Problem: You have a young woman on your ward who is awaiting heart surgery. She is keen to know about the structure and function of the heart and asks you to explain the flow of blood through the heart from start to finish. She wants to hear anatomical names and learn about physiological processes ejecting blood from her heart, your response will help keep her distracted from thinking about her upcoming operation.
a. Describe the flow of blood through the heart, naming each of the vessels bringing and taking blood to and from the heart. Include chambers of the heart and name structures in the correct sequence along the blood's pathway through the heart - begin with blood returning to the heart from the body and end with blood being ejected into the systemic circulation. Include the names of the valves and identify which valves are open and closed during each cardiac cycle. Describe, using terms like diastole and systole, the changes in ventricular pressure during one cardiac cycle and clearly identify what causes the heart sounds lub dub.