Be able to write the entire pathway of blood flow through th

Be able to write the entire pathway of blood flow through the vessels entering the heart, including vessels entering the heart, chambers, valves, and vessels leaving the heart. What is the purpose of the valves in the heart? What can be done if a person suffers from a \"faulty heart valve?\"

Solution

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In humans, the heart is divided into four chambers: two atria and two ventricles. There are one atrium and one ventricle on the right side and one atrium and one ventricle on the left side. The atria are the chambers that receive blood while the ventricles are the chambers that pump blood. The right atrium receives deoxygenated blood from the superior vena cava, which drains blood from the veins of the upper organs and arms. This deoxygenated blood then passes to the right ventricle through the right tricuspid valve that opens in only one direction to prevent the backflow of blood. After it is filled, the right ventricle pumps the blood through the pulmonary arteries to the lungs for re-oxygenation. After blood passes through the pulmonary arteries, the right semi-lunar valves close, preventing the blood from flowing backwards into the right ventricle.

The left atrium then receives the oxygen-rich blood from the lungs via the pulmonary veins. The valve separating the chambers on the left side of the heart is biscuspid/mitral valve. The blood passes through the bicuspid valve to the left ventricle where it is pumped out through the aorta, the major artery of the body, taking oxygenated blood to the organs and muscles of the body. Once blood is pumped out of the left ventricle and into the aorta, the aortic semi-lunar valve closes, preventing blood from flowing backward into the left ventricle

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The valves prevent the backward flow of blood. They act as one-way inlets of blood on one side of a ventricle and one-way outlets of blood on the other side of a ventricle. Each valve actually has three flaps, except the mitral valve, which has two flaps. They are

Tricuspid valve: located between the right atrium and the right ventricle

Pulmonary valve: located between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery

Mitral valve: located between the left atrium and the left ventricle

Aortic valve: located between the left ventricle and the aorta