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Function of the Heart

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Human Physiology

Abstract

The blood can perform its many-faceted role only if it circulates continually through the body. The pump that drives the blood through the vessels is the heart. It can be considered as two hollow organs — the right half and the left half (Fig. 17-1) — with muscular walls. Each half comprises an atrium and a ventricle. The right half receives oxygen-depleted blood from the entire body and sends it to the lungs, where it is charged with oxygen. The oxygenated blood is returned to the left half of the heart and thence distributed to the organs of the body. The right heart, then, pumps out only deoxygenated blood, and the left half only oxygenated blood.

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Authors
  1. H. Antoni
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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Physiologisches Institut der Universität, Röntgenring 9, D-8700, Würzburg, Fed. Rep. Germany

    Robert F. Schmidt Ph. D.

  2. Physiologisches Institut der Universität, Saarstraße 21, D-6500, Mainz, Fed. Rep. Germany

    Gerhard Thews

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© 1983 Springer-Verlag Berlin · Heidelberg

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Antoni, H. (1983). Function of the Heart. In: Schmidt, R.F., Thews, G. (eds) Human Physiology. Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-96714-6_17

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-642-96714-6_17

  • Publisher Name: Springer, Berlin, Heidelberg

  • Print ISBN: 978-3-642-96716-0

  • Online ISBN: 978-3-642-96714-6

  • eBook Packages: Springer Book Archive

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