How the Heart Works?

The heart of a human is about the size of a fist and is located between our lungs in the chest cavity. The heart is a muscle that squeezes and contracts while pumping blood through our body. When we breathe, our longs transport oxygen to the heart through our blood and then it is pumped to the entire body (Clarke, 1976).

Septum

The heart is divided in two parts, the left and right side which are separated by a wall within the heart known as the septum. The right side of the heart is responsible for pumping blood to the lungs to get oxygen and then the left side pumps the blood to the rest of the body after receiving the oxygenated blood.

Arteries and Veins

There are four chambers and similarly four valves in the heart connected to numerous blood vessels known as the veins and arteries. The veins carry blood to the heart from different parts of the body whereas the arteries carry the oxygenated blood to the body from the heart.

Chambers

There are four chambers or compartments in the heart. The upper two chambers called the Atria, collect blood that flows from the body into the heart whereas the lower two chambers known to be the Ventricles pump blood from the heart to the lungs to take in oxygen and then to the rest of the body (Bentley, 1989).

Valves

There are similarly four valves that monitor the blood flow from Atria to the Ventricles and from the Ventricles to the two large Arteries attached of the heart.

Right Side

The valve at the righter side of heart is called the Tricuspid and is located in the middle of Atrium and right Ventricle. The Pulmonary valve on the other hand is located at the right side of the heart at the opening of the pulmonary artery and the right ventricle. This valve transports blood to the lungs from our heart.

Left Side

Then there is the Mitral valve which is situated at the left side of the heart between the left ventricle and the left artery whereas the Aortic valve located in the left side of the heart is sandwiched between the entry point of the Aorta and the left ventricle and is assigned with the duty to carry blood to the body from the heart.

These valves are gates that open and close rapidly as the heart pumps and contracts allowing blood to run to any of the arteries or to the next compartment (chamber). Another important function of these valves is to close down quickly after the blood has passed so that it may not flow backwards (Nicholls, 2017).