The Cardiovascular System
Date
2006
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Wikibooks
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PhysiologyThe heart is the life-beating, always-thumping muscle in your chest. From inside the womb until death, the thump goes on. The heart for the average human will contract about 3 billion times; never resting, never stopping to take a break except for a fraction of a second between beats. If a person lives to be 80 years old, his or her heart will continue to beat an average of 100,000 times a day. Many believe that the heart is the first organ to become functional. Within weeks of conception the heart starts its mission of supplying the body with nutrients even though the embryo is no bigger than a capital letter on this page. The primary function of the heart is to pump blood through the arteries, capillaries, and veins. There is an estimated 60,000 miles of vessels throughout an adult body. Blood then transports oxygen, nutrients, disease causing viruses, bacteria, hormones and has other important functions as well. The heart is the pump that keeps blood circulating properly. Americans today have many options to take care of the heart and its counterparts. Due to expanding medical technology, it makes it much easier to do so. This chapter is dedicated to the heart and its many parts.