Heart test: heart structures and vessels and their function
Aorta function
main vessel where oxygen-rich blood travels from the heart to the rest of the body
Superior Vena Cava
returns deoxygenated blood to the heart from the head and arms
Inferior Vena Cava
transports deoxygenated blood from the lower portion of the body to the right side of the heart for oxygenation
Pulmonary Arteries
carries oxygen-poor blood from the heart to lungs
Pulmonary veins
carries oxygen-rich blood from the lungs to the heart
Chordea Tendineae
Thin strands of connective tissue strands that anchor the leaflets of each AV valve so that they cannot open into the atrium
Papillary muscles
attach to the cusps of the AV valves via the chordae tendineae and contract to prevent inversion or prolapse of these valves on systole (ventricular contraction)
Right Auricle
The right auricle is a remnant of the fetal right atrium that can relieve high atrial pressure by increasing the atrial capacity at times of stress, acting as overflow vessels.
Left Auricle
The left auricle is a remnant of the fetal left atrium that can relieve high atrial pressure by increasing the atrial capacity at times of stress, acting as overflow vessels
Atria
receives blood returning to the heart from other areas of the body
Ventricles
The right ventricle pumps the oxygen-poor blood to the lungs and the left atrium receives oxygen-rich blood from the lungs and pumps it to the left ventricle
AV valves
separate the atria from the ventricles
SL valves
to prevent backflow of blood from the arteries to the ventricles during ventricular diastole and help maintain pressure on the major arteries.