SHEEP HEART DISSECTION – Adapted from Homelearning.com
Observation: External Anatomy
Most heart diagrams show the
left
atrium and ventricle on the
right
side of the diagram. Imagine the
heart in the body of a person facing you. The left side of their heart is on
their
left, but since you are
facing them, it is on
your
right.
1. Identify the right and left sides of the heart. Look closely and on one side you will see a diagonal
line of blood vessels that divide the heart. The half that includes all of the
apex
(pointed end) of the
heart is the left side. Confirm this by squeezing each half of the heart. The left half will feel much
firmer and more muscular than the right side. (The left side of the heart is stronger because it has to
pump blood to the whole body. The right side only pumps blood to the lungs.)
2. Turn the heart so that the right side is on your right, as if it were in your body. Examine the flaps of
darker tissue on the top of the heart. These ear-like flaps are called
auricles
. Find the large opening
at the top of the heart next to the right auricle. This is the
opening to the
superior vena cava
,
which brings blood from
the top half of the body to the
right atrium
(the
atria
are the
top chambers in the heart). Stick a probe down this vessel.
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- Fall '16
- right ventricle, right atrium
