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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 is enclosed in a protective sac, the pericardium, which also contains a small amount of fluid. The wall of the heart is made up of three layers: epicardium, myocardium, and endocardium. [8] The heart pumps blood with a rhythm determined by a group of pacemaker cells in the sinoatrial node.
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]
The venous component forms a large part of the posterior wall of the heart and the anterior wall of the oblique pericardial sinus. [19] The appendage of the left atrium is a narrow, finger-like entity that contains small pectinate muscles. Its small orifice lies anterior of the left superior pulmonary vein and lateral to the mitral valve.
In patients with ischemic heart disease there is an accumulation of angiogenic growth factors in the pericardial fluid. These contribute to angiogenesis (the formation of new blood vessels) and arteriogenesis (the increase in diameter of existing arterioles). This helps to prevent myocardial ischemia (lack of oxygen to the heart). [6]
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.
The heart wall is a three-layered structure with a thick layer of myocardium sandwiched between the inner endocardium and the outer epicardium (also known as the visceral pericardium). The inner endocardium lines the cardiac chambers, covers the cardiac valves , and joins with the endothelium that lines the blood vessels that connect to the heart.
The early bulbus cordis is formed by the fifth week of development. [4] The truncus arteriosus is derived from it later. [2]The adjacent walls of the bulbus cordis and ventricle approximate, fuse, and finally disappear, and the bulbus cordis now communicates freely with the right ventricle, while the junction of the bulbus with the truncus arteriosus is brought directly ventral to and applied ...