How Many Hearts Does A Human Body Have

Introduction:

To answer that question briefly, the human body has only one heart, one of the most important organs responsible for sustaining life. The size of the heart is said to be about the size of a clenched fist. It functions throughout a person’s lifespan and is one of the most vigorous and hardest-working muscles in the human body. There are cases of a human body having more than one heart in the case of conjoined twins or in the case of a pregnancy where the mother is bearing her child which in turn contains his heart in her body as well.

The Human Heart

The human heart is located between the lungs in the thoracic cavity, towards the left of the breastbone. It maintains a constant flow of blood throughout the body which recharges oxygen and circulates nutrients among the cells and tissues.

Some of the Main Functions of the Heart:

• It pumps blood throughout the body

• The blood delivers oxygen, hormones, glucose and other components to the different parts of the body, including the human heart.

• The heart also ensures adequate blood pressure is maintained in the body.

• There are two types of circulation within the body: pulmonary and systemic.

Circulation Types:

• Pulmonary circulation is a portion of circulation responsible for carrying deoxygenated blood away from the heart, to the lungs and then bringing oxygenated blood back to the heart.

• Systemic circulation is another portion of circulation where the oxygenated blood is pumped from the heart to every organ and tissue in the body, and deoxygenated blood comes back again to the heart.

• Apart from this, Coronary circulation is an essential portion of the circulation, where oxygenated blood is supplied to the heart. This is important as the heart is responsible for supplying blood throughout the body.

• Moreover, organs like the brain need a steady flow of fresh, oxygenated blood to ensure functionality.

In short, the circulatory system plays an important role in supplying oxygen and nutrients while removing carbon dioxide and other waste matter from the body.

Structure of the heart

The human heart is divided into four chambers, namely two ventricles and two atria. The ventricles pump blood and the atrium receives blood. Among these both the right atrium and ventricle make up the “right heart,” and the left atrium and ventricle make up the “left heart.” The structure of the heart also houses the biggest artery in the body, the aorta.

The septum muscle separates the right and the left region of the heart. The right ventricle pumps the blood to the lungs for re-oxygenation through the pulmonary arteries. The right semilunar valves close and prevent the blood from flowing back into the heart. Then, this oxygenated blood is received by the left atrium from the lungs via the pulmonary veins.

Chambers of the heart

The four chambers of the heart are:

• Left atrium

• Right atrium

• Left ventricle

• Right ventricle

The right atrium starts the cycle by taking in all the oxygen-poor blood from your body. Blood comes in through two large veins called the superior vena cava and the inferior vena cava. The right atrium gets hold of this blood and passes it on to the next chamber, the right ventricle.

Blood from the right atrium enters through the tricuspid valve and into the right ventricle. The right ventricle quickly goes into action by forcefully pushing this blood through the pulmonary valve into the pulmonary arteries and out to the lungs. In the lungs, the blood collects the oxygen it needs to nourish the rest of your body. Then, recharged and ready to continue its journey, the blood travels through the pulmonary veins back to the left atrium.

Once in your left atrium, the oxygen-rich (oxygenated) blood is almost ready to travel around the body. Both atria can be imagined as reservoirs. While the right atrium holds oxygen-poor blood, the left atrium holds oxygen-rich blood. Your left atrium then sends this blood through the mitral valve and into the left ventricle.

This is the last stop within the four chambers. The left ventricle actively pumps blood through the aortic valve so it can travel throughout the body. Incredibly, this cycle repeats with every heartbeat. So, the left ventricle can be thought of as the final player that scores the winning basket or decisive goal. But there’s only a second to rest before the game begins all over again.

Conclusion

To summarize, the human heart is one of the most important organs in the human body. It's the muscle at the center of our circulation system, pumping blood around our body as our heart beats. This blood sends oxygen and nutrients to all parts of our body and carries away unwanted carbon dioxide and waste products.