Heart Facts

The four heart valves- tricuspid,mitral,aortic,and pulmonary

Posted on December 26, 2008
Filed Under anatomy and physiology of human heart | 1 Comment

There are 4 heart valves, tricuspid, mitral, aortic and pulmonary. These valves differ in size, location, structure and function.

The tricuspid, aortic and pulmonary valves all have 3 cusps whilst the mitral valve only has two cusps.  From the diagram it is also possible to see that the aortic and pulmonary valves are much smaller than the tricuspid and mitral valves.  The tricuspid and mitral valves are around the same size, whereas the aortic and pulmonary valves are the same size. As we are all unique the size of these valves differ between individuals.

The tricuspid and mitral valve are also known as the right and left atrioventricular valves respectively.   These valves exist to prevent blood flowing backwards to the atria when the ventricles are contracting.  The valves do not stop the blood flowing backwards when the ventricles are relaxed and not contracting.  When the ventricles do start contracting the valves close preventing blood flow in the wrong direction, ie backwards. 

The pulmonary and aortic valves are also known as the semilunar valves and exist to prevent blood flowing backwards to the right and left ventricles respectively.

If the valves cease then one will develop valvular heart disease.

Welcome to heartfacts!!

Posted on December 24, 2008
Filed Under Introduction | Leave a Comment

I want heartfacts to be one of the most visited useful websites on heart disorders.

Heartfacts is the place to be if you:-

  1. have an interest in heart health
  2. are a student studying physiology, anatomy, medicine or any workings of the human body.
  3. are a health care professional working with heart disorders
  4. are a patient diagnosed with a heart disorder
  5. are a researcher with a goal to improving heart health, and finding new cures

Heart health is an extremely wide topic and it is hard to know where to begin, but perhaps I will initially consider the physiology and anatomy of the heart. When you appreciate how complicated an organ the human heart is then you can better understand the diseases that affect the heart and why things go wrong.

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