Human Heart Structure

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To scale model of a blue whale heart.
 Muscle Cells
Skeletal Muscles Cardiac Muscles
Both have a striated appearance

Both have a similar arrangement of actin and myosin

Longer, narrower Shorter, wider

Multinucleate One nucleus

Voluntary control Non Voluntary control

Cardiac Muscle Cells
Heart muscle cells are branched and are
connected to each other by intercalated discs
that enable the rapid transmission of electrical
impulses between cells, enabling the
coordinated contraction of the heart. Electrical
resistance through intercalated discs is very
low, thus allowing free diffusion of ions. The
ease of ion movement along cardiac muscle
fibers axes is such that action potentials are
able to travel from one cardiac muscle cell to
the next, facing only slight resistance.

Intercalated discs appear as thin, typically

dark-staining lines dividing adjacent cardiac
muscle cells. The intercalated discs run
perpendicular to the direction of muscle fibers.
Blood Vessels Associated with the Heart
GOING OUT → ARTERIES
● Aorta
○ Carries oxygenated blood to the body from the
left ventricle
○ Very thick, elastic muscle wall; can withstand
very high pressure
● Pulmonary Artery
○ Four branches carry deoxygenated blood from
the right ventricle to the right and left lungs
○ Thick, elastic muscle wall to withstand and
maintain high pressure (although not as much
as is generated in the aorta)
● Coronary Arteries
○ Arteries visible on the external surface of the
heart
○ Carry the freshest, oxygenated and nutrient
rich blood from the aorta to the heart muscle
itself
COMING IN → VEINS
● Superior vena cava
○ Brings deoxygenated blood from the head and
upper body to the right atrium
○ Large diameter, thin muscle wall, little
pressure.
● Inferior vena cava
○ Brings deoxygenated blood from the lower
body to the right atrium
○ Large diameter, thin muscle wall, little
pressure
● Pulmonary vein
○ Bring oxygenated blood from the right and left
lungs to the left atrium
○ Thin-walled, low pressure.
● Cardiac veins
○ Veins visible on the external surface of the
heart
○ Carry deoxygenated blood from the capillaries
in the heart back to the right atrium
○ Remove wastes from the heart muscle
 This is looking
Pulmonary
from the top of Semilunar
the heart down to
the valves. Valve Aortic
Semilunar
Valve

Left
Atrioventricular Right
Valve Atrioventricular
Valve
The Atrium and Ventricles are Separated by Valves
Right Atrioventricular Valve (“Right AV Valve”)
● Transparent parachute-like valve
projecting from the wall between
the right atrium and the right
ventricle.
● Prevents backflow from the right
ventricle to the right atrium when
the ventricle is contracting.
● There are three cusps (tapering
projections, hence tricuspid)
● Each cup of the valve is attached
to tendinous cords
The Atrium and Ventricles are Separated by Valves
Left Atrioventricular Valve (“Left AV Valve”)
● Located between the left atrium and left
ventricle
● Prevents backflow of blood into the left
atrium when the left ventricle is
contracting.
● There are two cusps (tapering
projections, hence bicuspid)
● AKA “mitral valve”
Pocket Valves are found in the blood vessels
leaving the heart:

Pulmonary Semilunar Valve

● Consists of three semilunar (half-moon) cusps
● Guards the opening to the pulmonary artery from
the right ventricle
● Prevents backflow from the artery back into the
right ventricle
Pocket Valves are found in the blood vessels
leaving the heart:

Aortic Semilunar Valve

● Consists of three semilunar (half-moon)
cusps
● Guards the opening to the aorta artery
from the left ventricle
● Prevents backflow from the aorta back
into the left ventricle
 Left Atrioventricular
Valve

Right
Atrioventricular
Valve
The Big Idea!

Valves prevent
backflow of blood
and keep the
blood moving in
one direction
through the heart.