Sheep Heart Dissection

Sheep Heart Dissection:

In our dissection, we observed the anatomy and the physiology of the heart.
1. The purpose of the pericardium is to give protection of the heart by fighting off infection and it also provides lubrication of the heart. The pericardium is a sac filled with fluid.
2. Arteries are blood vessels that carry blood to other parts of the body and tend to be larger than the veins; the pulmonary valve carries blood from the heart to the lungs. Veins are blood vessels that carry blood from the body to the heart.
3. The Auricles are unique to sheep hearts and they are there so that the heart has more volume to carry more blood.
4. Since the atria, externally, have a larger cavity than the ventricle, the atria on the inside have a larger air space or capacity which shows externally.
5. The coronary sinus is on the right side because it collects blood from coronary circulation and takes it to the right atrium. This structure is not very large and is hidden.
The inferior vena cava is at the apex of the heart and the inferior vena cava sends deoxygenated blood  from the body to the heart .
the right atrioventricular valve, also known as the tricuspid valve, sends blood from the right atrium to the right ventricle and the flap that extends from the valve along with the cordinae tendenae that is attached to the papillary muscle restricts backflow of blood into the atrium. 
6. This here is a drawing of the tricuspid valve as it had the cordae tendinae attached to it which is then attached to the papillary muscle. 

7.  The anchoring of the cordae tendinae to the papillary muscle is important to the heart function because it prevents the backflow of blood. 

8. By my lowest glove finger, there are two indents which show the entry of the bicuspid valve and the cordae tendinae is underneath. 

 

9. The function of the semilunar valve is to prevent backflow of blood back through the heart once it goes through the aorta and or the pulmonary trunk. 

10. A person with valve disease on the right side may experience swelling in the feet and ankles because there is probably a leakage in the inferior vena cava too which would send blood to the inferior of the body i.e. feet and ankles. 

On the left side there maybe a swelled lung causing chest pain. 

11. On the left side of the heart there is the tricuspid valve that is bringing blood from the left atrium to the left ventricle and attached is the cordae tendinae and if you try to pull on it there is a feel of restriction on the papillary muscle. The same goes for the right side, but instead there are only two flaps  on the valve that attatch to the cordae tendinae. The coronary arteries were seen along to exterior anterior of the heart. 

12. The left side of the heart sends blood to the rest of the body whereas the right side sends blood to the lungs. Because of that, the left sides myocardium is much thicker compared to the right side because the contraction of the myocardium needs to be more forceful since the blood has to be pushed throughout the body. 

13. Here is a drawing of the structures visible to the interior of the cross section except for the aorta. The aorta is seen from the superior or the heart but adding it into the drawing showed where the aortic trunk leads to.