the heart of the matter

• each day, your heart beats 100,000 times
• each minute, your heart pumps 1.5 gallons of blood
• heart disease is the #1 cause of death
• a normal heart valve is about the size of a half dollar coin
• the largest heart ever recorded belonged to a grey whale
• • functions of the heart - pumps oxygenated and nutrient-rich blood to the body through blood vessels
• • functions of the heart - pumps deoxygenated blood containing, wastes, to the lungs where gas exchange to the outside environment occurs
• • anatomy of the heart - located under rib cage and in betweem the lungs
• • anatomy of the heart - sizes varies depending on age, size, and condition of the heart
• • anatomy of the heart - on avarage, the heart is about the size of that person's clenched fist
• four chambers of the heart - left atrium, right atrium, left ventricle, right ventricle
• • atria - the upper two chambers of the heart
• • atria - receive and collect blood
• • ventricles - the lower two chambers of the heart
• • ventricle - pump blood out of the heart
• • septum - muscles that divides the heart into right and left halves
• • 4 heart valves - tricuspid valve, pulmonary semilunar valve, mitral bicuspid valve, aortic semilunar valve
• The purpose of the valves are to prevent backflow of blood, keep blood flowing in one direction