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Quiz about The Structure of the Heart
Quiz about The Structure of the Heart

The Structure of the Heart Trivia Quiz


See how much you know about the structure of the organ that keeps your blood pumping; the heart! This quiz is based on a lecture I received as part of my third year of an Anatomy degree, so may be quite in depth.

A multiple-choice quiz by reeshy. Estimated time: 5 mins.
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Author
reeshy
Time
5 mins
Type
Multiple Choice
Quiz #
332,127
Updated
Dec 03 21
# Qns
10
Difficulty
Tough
Avg Score
5 / 10
Plays
1770
Awards
Top 35% Quiz
Last 3 plays: winston1 (4/10), DizWiz (10/10), Kabdanis (2/10).
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Question 1 of 10
1. The heart's base sits at the top, i.e. closer to your head.


Question 2 of 10
2. The pericardium consists of layers of tissue surrounding the heart. Which of these layers lies directly on top of the heart (i.e. is the innermost layer of the pericardium)? Hint


Question 3 of 10
3. Which important structure is situated in the right fibrous trigone (also called the central fibrous body)? Hint


Question 4 of 10
4. The fossa ovalis is a small membranous remnant of the foramen ovale, which is a cardiac shunt in the embryo that allows blood to travel from the right atrium to the left atrium, bypassing the lungs. In which chamber of the adult heart does this fossa ovalis remain? Hint


Question 5 of 10
5. Which of these heart valves prevents the back flow of blood into the left ventricle? Hint


Question 6 of 10
6. What connects the AV valves to the papillary muscles? Hint


Question 7 of 10
7. Which of these structures is not present in the right ventricle? Hint


Question 8 of 10
8. Anastomoses (connections) between the heart's arteries allow the concept of dominance to exist. Dominance is conferred by whichever coronary artery gives rise to the posterior descending artery. Dominance can affect heart attack risks - does left or right dominance increase the risk of heart attack?

Answer: (One Word, Left or right?)
Question 9 of 10
9. A ventricular septal defect (VSD) occurs when the interventricular septum is leaky to blood, allowing it to pass from the left ventricle to the right. Which of these is false about the condition? Hint


Question 10 of 10
10. Which of these does not occur in a patient suffering from tetralogy of Fallot? Hint



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Most Recent Scores
Mar 25 2024 : winston1: 4/10
Mar 25 2024 : DizWiz: 10/10
Mar 25 2024 : Kabdanis: 2/10
Mar 25 2024 : Dagny1: 10/10
Mar 25 2024 : fado72: 10/10
Mar 25 2024 : 1nn1: 8/10
Mar 23 2024 : sadwings: 6/10
Feb 06 2024 : Guest 69: 4/10

Score Distribution

quiz
Quiz Answer Key and Fun Facts
1. The heart's base sits at the top, i.e. closer to your head.

Answer: True

Rather like a love heart shape, the rounded part is the base and is situated at the top of the heart. The point, or apex, sits at the bottom. Though the heart is split into left and right sides, it does not sit straight up and down with these sides to their respective sides in the body. In fact, the heart sits on its right, with the right ventricle toward the front.
2. The pericardium consists of layers of tissue surrounding the heart. Which of these layers lies directly on top of the heart (i.e. is the innermost layer of the pericardium)?

Answer: Visceral pericardium

As with most layers surrounding organs, the pericardium folds back over itself to produce a double layer. The visceral pericardium sits directly on top of the epicardium, which is a connective tissue layer over the heart muscle. The visceral layer then folds back over itself to become the parietal pericardium.

In between these layers is the pericardial cavity, which is a potential space - this means that in normal circumstances, it is not actually a space, but can fill up with fluid in disease states.

The visceral and parietal pericardia together form the serous pericardium. The fibrous pericardium lies on top of the serous pericardium, and is in fact inseparable from the parietal pericardium.
3. Which important structure is situated in the right fibrous trigone (also called the central fibrous body)?

Answer: Atrioventricular (AV) node

There are four fibrous annuli (rings) in the heart that physically separate the atria from the ventricles. Asides from the left and right fibrous trigones, there is one annulus each for the aorta and the pulmonary artery. The annuli are important in causing a delay of the heartbeat as it travels from the atria to the ventricles - this is essential to allow them to contract at distinctly different times.

This makes it a good place for the AV node to be situated as it relays the heartbeat signal through the heart.
4. The fossa ovalis is a small membranous remnant of the foramen ovale, which is a cardiac shunt in the embryo that allows blood to travel from the right atrium to the left atrium, bypassing the lungs. In which chamber of the adult heart does this fossa ovalis remain?

