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Physiology of the Heart
1. Introduction – What does the heart actually do?
The heart is basically a strong muscular pump.
Its main job is very simple:
Pump blood continuously so that:
Oxygen reaches all tissues
Carbon dioxide and waste products are removed
Even when you’re sleeping, the heart doesn’t take a break. It beats around 100,000 times a day
—pretty impressive for an organ the size of your fist.
2. Location and basic structure (quick recap)
The heart is located in the mediastinum, between the lungs.
It has four chambers:
o Right atrium
o Right ventricle
o Left atrium
o Left ventricle
Right side handles deoxygenated blood
Left side handles oxygenated blood
The left ventricle has the thickest wall because it pumps blood to the entire body.
3. Cardiac muscle – What makes heart muscle special?
Heart muscle (cardiac muscle) is unique because:
It is striated like skeletal muscle
But involuntary like smooth muscle
Special features:
Cells are connected by intercalated discs
These allow rapid spread of electrical impulses
So the heart contracts as one functional unit
This is why the heart beats in a coordinated way, not randomly.
Physiology of the Heart
1. Introduction – What does the heart actually do?
The heart is basically a strong muscular pump.
Its main job is very simple:
Pump blood continuously so that:
Oxygen reaches all tissues
Carbon dioxide and waste products are removed
Even when you’re sleeping, the heart doesn’t take a break. It beats around 100,000 times a day
—pretty impressive for an organ the size of your fist.
2. Location and basic structure (quick recap)
The heart is located in the mediastinum, between the lungs.
It has four chambers:
o Right atrium
o Right ventricle
o Left atrium
o Left ventricle
Right side handles deoxygenated blood
Left side handles oxygenated blood
The left ventricle has the thickest wall because it pumps blood to the entire body.
3. Cardiac muscle – What makes heart muscle special?
Heart muscle (cardiac muscle) is unique because:
It is striated like skeletal muscle
But involuntary like smooth muscle
Special features:
Cells are connected by intercalated discs
These allow rapid spread of electrical impulses
So the heart contracts as one functional unit
This is why the heart beats in a coordinated way, not randomly.
