Tracing the Path of Blood through the Heart You've just learned the basic anatomy of the heart. Now let’s trace the path of blood as it moves through the heart, from where it first enters the heart from the body to where it exits the heart to return to the body. First, two large vessels carry poorly oxygenated blood from the body to the right atrium the heart, One vessel, the superior vena cava (suw'piriyar 'viyna 'keyva), brings blood to. the heart from the areas of the body above the heart, such as the shoulders, head, and upy chest. The inferior vena cava, the other large vessel, brings blood to the heart from the a below the heart, such as the digestive system and the legs. Superior vena cova — Aorta — Left pulmonary artery. Right pulmonary artery — Left pulmonary veins Right pulmonary veins Inferior vena cava ‘Abdominal aorta Ficunt 9,6 Blood vessels entering and leaving the heart. ‘Arrows indicate direction of blood flow. ‘The blood is now in the right atrium, Most of the blood simply falls through the tricuspid) valve and enters the right ventricle. The right atrium then contracts to make sure that almost all of the blood gets into the right ventricle. Then the tricuspid valve closes. Nearly all of the blood is now in the right ventricle.Next, the right ventricle contracts to push the blood upward through the pulmonary semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery. The pulmonary artery splits into right and left branches, One branch goes into each lung, Blood goes to the lungs via pulmonary arteries to become oxygenated. In the lungs, the pulmonary arteries branch repeatedly until they become pulmonary capillaries ('kaepaleriyz). Capillaries are the smallest vessels in the body. The blood gets rid of its carbon dioxide (waste) in the lungs. The carbon dioxide passes through the thin capillary walls and when you breathe out, you remove this carbon dioxide from your body. At the same time the blood gets rid of carbon dioxide, oxygen enters the thin capillary walls from the lungs. The blood is now oxygenated and most of the carbon dioxide is gone (see Figure 9.7). Onygentich blood (to body) ‘Onygen-poor blood (to lungs) ‘Oxygen-rich blood Oxygen-poor blood (rom lungs) (rom body cells) Ficune 9.7 Gas exchange in the lungs. Black arrows indicate oxygen- rich blood, Blue arrows indicate oxygen-poor blood.‘Once the blood has picked up more oxygen, it returns to the left atrium of the heart via pulmonary veins. Then blood in the left atrium simply falls through the bicuspid valve to enter the left ventricle. The let atrium then contracts to make sure that all of the blood gets into the left ventricle. Finally, to complete the path of blood through the heart, the left ventricle contracts (and the bicuspid valve closes), sending blood upward through the aortic semilunar valve to the aorta, the biggest vessel in the bocly. Oxygenated blood leaves the aorta to travel via arteries throughout the body. You now understand the step-by-step path of blood as it flows through the heart. However, there is one more very important fact to learn. There are two flows of blood moving through the heart at the same time. The right side of the heart is pushing poorly oxygenated blood to the lungs at the same time as the left side is sending oxygenated blood to the aorta, These two processes happen simultaneously, which means that they happen at the same time. from body eR oboe to lungs to lungs 4 trom lingsHeart Sounds By listening to the sounds the heart makes, a doctor can tell if the heart is pumping efficiently and if valves are working properly. If you listen to the heart with a stethoscope (‘steBaskowp), you can hear two distinct heart sounds. These heart sounds are actually caused by the closing of heart valves. The first sound is long, loud, and low- pitched. We sometimes say it sounds like “lub? This is caused by the Closing of the AV (bicuspid and tricuspid) valves as the blood fills the ventricles, The second sound is shorter and more high-pitched. We sometimes say it sounds like “dup.” The second sound is caused by the closing of the semilunar (aortic and pulmonary) valves as the blood moves out from the ventricles. ahha Heart Murmur! A heart murmur is an unusual sound a physician may hear when listening to heart sounds. Sometimes, this may be an extra swishing sound, This may indicate a problem with one or more of the heart valves. One common heart valve problem is having a stenotie (sta/natik) valve. A stenotic valve is one that is not flexible and therefore does not open as easily as it should. Therefore, not as much blood can be pumped through the valve (and thus out to the body). Another common heart valve problem is an incompetent valve. An incompetent valve doesn't close as tightly as it should. Therefore, blood may leak back into the previous chamber instead of being pumped to the next location. In both of these cases, the heart has to pump harder to deliver the same amount of blood to the body.BUILDING LANGUAGE AND STUDY SKILLS Describing Relationships and Connections In your study of anatomy and physiology, you have probably noticed that many structures and processes are connected and relate to one another. Many smaller structures are parts of larger structures and these structures influence each other. In addition, many processes influence these structures, or they may be a result of other processes, ‘Therefore, important for you, an anatomy and physiology student, to know how to express connections and relationships between structures and processes. There are certain verbs and phrases you can use to describe relationships and connections. Study the examples below. ‘¢ Blood volume is influenced by how much water is in the blood. © The heart depends on the SA node for its ability to contract. @ Aheart attack can be a result ofa lack of nutrients in the heart. © Cardiac muscle is a component of the heart wall ‘© Blood is comprised of plasma and cells.