Organ library

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v1.0.67

Aorta: Main artery
Pulmonary trunk: Carries used blood to the lungs
Superior vena cava: Brings blood back from head and arms
Inferior vena cava: Brings blood back from everything below
Pulmonary veins: The only veins carrying oxygen-rich blood
Left Atrium: Receives oxygenated blood
Right Atrium: Receives venous blood
Right auricle: Ear-shaped pouch on the right atrium
Left auricle: Where clots form in atrial fibrillation
Left Ventricle: Pumps to the body
Right Ventricle: Pumps to the lungs
Apex: The tip you feel beating on the chest
Anterior interventricular groove: Traces the wall between the ventricles
Coronary groove: The ring dividing atria from ventricles
Left coronary artery: Feeds most of the left ventricle
Right coronary artery: Feeds the right side and the pacemaker
Anterior interventricular branch: Block it and the front wall dies
Circumflex branch: Curves round to the back of the left side
Right marginal branch: Runs along the lower right border
Great cardiac vein: Runs beside the front artery, going back
Coronary sinus: One collector empties it all into the right atrium
Aortic arch: Turns the aorta backwards and down
Brachiocephalic trunk: First branch: right arm, right side of head
Left common carotid artery: Second branch: the left side of the head
Left subclavian artery: Third branch: the left arm
Descending aorta: Carries on down behind the heart
Right pulmonary artery: To the right lung
Left pulmonary artery: To the left lung
Mitral Valve: Prevents backflow
Tricuspid valve: Between right atrium and right ventricle
Aortic valve: Stops blood falling back from the aorta
Interventricular septum: The muscular wall between the two pumps

3D specimen · click a dot to exploreCor

The Heart

Heart

The tireless pump

A muscular organ that pumps blood throughout the body, delivering oxygen and nutrients to every cell.

Key facts

◇ Size: About the size of your fist
♙ Weight: 250–350 g
⌁ Daily: Beats about 100,000 times
⌖ Location: Behind the sternum, slightly left
❋ Blood supply: Left and right coronary arteries
◈ Function: Circulates oxygenated blood

Medical importanceIts electrical rhythm coordinates every heartbeat.

Did you knowIt beats roughly 2.5 billion times in an average lifetime, and starts before you are born.

Value and cost

Transplant episode: $1,664,800Source: Milliman Research Report, U.S. Organ and Tissue Transplant Cost Estimates, 2020

Billed hospital charges in the United States, not what a patient pays after insurance, and not comparable between countries.

Illegal trade estimate$90,000 to $290,000

Buying and selling organs is a crime almost everywhere. This figure comes from trafficking research, not from any market that keeps books, and estimates vary widely between sources. It is here to show the scale of the trade, not to price anything. Donors are typically paid a small fraction of what a recipient hands over.

Source: Global Financial Integrity, Transnational Crime and the Developing World, 2017

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Learning is
an act of curiosity.

Keep exploring!

Microscopic view

Cardiac muscle tissue

Compare organs

Heart vs. brain

Function animation

Circulates oxygenated blood

Clinical notes

Common conditions

MyocarditisDiffuseI40.9
Congenital heart defectsDiffuseQ24.9

Where it works