ANPS 020 Lecture Notes - Lecture 13: Left Coronary Artery, Right Coronary Artery, Heart Valve

• School: University of Vermont
• Department: Anatomy/Physiology
• Course: ANPS 020
• Professor: Black

Document Summary

The heart lies in the thoracic cavity in a central area called the mediastinum, between the two lungs. It is positioned to the left of the midline, posterior to the sternum, and ribs. The wide base is located superiorly and is attached by large blood vessels. The pointed apex lies inferiorly and rests on the diaphragm. The heart is enclosed in a fibrous sac called the pericardial sac. Within the fibrous sac, the heart is surrounded by the pericardial cavity. The pericardial cavity is formed from a single sheet of moist membrane enclosing a collapsed space. The heart has pushed into this membrane, which adheres to the heart surface as the visceral pericardium . The outer layer of the membrane is called the parietal pericardium . Infection, inflammation, or fluid accumulation within the pericardial cavity leads to compression of the heart. The heart has 4 chambers: right atrium, right ventricle, left atrium, left ventricle.