Blood Flow Through The Heart

PLEASE WATCH THE VIDEO FOR THIS OR IT IS VERY CONFUSING!

Let’s start with some basic anatomy of the drawing, and then trace the flow of blood through an entire heart beat. So first, just watch as we go over the anatomical outline, and then once we have labeled everything, draw what I draw for the blood flow pattern

The magic number that you want to remember for the heart is 4. There are 4 chambers and 4 valves that allow the flow of blood to move in the proper direction

• 4 chambers = RA, RV, LA, LV

• 4 valves =

  • Tricuspid valve (3 flaps) separating the RA from the RV

  • Pulmonic valve separating the RV from the lungs

  • Mitral (bicuspid) valve separating the LA from the LV

  • Aortic separating the LV from the aorta

Trace this pattern through the heart, RA through tricuspid to RV, then RV through Pulmonic to lungs, then lungs to LA, then LA to LV through mitral valve, then LV to aorta through aortic valve Pause the video and practice tracing this pattern with your finger a couple times

Now that we have our basic anatomy down, there are 4 concepts to memorize before tracing the complete blood tract

• BLUE = NO OXYGEN (deoxygenated)

• RED = OXYGEN (oxygenated)

• VEINS = Blood vessels carrying blood TOWARDS the heart

• ARTERIES = Blood vessels carrying blood AWAY from the heart

Blood Tract

Tons of little veins from both the upper and lower halves of your body that meet up to two major veins that then drain this deoxygenated blood toward your heart.

• Think of a bunch of tiny rivers that are taking water to a bigger river before it is finally dumped into the ocean (your heart)

These two major veins are called the Superior Vena Cava and the Inferior Vena Cava

Superior Vena Cava

• Blood from veins of the head, neck, upper limbs, and chest

Inferior Vena Cava

• Blood from the veins of your lower body

Both of these end up in the Right Atrium of the Heart (one of the four chambers)

From here, blood goes to the Right Ventricle through the Tricuspid valve (because it has 3 flaps)

Blood exits the R ventricle through the Pulmonary Valve and heads towards the lungs. It travels though the pulmonary ARTERY. This artery is BLUE because it is carrying DEOXYGENATED blood. It's called an artery because it's carrying blood AWAY from your heart TOWARDS the lungs. In the lungs, gas exchange occurs (CO2 for O2) and the blood becomes oxygenated.

It then travels back to the heart through the pulmonary VEINS. Again, these veins are RED because they are carrying OXYGENATED blood. They are called veins because they are carrying blood TOWARDS the heart. The blood travels from these veins into the Left Atrium. The blood is then pumped into the Left Ventricle through the mitral/bicuspid valve (again named because it has two little flaps).

The blood then travels from the Left Ventricle into the Aorta through the Aortic Valve. That oxygenated blood then travels throughout the rest of your body to provide necessary oxygen to all your cells for proper function