Sources
Help build the largest human-edited directory on the web.
Submit a site - Become an editor
Wikipedia. Licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License.
Are you an expert in this subject? Join the discussion and share your knowledge at Wikipedia.org.
Base of the heart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Base of the heart | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Base and diaphragmatic surface of heart. (Base is at right.) | |
| Latin | basis cordis |
| Gray's | subject #138 527 |
| Dorlands/Elsevier | b_05/12179132 |
The base of the heart, directed upward, backward, and to the right, is separated from the fifth, sixth, seventh, and eighth thoracic vertebræ by the œsophagus, aorta, and thoracic duct.
It is formed mainly by the left atrium, and, to a small extent, by the back part of the right atrium.
Somewhat quadrilateral in form, it is in relation above with the bifurcation of the pulmonary artery, and is bounded below by the posterior part of the coronary sulcus, containing the coronary sinus.
On the right it is limited by the sulcus terminalis of the right atrium, and on the left by the ligament of the left vena cava and the oblique vein of the left atrium.
The four pulmonary veins, two on either side, open into the left atrium, while the superior vena cava opens into the upper, and the anterior vena cava into the lower, part of the right atrium.
 |
This cardiovascular system article is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
This article was originally based on an entry from a public domain edition of Gray's Anatomy. As such, some of the information contained herein may be outdated. Please edit the article if this is the case, and feel free to remove this notice when it is no longer relevant.