A JOURNEY THROUGH THE
HUMAN HEART
Presentation by Samantha Cameron

The heart itself
Heart valves
Heart at
work
Heart rate
Sounds of the heart
Listen to your
heart
The heart to
the
lungs
The heart to the body
Guarding your heart
Techno
tools
Heart health
Credits


The human heart consists of 4 chambers
 there are two types of chambers: the atrium and the ventricle
 there are two of each type in the heart
 the heart weighs a mere 300 grams


The human heart contains valves which prevent blood from flowing back into the heart chambers after it has contracted
 atrioventricular valves are found between the atrium and ventricle of each side of the heart
 semilunar valves are found in the arteries leaving the heart to prevent blood from flowing back into the ventricles


Each minute of the day the heart pumps 5 litres of blood
 each time the heart beats it sends deoxygenated blood to the lungs and oxygenated blood to the body


Blood enters the right atrium of the heart via two large veins: the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava
 blood exits the right ventricle of the heart through the pulmonary artery to the lungs


Blood reenters the left artrium of the heart via the pulmonary vein
 blood on the left side of the heart is oxygenated and is pumped into the body by the left ventricle through the aorta


The heart is very important and is therefore carefully protected
 the ribs protect the heart from being crushed or bumped, thus allowing the heart to beat freely without external pressure
 the heart is also protected within the thorax by the pericardium, which is fluid filled to prevent friction inside the chest cavity


The heart is made up of specialized muscle (myogenic muscle) which contracts without outside nervous stimulation
 because the heart is made up of this special muscle, it needs special controls
 the heart is controlled by two nodes that are within the heart itself
 the first node is the sinoatrial node (SA node), and is sometimes called the “pace maker” of the heart
 the second node is the atrioventricular node and it serves as a conductor, passing impulses to the rest of the heart


There are two sounds associated with the heart, the lubb and the dubb
 the lubb sound is produced when the ventricles contract and the atrioventricular valves close
 the dubb is produced when the semilunar valves close, therefore preventing blood from flowing back into the ventricles


Doctors use various methods to check your heart
 the stethoscope is commonly used to hear your heart beat
 the sphygmomanometer measures your blood pressure that your heart exerts with each contraction of the ventricles


Doctors have many ways of testing the health of your heart
 an electrocardiograph is used to check the regularity of your heart beat and your heart rate
 it can also be used to watch heart attack victims, and allow doctors a look to help determine any damage that was caused


It is very important to exercise and eat healthy to help maintain heart health.

There are times when heart health is not maintained, and this is when medicine gets involved.


Clip art from Microsoft Clipart

Pictures from Yahoo! Picture Gallery