If there is a problem with an aorta, the heart and the entire body’s supply can be hindered. The aorta is more than an inch wide in some places and has three layers: After the blood exits the heart via the aortic valve it travels through aorta make a cane-shaped curve that links with other major arteries to deliver oxygen-rich blood to the brain, muscles, and to other cells. Aorta – The main trunk of the systemic artery system and carries the blood away from the left ventricle.The four great vessels of the heart are as below: The vessels are elastic fibers that transport blood to all the tissues in the body. The left ventricle: is part of the heart that pumps oxygen-rich blood through the aortic valve to the aorta and the rest of the body.Īs the heartbeats, it pumps blood through a system of blood vessels called the circulatory system.The left atrium: is part of the heart that receives oxygenated blood from the lungs and pumps it through the mitral valve to the left ventricle.The right ventricle: is part of the heart that pumps the blood through the pulmonary valve to the lungs, where it becomes oxygenated.The right atrium: is part of the heart that receives non-oxygenated blood from the body’s largest veins - superior vena cava and inferior vena cava - and pumps it through the tricuspid valve to the right ventricle.This layer outlines the inner heart chambers, covers heart valves, and is running alongside the endothelium of large blood vessels.įurthermore, the heart is made up of four chambers namely: Endocardium – is the innermost layer of the heart that contains endothelial tissue composed of small blood vessels and bundles of smooth muscle.These impulses trigger the muscle fibers in the ventricles to contract. These fiber bundles, consisting of the atrioventricular bundle and Purkinje fibers, carry electrical impulses down the center of the heart to the ventricles. Furthermore, c ardiac conduction is made possible by specialized myocardial muscle fibers. The myocardium is the thickest part of the heart wall, wherein the myocardium of the left ventricle is the thickest as it manages the power needed to transport the oxygen pumped by the heart to the rest of the organs. Myocardium – is the middle layer of the heart, it is made up of cardiac muscle fiber which aids in heart contractions.The function of an epicardium is to safeguard the innermost layers of the heart and also to help in the formation of the pericardial fluid, which aids in decreasing friction between the pericardial membranes. It is actually the visceral layer of the serous pericardium, which attaches to the myocardium of the heart. Epicardium – is the outer part of the heart.In addition, the wall of the heart has three layers, namely: Pericardial space, on the other hand, delicately protects and cushions the heart by having pericardial fluid to lubricate its inner layers. It is surrounded by pericardium, a sac which is composed of outer (fibrous) and inner (serous) layers. The heart acts as the body’s pumping station, by which it pumps blood to the lungs and to the systemic arteries.