Heart 101

Have you ever taken a step back and asked how it is constructed? It is axiomatic that the heart, aka myocardium, is the most important muscle in the body. When analyzing the heart we should bifurcate the way we look at it into halves; the right side pumps deoxygenated blood to the lungs and the left side pumps oxygenated blood to the rest of the body. The dual pump action is consisted of chambers, of which are two upper atria and two lower ventricles.
 
Think about it as a complex network of circulatory passageways that requires specific blood flows to go in specific directions. This is known as the Peripheral Circulatory System. Imagine a series of highways, tunnels, and roads consisted of veins, arteries, and capillaries. Like a transportation system, blood flow can either be in both directions or just be one way. There are controls that ensure the right system of circulation. The strength our heart and circulatory blood flow is critical to our health.
 
The atrium receives blood from the veins and pushes it to the ventricles, and then the ventricles pump it to the arteries. Arteries are muscle-walled tubes that provided for ease of circulation. Capillaries are the smallest blood vessels that supply cells with oxygen and nutrient. They are blood vessels that form a network between arteries and venules (veins). Blood travels from capillaries to venules, which ultimately become veins. Veins are tubes that carry oxygen depleted blood towards the heart.
 
For instance, large arteries (conducting arteries) deliver large quantities of blood within the vascular system to larger segments. A medium artery (distributors) regulates the area of the tissue and determines the blood flow through dilation and constrictive controls. The small arteries help control blood flow, as an extension of the medium arteries.
 
Important components of the heart include the following:

• Hemoglobin – Protein in red blood cells that transports oxygen into tissues.
• Alveoli – Thin walled capillary sac in the lungs where the exchange of oxygen and carbon dioxide occurs.
• Superior Vena Cava – The primary vein collecting blood from the head, chest, and upper extremities. It drains in the right atrium.
• Tricuspid Valve – Tri-segmented, keeps the blood from the right ventricle from flowing back into the right atrium.
• Bicuspid vale – Consisted of two triangular flaps, it regulates blood flow between the left atrium and ventricle chambers.
• Aorta – Major artery that carries oxygenated blood from the heart throughout the arteries of the body.
• Aortic Value – Tri-flapped, guards the passage from the left ventricle to the aorta, preventing the backward blood flow.
• Systole – Contraction of chambers to drive blood into the aorta and pulmonary artery
• Diastole – Period of dilation of the heart chamber, where blood is filled.
• Pulmonary Semilunar Value – Prevents blood flow from the artery going back into the heart
• Pulmonary Vein – Vein carries oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium.
• Coronary Circulation – Blood vessels that supplies and removes blood from the heart.