Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
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 ...
Heart failure is caused by chronic oxygen deprivation due to reduced blood flow, which weakens the heart over time. Arrhythmias are caused by inadequate blood supply to the heart that interferes with the heart's electric impulse. The coronary arteries can constrict as a response to various stimuli, mostly chemical. This is known as a coronary ...
The bundle of His (BH) [1]: 58 or His bundle (HB) [1]: 232 (/ h ɪ s / "hiss" [2]) is a collection of heart muscle cells specialized for electrical conduction.As part of the electrical conduction system of the heart, it transmits the electrical impulses from the atrioventricular node (located between the atria and the ventricles) to the point of the apex of the fascicular branches via the ...
While in the healthy heart, waves of electrical impulses originate in the sinus node before spreading to the rest of the atria, the atrioventricular node, and finally the ventricles (referred to as a normal sinus rhythm), this normal rhythm can be disrupted. Abnormal heart rhythms or arrhythmias may be asymptomatic or may cause palpitations ...
It may be described as right-left, left-right or bidirectional, or as systemic-to-pulmonary or pulmonary-to-systemic. The direction may be controlled by left and/or right heart pressure, a biological or artificial heart valve or both. The presence of a shunt may also affect left and/or right heart pressure either beneficially or detrimentally.
The pericardium (pl.: pericardia), also called pericardial sac, is a double-walled sac containing the heart and the roots of the great vessels. [1] It has two layers, an outer layer made of strong inelastic connective tissue (fibrous pericardium), and an inner layer made of serous membrane (serous pericardium).
The heart muscle may become inflamed in a condition called myocarditis, [46] most commonly caused by a viral infection [47] but sometimes caused by the body's own immune system. [48] Heart muscle can also be damaged by drugs such as alcohol, long standing high blood pressure or hypertension , or persistent abnormal heart racing . [ 49 ]
According to the cardiocentric hypothesis, the heart is the primary location of human emotions, cognition, and awareness. [1] This notion may be traced back to ancient civilizations such as Egypt and Greece, where the heart was regarded not only as a physical organ but also as a repository of emotions and wisdom. [2]