Anatomical Analysis of the Human Heart

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Introduction: The Heart
The heart is a muscular, cone shaped, hollow organ that is only the size of our fist when we are adults (Farley, McLafferty & Hendry, 2012). The heart is located in between the lungs in the thoracic cavity with the esophagus and other structures (Farley et al., 2012). In our body the heart is facing with the cone shaped end, called the apex, to the left with the flat end (base) lying opposite (Farley et al., 2012). The heart is divided into three tissue layers: the outer layer called the pericardium, the middle layer called the myocardium and the innermost layer of tissue named the endocardium (Farley et al., 2012).
External Anatomy of the Heart
Pericardium
The pericardium is a sac that surrounds and protects the heart. It is doubled layered with an outer layer composed of fibrous connective tissue and an inner layer composed of simple squamous epithelium (Farley, McLafferty & Hendry, 2012). The fibrous portion of the pericardium ensures that the heart is anchored in place and prevents over distension (Farley et al., 2012). The inner layer named the serous membrane is further divided into two sections: the parietal and visceral …show more content…

Ventricles are larger because they have to pump the blood longer distances than the atriums. Blood flows through the heart in one direction; the valves that are created by the endocardium maintain this one directional flow. There are two sets of valves present in the heart, atrioventricular (AV) valves, and semilunar valves (Mahadeven, 2015). The AV valves are located between the top portion of the heart called atriums, and the lower portion of the heart called ventricles and the semilunar valves are located between the ventricles and the major arteries inside the heart- the pulmonary artery and the aorta (Mahadeven,

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