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The heart is a muscular organ situated in the mediastinum.It consists of four chambers, four valves, two main arteries (the coronary arteries), and the conduction system. The left and right sides of the heart have different functions: the right side receives de-oxygenated blood through the superior and inferior venae cavae and pumps blood to the lungs through the pulmonary artery, and the left ...
The back surface of the heart lies near the vertebral column, and the front surface, known as the sternocostal surface, sits behind the sternum and rib cartilages. [8] The upper part of the heart is the attachment point for several large blood vessels—the venae cavae, aorta and pulmonary trunk.
The crux cordis or crux of the heart (from Latin "crux" meaning "cross") is the area on the lower back side of the heart where the coronary sulcus (the groove separating the atria from the ventricles) and the posterior interventricular sulcus (the groove separating the left from the right ventricle) meet. [1]
Cardiac physiology or heart function is the study of healthy, unimpaired function of the heart: involving blood flow; myocardium structure; the electrical conduction system of the heart; the cardiac cycle and cardiac output and how these interact and depend on one another.
Isolated heart conduction system showing atrioventricular node. The AV node receives two inputs from the right atrium: posteriorly, via the crista terminalis, and anteriorly, via the interatrial septum. [8] Contraction of heart muscle cells requires depolarization and repolarization of their cell membranes. Movement of ions across cell ...
It separates the heart from interference of other structures, protects it against infection and blunt trauma, and lubricates the heart's movements. The English name originates from the Ancient Greek prefix peri- (περί) 'around' and the suffix -cardion (κάρδιον) 'heart'.
Papillary muscles are finger-like projections from the wall of the left ventricle. When the left ventricle contracts, the pressure in the ventricle forces the valve to close, while the tendons keep the leaflets coapting together and prevent the valve from opening in the wrong direction (thus preventing blood flowing back to the left atrium).
The papillary muscles are muscles located in the ventricles of the heart. They attach to the cusps of the atrioventricular valves (also known as the mitral and tricuspid valves) via the chordae tendineae and contract to prevent inversion or prolapse of these valves on systole (or ventricular contraction).