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The Human Heart

1. Label all structures. 2. Using Blue and Red, colour code the structures to indicate whether they contain oxygenated or deoxygenated blood. 3. Draw arrows indicating direction of flow through the heart.

How many chambers exist in the human heart?

Draw a flowchart on the back of this sheet indicating how blood

travels from the rest of the body, through the heart, and back out to the body again.

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Veins are thinner walled than arteries and carry blood toward the
heart

Arteries are thicker walled than veins and carry blood away from the
heart. *This naming convention does not reflect the oxygen status of the blood.

A common misconception:
People often mix the

Pulmonary artery and vein

because the Pulmonary Artery is the only artery in the human body that carries deoxygenated blood, while the Pulmonary oxygenated blood.

Vein is the only vein that carries

The Heart
Which side of the heart pumps deoxygenated blood? Which side pumps oxygenated blood?

What cells of the human body are responsible for oxygen transport?

Class Resource: mrpuffsbio-chem-science.weebly.com To see how this works, watch the Circulatory Song and Blood Flow in the Heart Youtube videos on the class Weebly.

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Heartbeat
The human heart beats an average of 70 times per minute, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year. For those who have never had heart problems, the regular rhythmic beating of the heart is usually taken for granted. The average heart beats or contracts over 3 billion times during a normal lifetime. So far, we have investigated our heart rate through taking our pulse, and we just looked at the anatomy of the human heart. Next, we move on to the physiology of heartbeat and the factors that influence heart rate.

Heart Sounds (LUBB DUBB)

The human heart (on average) contracts once per second. The contraction of the heart and its anatomy cause the distinctive sounds heard when listening to the heart with a stethoscope. The "lubb-

dubb" sound is the sound of the valves in the heart closing. Each sound

can be thought of as the closing of a set of doors, one from each side of the heart. Early on in Ventricular contraction, blood is forced back against the Atrio-Ventricular (AV) valves. Think of these as back flow valves between the atria and the ventricles. The increased pressure in the ventricles cause these valves to close rapidly, creating the "lubb" sound. The second, "dubb" sound is due to arterial pressure shutting both the Pulmonary and Aortic Valves.

There are two phases of the heartbeat, and they are named according to what the ventricles are doing. Ventricular contraction is known as

systole. Ventricular relaxation is known as diastole.

So, we summarize by saying that: The lubb sound marks the beginning of systole (ventricular contraction). The dubb sound marks the beginning of diastole (ventricular relaxation)

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Figure 5.2.1 Systole and Diastole (http://www.tmc.edu/thi/systole.html) After blood moves into the pulmonary artery and the aorta, the ventricles relax, and the pulmonary and aortic valves close. The lower pressure in the ventricles causes the tricuspid and mitral valves to open, and the cycle begins again. This series of contractions is repeated over and over again, increasing during times of exertion and decreasing while you are at rest. Your heart does not work alone, though. Your brain tracks the conditions around youclimate, stress, and your level of physical activityand adjusts your cardiovascular system to meet those needs. Control of Heartbeat The contraction of the heart muscles of the atria and ventricles is initiated by a mass of specialized cells known as the sinoatrial node (SA node). The SA node is located in the posterior wall of the right atrium, near the entrance of the superior vena cava. The SA node is called the pacemaker because it produces the impulse that starts each heartbeat. When the SA node fires, the nerve impulse spreads quickly over both atria, causing the atrial muscles to contract. The impulse then reaches a second node of tissue, the atrioventricular node (AV node), located in the septum between the ventricles but in contact with the lower portion of the right atrium. The stimulation of the AV node causes nerve impulses to be sent down the bundle of nerve fibers, known as the Bundle of His. The Bundle of His branches into a pair of nerve fibers through the septum and circling around the base of each ventricle. The impulse started in the SA node and picked up by the AV node reaches the muscles of the ventricles and causes them to contract.

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The heart has special muscle fibers called Purkinje fibers that conduct impulses five times more rapidly than surrounding cells. The Purkinje fibers form a pathway for conduction of the impulse that ensures that the heart muscle cells contract in the most efficient pattern. The following diagrams illustrate the sequence of events involved in a heart contraction.