Thoracic Key

The Autonomic or Automatic Nervous System Nerves you do not have to Think About In Chapter 7 on hypertension, the sympathetic nerves are described. These nerves are part of a…

The Heart Valves Sticking and Leaking Valves The valves you read about in Chapter 2 are made of thin flaps of living tissue: they can become diseased like any other…

Coronary Artery Disease This chapter will answer five questions: What is coronary artery disease and what actually happens in a diseased coronary artery? What effect does this disease have on…

Hypertensive Heart Disease Definition of Hypertension The word hypertension means “high blood pressure.” (It has nothing to do with being nervous or agitated.) Liquid always exerts pressure on the walls…

Heart Failure Before you consider the failure of a system you have to be sure you know how it works. Try putting together everything you’ve learned so far. Imagine you…

The Functioning Normal Heart Coordination of the Heartbeat, the Valves, and the Flow of Blood To understand an engine, it isn’t enough to learn about its parts. You have to…

Blood Supply of the Heart Heart Structure and Blood Supply It seems odd that the tissues making up the heart must have their own separate blood supply. You might think…

Pumping Action of the Heart Blood Flow Through the Heart Blood is pumped through the chambers of the heart and out through the great vessels by a simple squeezing action…

Valves of the Heart Valve Structure and Function Like any pump, the heart has valves to keep the blood flowing in the right direction. Proper function of these small flaps…

Structure and Function of the Normal Heart Before you begin to learn about heart disease, you must learn how the normal heart is constructed and how it functions. This is…