Structure of the heart, the cardiac cycle, blood vessels, blood clotting and the development of atherosclerosis.
Mammals have a double circulatory system: blood passes through the heart twice per circuit. The pulmonary circuit carries blood to the lungs; the systemic circuit carries it to the body. This keeps oxygenated and deoxygenated blood separate and maintains a high pressure to the body.
Structure of the heart
Four chambers: two thin-walled atria receive blood; two thick-walled ventricles pump it out. The left ventricle wall is thickest because it pumps blood at high pressure all around the body. Atrioventricular valves (bicuspid left, tricuspid right) and semilunar valves (in the aorta and pulmonary artery) prevent backflow. The coronary arteries supply the heart muscle itself with oxygen.
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