EDWARD'S LECTURE NOTES:
More notes at http://tanguay.info/learntracker
C O U R S E 
Vital Signs: Understanding What the Body Is Telling Us
Connie Sanga, The University of Pennsylvania
https://www.coursera.org/course/vitalsigns
C O U R S E   L E C T U R E 
Basic Heart Anatomy
Notes taken on May 22, 2014 by Edward Tanguay
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heart located right below sternum
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between two lungs
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in thoracic cavity
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enclosed by a membrane layer called the pericardium
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lungs are also surrounded by membrane layers
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it's very common in the body to have organs surrounded by membranes which help to anchor the organs in position and protect them
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located in the mediastinum
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contains the heart, the great vessels of the heart, the esophagus, the trachea, the phrenic nerve, the cardiac nerve, the thoracic duct, and the lymph nodes of the central chest
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thymus gland
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glandular tissue over the heart
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trachea with two branches
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esophagus, passes behind the heart
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internal of heart
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chambers
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upper: atria
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wall: interatria septrum
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three vessels that carry deoxygenated blood back to the atrium
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1. superior vena cava: from upper body
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2. inferior vena cava: from lower body
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3. coronary sinus: blood from blood vessels from outside the wall of the heart itself
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lower: ventricles
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wall: interventricular septum
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after blood has been in the right atrium, it passes into the right ventricle
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contracts the blood into pulmonary trunk
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supplies the lungs with the blood to get oxygenated
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blood comes back from the lungs into the left atrium, then down to the left ventricle which pumps it out to the aorta
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this is the beginning of the systemic circulation
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systemic circulation: oxygenated blood to the body and back
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pulmonary circulation deoxygenated blood to the lungs and back
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blood returns to the right atrium and the process is repeated
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the walls of the atria are thinner than the walls of the ventricles
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because they have to push the blood out of the heart whereas the atria walls just have to push it to the ventricle below it
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the walls of the left ventricle are thicker because it pumps out to the whole body whereas the right only pumps to the lungs
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on an anatomy model, blue vessels carry deoxygenated, in reality this blood is less red, almost purplish
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oxygenated blood as a bright red in color