside chambers of the heart are full of blood, the heart muscle itself is fed from a network of blood vessels on the surface of the heart. These blood vessels are the coronary arteries. The oxygenated blood that leaves the heart is pumped from the left ventricle into the aorta which immediately sends of branches, referred to as coronary arteries. These very important arteries surround the hearts surface and and deliver oxygenated blood to the vital heart muscle. The branches of coronary arteries are first divided into two major coronary arteries, the Left Main and the Right Coronary Artery. The Left Main then divides into the Left Anterior Descending (LAD) and the Circumflex. Anterior Coronary Arteries Posterior Coronary Arteries