Question
Question: Name four chambers of the human heart. State one function of each chamber in a tabular form....
Name four chambers of the human heart. State one function of each chamber in a tabular form.
Solution
A human heart is a well-defined four-chambered structure, namely two atria and two ventricles. The right and left sides of the heart are well separated by walls to prevent any intermixing blood. Also, both sides are involved in different types of circulation based on the type of blood they are pumping.
Complete answer:
Following are their functions:
| Chamber | Function |
|---|---|
| Right atrium | It receives deoxygenated blood from the superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, and also the coronary sinus. |
| Right ventricle | Right atrium contracts to fill the left ventricle. It pumps blood to the pulmonary trunk which carries deoxygenated blood to the lungs for oxygenation. |
| Left atrium | The left atrium receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it into the left ventricle. |
| Left ventricle | The left ventricle ejects the oxygenated blood into the aorta which is then carried to different parts of the body. |
Additional Information:
-In a heart, the right side of the heart is the pump for pulmonary circulation i.e the circulation of blood through the lungs. The right ventricle pumps blood into the pulmonary trunk, and the blood then flows into the pulmonary arteries, pulmonary capillaries, and pulmonary veins, which carry it back to the left atrium.
-The left side pumps blood to the body i.e systemic circulation. It begins with oxygenated blood filling the left atrium followed by its contraction to fill the left ventricle. The left ventricle then ejects blood into the aorta which divides into various branches like systemic arteries, arterioles, capillaries, venules, and veins, which carry it back to the right atrium.
Note:
-The walls of the ventricles are thicker than the atria. And among ventricles, the left ventricle is more heavily muscled than the right ventricle. This is because the right ventricle needs to fill blood to the lungs for oxygenation while the left ventricle pumps oxygenated blood around the entire body.
-That’s why the left ventricle needs higher forces to pump blood through the systemic circulatory pathway compared to the pulmonary circulatory pathway.