CHEARS

BLOOD FLOW THROUGH THE HEART

1) Veins – These are the blood vessels that brings blood to the Heart.

2) Arteries – These are the blood vessels that takes away blood from the Heart.

3) Superior vena cava – Receives blood from Head, Neck, Chest and upper limbs.

4) Inferior vena cava – Receives blood from Trunk, Viscera and Lower limbs.

5) Aorta – Largest among all the arteries.

6) Heart valves - Helps blood to move in correct direction and also prevents backward flow of the blood. There are 4 types of valves present in the Heart.

a) Tricuspid valve: Present in between the Right Atrium and Right Ventricle.

b) Bicuspid valve / Mitral valve: Present in between the Left Atrium and Left Ventricle.

c) Pulmonary valve: Deoxygenated blood in right atrium moves through pulmonary valve to enter into pulmonary artery that carried deoxygenated blood into the lungs.

d) Aortic semilunar valve: Oxygenated blood from left ventricle moves through this aortic semilunar valve to enter into Aorta.

· Superior vena cava and Inferior Vena Cava brings the Deoxygenated blood into the Right Atrium.

· From Right Atrium it enters into Right Ventricle through the Tricuspid Valve.

· From Right Ventricle the Deoxygenated Blood enters into Pulmonary Artery through the Pulmonary Valve.

· The Pulmonary Artery splits into Right and Left Pulmonary Artery to enter into the Right and Left Lung.

· In Lungs gaseous exchange occurs and the Deoxygenated Blood converts into Oxygenated blood.

· This Oxygenated Blood from Lungs enters in Left Atrium through Pulmonary Veins.

· From Left Atrium the Oxygenated Blood enters into Left Ventricle through Bicuspid/Mitral valve.

· From the Left Ventricle the Oxygenated Blood enters Aorta through the Aortic semilunar valve.

· The aorta curls down behind the heart forming descending aorta that descends through chest and continues down the abdomen.

· In abdomen the descending aorta splits to supply oxygenated blood into the pelvis and lower limbs.

Ø There are three parts of the Aorta, Namely –

§ Ascending Aorta: It carries blood upwards.

§ Aortic Arch.

§ Descending Aorta: It carries blood down towards the inferior thoracic organs, then the remaining abdominal organ and the lower limbs.

Ø The blood moves uni-directionally from the ascending aorta through the aortic arch and down the descending aorta.

Ø ASCENDING AORTA: It have branches named Right coronary artery and left coronary artery.

Ø AORTIC ARCH: It has branches named Bronchio-cephalic artery, Left common carotid artery and Left sub-clavian artery

· Left subclavian artery diverge into two different arteries named Left axillary artery that supplies blood to the entire left arm and Left vertebral artery which is a thin artery that goes upwards the brain.

· Left common carotid artery divided into left external carotid artery and left internal carotid artery.