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Camille Diago Professor McClellan English 1302 December 1, 2011 The Amazing Structure of Human Heart According to Maura Kelly, the heart weighs less than a pound but is immensely strong that the amount of energy it generates in a single day could drive the car in twenty miles (Kelly). Henry Cabin asserts that the heart is a tiny part of

the human being that has ascended into heaven, is carried by a winged beetle, and that according to the Greeks, is the home of a mans courage and loyalty (Cabin). Merriam-Webster dictionary describe the human heart as the ones innermost character, feelings, or inclinations (Merriam Webster). Though according to The Heart and Circulation from Cardiovascular Health, the heart is twice the size of a fist and can shuttle 2,000 gallons of oxygen-rich blood many times through about 60,000 miles of branching blood vessels that link together the cells of a persons organ and body parts (The Heart and Circulation). According to Fun Facts, the heart can also create enough pressure and squirt blood at a distance of thirty feet (Fun Facts), and is known all over the world as the universal symbol

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of love. Heart Facts- interesting Facts about Human Heart states that this miraculous organ beats about 100,000 times in one day about 35 million times in a year. During the average lifetime, the human heart will beat more than 2.5 billion times (Heart Facts-Interesting Facts about Human Heart). Thats how amazing our tiny heart is, it may look small, but it works like a huge factory where many process and developments occur. The human heart has an amazing structure in its size, location and chambers. The human heart is a muscular cone-shape central organ of the cardiovascular system. On the article at Buzzle.com titled Functions of the heart, it states that the scientific diagram of the heart looks nothing like the candy floss heart cut outs that fly around on Valentine's Day! (Functions of the Heart). According to the article Anatomy of the Heart, the humans heart weighs between 7 and 15 ounces and is a little larger than the size of a persons fist. By the end of a long life, a person's heart may have beaten (expanded and contracted) more than 3.5 billion times. Each day, the average heart beats 100,000 times, pumping about 2,000 gallons (7,571 liters) of blood (Anatomy of the Heart). Function of the Heart also states that the miraculous organ is located between the vertebral column and the sternum. It is enveloped by the

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pericardium which is a double walled sac like structure which is a protective covering for the heart and it keeps the heart from getting overfilled with blood, while keeping the surrounding structures anchored. The outer part of the pericardium is known as the fibrous pericardium, which provides an outer protective layer for the heart and prevents the heart from over expanding when blood volume increases. (Functions of the Heart). Considering how much work it has to do, the Human heart is surprisingly small, its amazing how a fist sized organ thats located on the left side of a persons chest can have a vital role in everyones life.

According to Elizabeth M. Cherry and Flavio H. Fenton in Heart Structure, Function and Arrhythmias, the human heart is divided into four chambers; first, the right atrium which is located at the lower right chamber of the heart, it receives deoxygenated blood from the body. Second, the right ventricle located in the lower right chamber of the heart which receives deoxygenated blood as the right atrium contracts. The third one is the left atrium which is located in the upper left chamber of the heart it receives oxygenated blood from the lungs through the pulmonary veins, and fourth, the left ventricle which is located in the lower left chamber of the heart. It receives oxygenated blood through the mitral valve from the left atrium

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as it contracts. At the same time, the aortic valve leading to the aorta is closed, allowing the ventricle to fill with blood (Cherry and Fenton). Cabin also states that the walls of the chambers are made of a unique muscle, the myocardium that contracts rhythmically under the stimulation of electrical currents. The left and right atria and the left and right ventricles are separated from each other by a wall of muscle called the septum (Cabin). Based on the article The Human Heart, the human heart is primarily a shell that has four open spaces inside that fills with blood; which are called atria that form the curved top of the heart and ventricles, which meet at the bottom of the heart to form a pointed base which points toward the left side of ones chest (Human Heart). The four chambers of the heart provide an intricate multiple step pathways for blood to be first sent to the lungs for respiration and then dispensed to the body's cells to sustain life.

Human heart is such an incredible organ that gives life each second, it is vital to mans health and nearly everything that goes on in the body. Tara Pope states that abstaining from food on a regular basis leads to metabolic changes that are good for the heart (Pope). The structure of the heart is very astonishing; based on an article Heart, the human heart is a vital internal organ located in the pericardium in the thorax of

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the chest and a critical organ of the circulatory and cardiopulmonary system (Heart). According to Henry Cabin, Placing a hand on the chest, one can feel the heart beat on the left side of the rib cage because in that spot, the bottom left corner of the heart, which is somewhat tilted forward, comes closest to the surface of the body. The adult Heart is about the size of two clenched fist. It is shaped like a cone and weights about 7 to 15 ounces, depending on the size and weight of the individual (Cabin). The article Heart's Structures: The Chambers." states that Human heart's chambers' primary purpose is to fulfill the mechanical function of pumping blood; it also has other functions like influencing heart rate and serving several endocrine roles. The human heart has an amazing

structure, in its size, location and chambers, indeed.