THE HEART

11

This activity describes the heart, which is the pump of the

circulatory system. The anatomy of the heart includes the chambers
and their vessels and the coronary blood vessels. The physiology of
the heart includes the generation and regulation of the heartbeat
and the relationship between cardiac output and the functioning of
the body as whole.

Label the following.

Match each chamber of the heart with its proper vessel (a letter) and the
function of the vessel (a number). Use each letter and number only once.

1. Right atrium 2, B A. Pulmonary veins

2. Left atrium 3, A B. Pulmonary artery
3. Right ventricle 1, D C. Aorta
4. Left ventricle4, C D. Superior and inferior
vena cava
1. Return blood from the
body
2. Takes blood to the body
3. Takes blood to the lungs
4. Return blood from
the lungs

Match each heart valve with its proper location (a letter statement) and
its function (a number statement). Use each letter and number once.

1. Tricuspid valve C, 3
2. Mitral valve B, 2 A. Junction of RV
3. Pulmonary valve A, 4 and pulmonary
4. Aortic valve D, 1 artery
B. Between LA and LV
C. Between RA to RV
D. Junction of LV and aorta
1. Prevents backflow of blood to LV when
ventricles relaxes
2. Prevent backflow of blood to LA when LV contracts
3. Prevent backflow of blood to RA when RV contracts
4. Prevents backflow of blood to RV when
ventricles relaxes

Number the following in proper sequence with respect to the flow of

blood through the heart to and from the body and lungs.
Begin at the left atrium

1 Left atrium 9 Lungs

2 Left 8 Pulmonary artery
ventricle
10 Pulmonary veins
6 Right atrium
7 Right ventricle 3 Aorta
4 Body 5 Vena cava
Number the events of one cardiac cycle in the proper sequence.
1. 1 blood continuously flows into both atria
2. 3 2/3 of atrial blood flows passively into ventricles
3. 6 Right and left AV valves clone and the
aortic and pulmonary semilunar valves open
4. 2 pressure of incoming flows into both atria
5. 4 atria contract to pump remaining
blood into ventricles
6. 7 ventricular contraction pumps blood into arteries
7. 5 atria relaxes and ventricles begin to contract
8. 8 ventricles relax, semilunar valves close

Stroke volume is the amount of blood pumped by a ventricle in

during each systolic cardiac contraction. The normal resting stroke
volume is 50-100 ml per beat.

Solve for the following problems:

1. Pulse is 60 bpm and stroke volume are 75mL. What is the

cardiac output?
 4,500 mL/minute (or 4.5 L/minute).

2. An athlete’s resting cardiac output is 6000ml per minute and

her stroke volume is 100ml per beat. What is her pulse rate?
 60 bpm
3. During exercise, the pulse rate is 120 bpm and stroke volume
is 100ml. What is the cardiac output?
 1,200 mL/minute
 CRITICAL THINKING

1. Predict the effect on the heart if blood flow through the

anterior interventricular artery is restricted or completely
blocked.

The inner artery walls of the arteries become clogged with a material
called plaque over time. Arterial plaque can impede blood flow or even
completely stop it in some cases. Heart attack, stroke, and even death
is all significantly more likely as a result of clogged arteries.

2. Why is it important to prevent titanic contraction in

cardiac muscle but not in skeletal muscle?

Compared to skeletal muscle, the refractory period of cardiac muscle is

significantly longer. This avoids tetanus and guarantees that there is
adequate time between each contraction for the heart chamber to fill
with blood before the next one.

3. Explain how the ECGs appear for a person who has a

damage left bundle branch and for a person who has
many ectopic beats originating from the atria.
An electrocardiographic (ECG) abnormality known as left
bundle branch block (LBBB) is frequently observed in patients
whose normal cardiac conduction down the anterior and
posterior left fascicles of the His-Purkinje system is impaired.
LBBB can occur in patients without any particular clinical
condition, despite the fact that it is frequently caused by
myocardial injury, strain, or hypertrophy and is frequently
associated with substantial cardiac disease.
4. Compare the rate of blood flow out of the ventricles between
the first and second heart sounds of the same beat with the
rate of blood flow out of the ventricles between the second
heart sound of one beat and the heart sound of the next
beat.
The time between S2 and S1 decreases with increasing
heart rate whereas it increases with decreasing heart rate.
The ventricular systolic interval is the time between S1 and
S2. Since the diastolic period is longer than the systolic
period, the ventricles might fill up before contraction.