Also called: cardiac anatomy
The heart is a four-chambered muscular pump in the middle mediastinum of the chest. The right atrium and ventricle send blood to the lungs, and the left atrium and ventricle send oxygenated blood to the body. Four valves keep blood flowing in one direction, and coronary arteries supply the heart muscle itself.
| Location | Middle mediastinum, between the lungs, resting on the diaphragm and enclosed in the pericardium. |
|---|---|
| Structure | Four chambers (right and left atria and ventricles), four valves (tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral and aortic), septa, and the myocardium, endocardium and epicardium. |
| Function | Pumps blood through the pulmonary and systemic circulations. |
| Blood supply | Right and left coronary arteries from the ascending aorta; drained mainly by the coronary sinus. |
| Innervation | Autonomic: sympathetic fibres speed the heart and parasympathetic fibres (vagus) slow it; the sinoatrial node sets the rhythm. |
3D model: BodyParts3D (CC BY 4.0), adult male reference anatomy. Highlighted structure shown with nearby bones for context.
Each chamber and valve of the atlas model is grouped under the heart concept. The right side of the heart receives deoxygenated blood from the venae cavae, and the left side receives oxygenated blood from the pulmonary veins.
Four: two atria and two ventricles.
The tricuspid, pulmonary, mitral (bicuspid) and aortic valves.
The right and left coronary arteries.
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