Henry Family Blog

The heart pumps over 1 million gallons of blood per year.  It contains over 60,000 miles of blood vessels.  There are three layer of the heart wall; epicardium, myocardium, endocardium,  The epicardium is a visceral layer of serous pericardium.  The myocardium is a cardiac muscle layer and is the bulk of the heart.  The endocardium is the chamber lining and the valves. 

The thickness of the myocardium of the four chambers varies according to the function of each chamber.  The atria walls are thin and deliver blood to the atria.  The ventricle walls are thicker and pump blood greater distances.  The right ventricle walls are thinner than the left ventricle because they pump blood into the lungs.  The left ventricle walls are thicker than the right ventricle because they pump blood through the body where resistance to blood flow is greater.

Tags: Education //