The Heart Function

Objectives

• Describe how the heart functions

• Explain how blood is pumped by the heart
The Heart: pumps oxygen rich blood, nutrients, hormones, and other things the
body needs to maintain health, to organs and tissues.
The Heart
• Located near the center of your
chest

• Hollow structure

• Composed almost entirely of

muscle

• About the size of your clenched

fist
 The Heart

This is a vein. It brings These are arteries. They

blood from the body, carry blood away from
except the lungs. the heart.

2 atria
Coronary arteries,
the hearts own blood
2 ventricles supply

The heart has four chambers

now lets look inside the heart

 The Heart

Artery to Lungs Artery to Head and Body

Vein from Head and Body

Vein from Lungs

Right Atrium
Left Atrium

valve valve

Right Ventricle Left Ventricle

Parts of the Heart
The heart is made up of 4 different blood-filled areas. There are 2
chambers on each side of the heart. One chamber is on the top and
the other is on the bottom.

The 2 chambers on top are called the atria. The atria are the
chambers that fill with the blood returning to the heart from the
body and lungs. The heart has a left atrium and a right atrium.

The two chambers on the bottom are called the ventricles. The
heart has a left ventricle and a right ventricle. Their job is to squirt
out the blood to the body and lungs.

Running down the middle of the heart is a thick wall of muscle

called the septum. The septum's job is to separate the left side and
the right side of the heart.
Parts of the Heart
There are 4 valves inside the heart.
Mitral Valve & Tricuspid Valve - let
blood flow from the atria to the
ventricles
Aortic Valve & Pulmonary Valve –
control the flow of blood as it leaves
the heart
These valves all work to keep the blood
flowing forward. They open up to let
the blood move ahead, then they close
quickly to keep the blood from flowing
backward.
Cardiac system
The four chambers of the heart have special names:
An upper chamber is called an atrium (plural: atria).

right
atrium left
atrium

right left
ventricle ventricle

A lower chamber is called a ventricle.

Cardiac system
Here are some other important parts of the heart:

The semi-lunar valves

The walls are prevent expelled blood
made of cardiac flowing back into the
muscle. heart.

The wall Bicuspid (mitral)

dividing the left valve
and right sides of
the heart is called Tricuspid valve
the septum.

These two valves prevent blood

flowing back into the atria
from the ventricles.
Blood vessels: valves
When blood is flowing against gravity, or when a vein is squeezed by
muscle action, there is a risk that blood will flow in the wrong
direction. Veins have valves to prevent backflow.

backflow
vein valve prevented
open
vein valve
blood to closed
the
heart

The valves allow …but close if blood

blood to flow in the starts to flow in the
correct direction… wrong direction.
How does the Heart work?

• STEP ONE
STEP TWO
STEP THREE

The cycle then repeats itself.