Anatomy and Physiology Week 10

This week we have been going over the heart and blood. We learned that the pericardial sac is attatched to the diaphram and the heart is imbedded in the mediastinum which is between the lungs and the esophagus and trachea run through it. The aortic hiatus is the hole in the diaphram in which these run through and the top of the heart is actually called the base while the bottom is called the apex. The membranes of the heart include the epithelial layer, connective layer, outermost layer, and innermost layer. The outermost layer is composed of the fibrous layer and the parietal layer which produces the pericardial fluid that reduces friction around the heart. The innermost layer(visceral layer) is also called the epicardium and is very thin and delicate. The endocardium is made of simple squamous, the myocardium is made of cardiac muscle, and the epicardium is made of areolar connective tissue. In lab I got to cut a heart in half and it is awesome seeing the different ventricles and where all the veins and arteries are connected. I really enjoy learing about the heart, it is the most interesting organ in the body to me.