How does the heart function?

Hyderabad:  This article is in continuation to the previous article that focused on the blood circulatory system in several living being s and nodal tissue. In this article we will discuss the cardiac cycle and functioning of four chamber of heart. Cardiac Cycle How does the heart function? Let us take a look. To begin […]

Hyderabad:  This article is in continuation to the previous article that focused on the blood circulatory system in several living being s and nodal tissue. In this article we will discuss the cardiac cycle and functioning of four chamber of heart.

Cardiac Cycle

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How does the heart function? Let us take a look. To begin with, all the four chambers of heart are in a relaxed state, i.e., they are in joint diastole.
As the tricuspid and bicuspid valves are open, blood from the pulmonary veins and vena cava flows into the left and the right ventricle respectively through the left and right atria. The semilunar valves are closed at this stage.

The SAN now generates an action potential which stimulates both the atria to undergo a simultaneous contraction – the atrial systole. This increases the flow of blood into the ventricles by about 30 per cent.

The action potential is conducted to the ventricular side by the AVN and AV bundle from where the bundle of His transmits it through the entire ventricular musculature. This causes the ventricular muscles to contract, (ventricular systole), the atria undergo relaxation (diastole), coinciding with the ventricular systole.

Ventricular systole increases the ventricular pressure causing the closure of tricuspid and bicuspid valves due to attempted backflow of blood into the atria.
As the ventricular pressure increases further, the semilunar valves guarding the pulmonary artery (right side) and the aorta (left side) are forced open, allowing the blood in the ventricles to flow through these vessels into the circulatory pathways.

The ventricles now relax (ventricular diastole) and the ventricular pressure falls causing the closure of semilunar valves which prevents the backflow of blood into the ventricles.

As the ventricular pressure declines further, the tricuspid and bicuspid valves are pushed open by the pressure in the atria exerted by the blood which was being emptied into them by the veins.

The blood now once again moves freely to the ventricles. The ventricles and atria are now again in a relaxed (joint diastole) state, as earlier.