Search results
Results from the WOW.Com Content Network
The heart itself is supplied with oxygen and nutrients through a small "loop" of the systemic circulation and derives very little from the blood contained within the four chambers. The coronary circulation system provides a blood supply to the heart muscle itself.
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.
Failure of oxygen delivery caused by a decrease in blood flow in front of increased oxygen demand of the heart results in tissue ischemia, a condition of oxygen deficiency. Brief ischemia is associated with intense chest pain, known as angina. Severe ischemia can cause the heart muscle to die from hypoxia, such as during a myocardial infarction ...
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 ...
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.
Illustration depicting the layers of the heart wall including the innermost endocardium. The endocardium (pl.: endocardia) is the innermost layer of tissue that lines the chambers of the heart. Its cells are embryologically and biologically similar to the endothelial cells that line blood vessels. The endocardium also provides protection to the ...
Contracting heart muscle uses a lot of energy, and therefore requires a constant flow of blood to provide oxygen and nutrients. Blood is brought to the myocardium by the coronary arteries. These originate from the aortic root and lie on the outer or epicardial surface of the heart. Blood is then drained away by the coronary veins into the right ...