The Heart Dissection
You will be working in groups in this lab
Materials
1. Dissection tray
2. Pins
3. Tape
4. Paper
5.
6.
7.
8.
Rubber Glove
Scalpel or Knife
Digital Camera
Heart
Procedures
1. DO NOT CUT INTO YOUR HEART. The first think you are going to do is identify the pulmonary
trunk, aorta, superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, and coronary arteries.
2. Take the Pins and tape pieces paper to each pin. The pins are then going to be stuck into the
heart. The pieces of paper are going to have a name on it to identify what structure they are
stuck into.
3. Photograph the heart with the identification pins stuck in it.
4. Now cut your heart open by cutting the Vena Cava up the middle so you split the vena cava
length wise. Continue cutting by cutting the heart completely in half. Identify all the structures.
Identify the 4 chambers of heart, the valves, the tubes that go in and out of the heart, the
septum, and the chordae tendineae.
5. Make pins with paper to identify all of the parts.
6. Photograph the heart with the identification pins inside of it.
7. Cut 6 small rectangular pieces of paper. On 3 pieces of paper draw Red arrows and on the other
3 pieces of paper draw blue arrows
8. Use the arrows to map the flow of oxygenated and deoxygenated blood. Place the arrows in the
chambers of the heart to show the direction.
9. Photograph the Heart with the arrows placed in it.
Questions
1. What is the function of the chordae tendineae?
2. If a person was born with a ‘Hole’ in their septum what would the consequences would that
have for that person? Be specific and use your knowledge of blood flow to answer this
question.
3. People have described the heart beat as a “lub” “dub”. What does this mean? What does
the ‘lub’ represent and what does the ‘dub’ represent?
4. If you eat unhealthy food it can cause a block in one of the coronary arteries. What would
be the consequences of this? Be specific.
Assignment
Each student must hand in a lab that contains
1. A lab with photographs that are clearly labelled
2. Answers to the questions that are put into your own words. DO NOT COPY off of the
internet or your lab partner.