The Heart

The heart is part of the cardiovascular system and is located between your lungs. It is above the size of a grapefruit and is actually cone-shaped. The purpose of the heart is to pump oxygen rich blood around the body and oxygen poor blood to your lungs.

The heart is made of cardiac muscle and is a very powerful organ working constantly and never pausing for a rest! it is the only organ in the body to use cardiac muscle.

The heart is divided into four separate hallow chambers. There are two chambers in the upper part of the heart and these are called the atria and two chambers in the lower part of the heart which are called ventricles. There are valves between each of the chambers of your heart and these are one-way so the blood flows in the right direction. As one valve opens the other snaps shut and this is what creates the 'heartbeat'.

There are many parts to the heart, some of them are:-

Descending aorta , Superior / inferior vena cava, Pulmonary artery, Right atrium, Tricuspid valve, Right ventricle, Left atrium, Left ventricle and the descending aorta.

The heart also supplies the oxygenated and deoxygenated blood to other parts of the body so that the whole system functions properly.

This is why it is so important to take regular exercise and eat healthily to prevent heart disease and cardiovascular problems - after all it's the only one you have.