Function of heart


 


What is the heart’s function?

Your heart’s main function is to move blood throughout your body. Your heart also:

  • Controls the rhythm and speed of your heart rate.
  • Maintains your blood pressure.

  • How does your heart work with other organs?

    Your heart works with other body systems to control your heart rate and other body functions. The primary systems are:

    • Nervous system: Your nervous system helps control your heart rate. It sends signals that tell your heart to beat slower during rest and faster during stress.
    • Endocrine system: Your endocrine system sends out hormones. These hormones tell your blood vessels to constrict or relax, which affects your blood pressure. Hormones from your thyroid gland can also tell your heart to beat faster or slower.

    ANATOMY

    Where is your heart located?

    Your heart is located in the front of your chest. It sits slightly behind and to the left of your sternum (breastbone). Your ribcage protects your heart.What side is your heart on?

  • Your heart is slightly on the left side of your body. It sits between your right and left lungs. The left lung is slightly smaller to make room for the heart in your left chest.

How big is your heart?
Everyone’s heart is a slightly different size. Generally, adult hearts are about the same size as two clenched fists, and children’s hearts are about the same size as one clenched fist.

How much does your heart weigh?
On average, an adult’s heart weighs about 10 ounces. Your heart may weigh a little more or a little less, depending on your body size and sex.

What are the parts of the heart’s anatomy?
The parts of your heart are like the parts of a house. Your heart has:

Walls.
Chambers (rooms).
Valves (doors).
Blood vessels (plumbing).
Electrical conduction system (electricity).
Heart walls
Your heart walls are the muscles that contract (squeeze) and relax to send blood throughout your body. A layer of muscular tissue called the septum divides your heart walls into the left and right sides.

Your heart walls have three layers:

Endocardium: Inner layer.
Myocardium: Muscular middle layer.
Epicardium: Protective outer layer.
The epicardium is one layer of your pericardium. The pericardium is a protective sac that covers your entire heart. It produces fluid to lubricate your heart and keep it from rubbing against other organs.

Heart chambers
Your heart is divided into four chambers. You have two chambers on the top (atrium, plural atria) and two on the bottom (ventricles), one on each side of the heart.

Right atrium: Two large veins deliver oxygen-poor blood to your right atrium. The superior vena cava carries blood from your upper body. The inferior vena cava brings blood from the lower body. Then the right atrium pumps the blood to your right ventricle.
  • Left anterior descending artery (LAD): Supplies blood to the front and bottom of the left ventricle and the front of the septum.
  • Right coronary artery (RCA): Supplies blood to the right atrium, right ventricle, bottom portion of the left ventricle and back of the septum.

Electrical conduction system

Your heart’s conduction system is like the electrical wiring of a house. It controls the rhythm and pace of your heartbeat. It includes:

  • Sinoatrial (SA) node: Sends the signals that make your heart beat.
  • Atrioventricular (AV) node: Carries electrical signals from your heart’s upper chambers to its lower ones.

Your heart also has a network of electrical bundles and fibers. This network includes:

  • Left bundle branch: Sends electric impulses to your left ventricle.
  • Right bundle branch: Sends electric impulses to your right ventricle.
  • Bundle of His: Sends impulses from your AV node to the Purkinje fibers.
  • Purkinje fibers: Make your heart ventricles contract and pump out blood.
  • External links
  • https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/body/21704-heart#:~:text=Your%20heart's%20main%20function%20is,Maintains%20your%20blood%20pressure.
https://www.news-medical.net/health/Structure-and-Function-of-the-Heart.aspx

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