Anatomy of the Heart Flashcards

The coronary sinus drains into which cardiac chamber?

Answer: Right atrium

The coronary sinus, the main venous drainage of the heart, opens into the right atrium between the inferior vena cava orifice and the tricuspid valve.

Which structure separates the right and left ventricles?

Answer: Interventricular septum

The interventricular septum is the thick muscular partition separating the right and left ventricular cavities.

Pectinate muscles are characteristic of which cardiac chamber(s)?

Answer: Right atrium and auricles of both atria

Pectinate muscles (musculi pectinati) are ridge-like projections found in the right atrium and in the auricles (appendages) of both atria.

What is the name of the valve between the right atrium and the right ventricle?

Answer: Tricuspid valve

The tricuspid (right atrioventricular) valve has three cusps and controls blood flow from the right atrium to the right ventricle.

Which vessels return oxygenated blood directly to the left atrium?

Answer: Pulmonary veins

The four pulmonary veins (two from each lung) return oxygenated blood from the lungs to the left atrium.

The fibrous skeleton of the heart serves which primary function?

Answer: Providing attachment points for valves and electrically insulating atria from ventricles

The fibrous skeleton anchors the four heart valves, provides attachment for myocardial fibers, and acts as an electrical insulator between atria and ventricles.

Which artery is most commonly blocked in an anterior wall myocardial infarction?

Answer: Left anterior descending artery

The left anterior descending (LAD) artery supplies the anterior wall of the left ventricle and is most often occluded in anterior MI, earning it the nickname 'widow maker.'