Answer: Right atrium

As the embryo gets its oxygen supply from the mother's blood via the placenta, there is no need for the embryonic blood to travel through the lungs, which is why the foramen ovale exists. Another cardiac shunt in the embyro is the ductus arteriosus, which connects the pulmonary artery to the aorta, bypassing the lungs.

The third shunt is the ductus venosus, which shunts blood from the umbilical vein to the inferior vena cava. This prevents oxygenated blood going to the embryonic liver.
5. Which of these heart valves prevents the back flow of blood into the left ventricle?

Answer: Aortic valve

Valves are important in ensuring that the blood flow through the heart continues forward and does not lag, which would cause blood pooling and insufficient flow through the tissues. There are four heart valves - the ones offered as answers to this question; the tricuspid valve (situated between the right atrium and right ventricle), the pulmonary valve (situated between the right ventricle and pulmonary artery), the bicuspid valve (situated between the left atrium and left ventricle) and the aortic valve (situated between the left ventricle and aorta).

The valves in the great vessels are forced open by the pressure of ventricular contraction, while the atrioventricular valves are opened by atrial contraction. The closure of these valves is what produces the recognizable heart sounds: "lub dub".
6. What connects the AV valves to the papillary muscles?

Answer: Chordae tendineae

The chordae tendineae are also called the "heartstrings". As suggested by their name, they are tendons. As they connect the valves to the papillary muscles, when these muscles contract, the chordae tendineae transmit the resulting tension to the valves, causing them to open or close.

There are three papillary muscles in the right ventricle, one connecting to each cusp of the tricuspid valve, and two in the left ventricle, one connecting to each cusp of the bicuspid valve.
7. Which of these structures is not present in the right ventricle?

Answer: Right auricle

"Auricle" used to refer to what is now the atrium, so there was a right auricle and a left auricle - these are now the right atrium and left atrium respectively. Nowadays, "auricle" refers to the atrial appendages: they are small muscular pouches attached to the atria.

In the right ventricle, the conus arteriosus (also called the infundibulum) is the conical structure that is formed from the ventricle, and from which arises the pulmonary artery. The moderator band is a muscular band that carries the right bundle branch of the heart's conducting system to the anterior papillary muscle. Finally, the trabeculae carneae in the ventricles are similar to the pectinate muscles in the atria - they are rounded muscles on the inner surface of the ventricular walls. Their function is to prevent suction in the heart, and they also assist the papillary muscles.
8. Anastomoses (connections) between the heart's arteries allow the concept of dominance to exist. Dominance is conferred by whichever coronary artery gives rise to the posterior descending artery. Dominance can affect heart attack risks - does left or right dominance increase the risk of heart attack?

Answer: Left

The posterior descending artery (PDA) supplies part of the interventricular septum, as does the left anterior descending artery (LAD), which arises from the left coronary artery.

If a coronary artery becomes blocked, dominance is very important in determining whether it ends in a heart attack or not. If the patient is left-dominant and their left coronary artery becomes blocked, both the PDA and LAD are blocked too, as both arise from the left coronary artery. This is very dangerous as there would be no blood supply to the septum. If the right coronary artery was blocked, only the PDA would be blocked, and the LAD would continue to supply the septum.

In right dominance, whether the left or right coronary artery is blocked, there will still be either the PDA or LAD supplying the septum. Luckily, most of the population is right-dominant (around 65-70%). Co-dominance can exist, where the PDA arises from both coronary arteries; figures vary from about 10-25% of the population. Left dominance also varies from about 10-25% of the population.
9. A ventricular septal defect (VSD) occurs when the interventricular septum is leaky to blood, allowing it to pass from the left ventricle to the right. Which of these is false about the condition?

Answer: It is nearly always fatal.

Of all newborns born with a congenital heart defect, around 30-60% of them have a VSD. Many small VSDs can close on their own without medical intervention, and in fact the defect normally only manifests a few weeks after birth. First they are normally treated by drugs, and then they are repaired by surgery, though some can be repaired without surgery.

It can result after heart attacks due to tearing of the muscular wall of the septum.

It results in pulmonary hypertension because of the increased blood present in the right ventricle.
10. Which of these does not occur in a patient suffering from tetralogy of Fallot?

Answer: Widening of the pulmonary trunk

In fact, the condition causes pulmonary stenosis, which is a narrowing of the trunk, mostly caused by hypertrophy (overgrowth) of the heart muscle. Because the aorta sits over the septum, the level of oxygenated blood exiting the aorta to supply the body is decreased. The right ventricle hypertrophies as it works harder in order to try to oxygenate more blood. A ventricular septal defect decreases the level of oxygenation further.

The condition occurs in about 400 per million births, and can be repaired by surgery.
Source: Author reeshy

This quiz was reviewed by FunTrivia editor crisw before going online.
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