| Bibliographic Entry | Result (w/surrounding text) |
Standardized Result |
|---|---|---|
| Eisner, Michael, & Eric J.Topol. Cleveland Clinic Heart Book. New York: Hyperion, 2000: 5. | "With each beat, the heart muscle expands and contracts, sending 2 to 3 ounces of blood through the vascular system." | 59–89 cm3 per beat. |
| Clayman, Charles. The Human Body. London: Dorling Kindersley Limited, 1995: 105. | "The full circuit around the lungs and body takes only approximately one minute when the body is at rest, the heart pumps about 5 to 7 quarts of blood a minute." | 4730–6620 cm3 per minute. |
| The Human Heart: A Living Pump. US Department of Health, Education, and Welfare Public Health Service National Institutes of Health, 30 May 2000. | "While you rest or sleep, your heart pumps about 2 1/2 ounces (70 milliliters) of blood with each beat." | 70 cm3 per beat. |
| Debakey, Michael, & Antonio M. Gotto, Jr. The New Living Heart. Boston: Adams Media Corporation, 1997: 23. | "The normal heart rate of 70 beats per minute pumps little more than 2 1/2 fluid ounces per stroke, which adds up to 6 quarts of output per minute." | 70 cm3 per beat 5680 cm3 per minute. |
| Cardiac Output. Encyclopedia Britannica Article, 30 May 2000. | "In the healthy human adult, resting (or basal) output is estimated to be slightly over 5 liters per minute." | 5000 cm3 per minute. |
Ancient people thought that the heart controlled a person's emotions, but it is really just a muscle that pumps blood throughout the body. The size of the heart is about the size of a person's fist. In an average man, the heart weights about 340 grams or 12 ounces, it is a little less in women.
The heart pumps oxygen filled blood to the body and pumps carbon dioxide filled blood to the lungs. Carbon dioxide filled blood enters the superior and inferior vena cava and enters the right atrium. The blood moves to the right ventricle and it is pumped to the lungs through the pulmonary artery to receive oxygen. The blood then returns to the left atrium of the heart through the pulmonary vein rich with oxygen. It goes to the left ventricle and pumps it to the aorta then to the rest of the body.
The atria have thin walls because they receive blood and don't pump the blood out of the heart, the ventricles have thick walls because it pump blood out of the heart and into the body or lungs. The ventricles are stronger then the atria. The septum is a wall that separates the heart into two sides, it is two pumps in one.
The blood travels around the body and back to the heart in about one minute if the person is at rest. The heart beats 70 times a minute, with each beat the heart pumps 60 to 90 mililiters (2 to 3 ounces) of blood out of the heart. It can move 5 to 7 liters of blood in one minute and 7600 liters (2000 gallons) per day. In a lifetime, it beats over 2.5 billion times and pumps over 200 million liters of blood. Infants have slightly faster heart beat than an average person, their heart beats 120 times per minute. Physical activities will also increase the heart rate.
The heart is the most important muscle in the human body, it works 24 hours a day. It keeps us alive by pumping oxygen rich blood to the whole body. People can keep their heart healthy by exercising regularly.
Alan Chan -- 2001