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AN22.1-7 | Introduction to Heart & Pericardium

Learning Objectives

  • Describe the pericardium — its layers, sinuses, and clinical significance including pericardial effusion and cardiac tamponade (AN22.1)
  • Describe the external and internal features of all four chambers of the heart, including the interatrial and interventricular septa (AN22.2)
  • Trace the origin, course, and distribution of the coronary arteries (LAD, LCx, RCA) and identify the territories they supply (AN22.3)
  • Explain the anatomical basis of ischaemic heart disease (IHD) — how coronary artery blockage leads to myocardial infarction (AN22.4)
  • Describe the coronary sinus and the venous drainage of the heart (AN22.5)
  • Describe the fibrous skeleton of the heart and its functions (AN22.6)
  • Describe the conducting system of the heart — SA node, AV node, Bundle of His, and Purkinje fibres (AN22.7)

INSTRUCTIONS

This module covers the heart and pericardium — the engine of your circulatory system. We'll start from what you can feel on your own body (your heartbeat, your pulse) and build from the outside in: pericardium wrapping → chambers inside → coronary arteries feeding → conducting system coordinating.

Parallel connections: In Physiology (PY5), you're studying the cardiac cycle — systole, diastole, heart sounds, and blood pressure. The anatomy you learn here is the structural foundation for everything you'll learn about cardiac function. In Biochemistry (BI4), you're studying lipid metabolism — understanding how cholesterol deposits in coronary arteries (atherosclerosis) leads directly to the ischaemic heart disease we discuss in AN22.4.

References

  • OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e, Chapter 19: The Cardiovascular System — The Heart (textbook (CC BY 4.0))
  • B.D. Chaurasia's Human Anatomy, Vol. 1, Ch 18-19: The Heart (textbook)
  • Netter's Atlas of Human Anatomy, 8th ed., Plates 212–226 (Heart) (atlas)
  • Gray's Anatomy for Students, 4th ed., Chapter 3: Thorax — Heart (textbook)

Version 2.0 | Claude (AI-generated), NMC CBUC 2024, Adapted from OpenStax A&P 2e (CC BY 4.0)