Anatomy of the Heart - (Structures present in the Heart)

The heart is a wonderful organ present in our body. It is made of muscles and beats to pump blood at about 70 times a minute. If a person lives to be 80 years old, his or her heart continues to beat an average of 100,000 times a day, every day for each of those 80 years. Imagine trying to squeeze a tennis ball 70 times a minute. After a few minutes, your arm muscles would begin to tire. Then imagine increasing your squeezing rate to 120 times a minute. Most of us could not keep that up very long, but that is what the heart does during exercise. A healthy heart can increase its rate and force of contraction to meet the body’s need for more oxygen, then return to its resting rate and keep on beating as if nothing very extraordinary had happened. In fact, it isn’t extraordinary at all; this is the job the heart is meant to do.


Click on the image to see a larger view

The primary function of the heart is to pump blood through the arteries, capillaries, and veins.The blood transports oxygen and nutrients and has other important functions as well. The heart is the pump that keeps blood circulating properly.