Anatomy of the human heart

The human heart is an extraordinary organ that is the vital component to life. It is primarily a pump that moves blood throughout the entire body. Composed of four sections contained in the size of a fist, the heart pumps approximately seventy two beats per minute. Blood carries vital nutrients and proteins throughout the body and carries away wastes that have been removed from cells and organs back into the blood stream to be removed from the body. Without the continuous pump of blood, body organs will begin to shut down and soon after the discontinuation of blood supply, will die. The heart contracts and expands to control the movement of blood. The heart pumps at an "all or nothing" rate. Each beat is with full force of the organ. Once the blood has left the heart and traveled the full extent of the body it is returned back into the heart to be re oxygenated again. Once the blood has been oxygenated, it makes the travel through the body again in a continuous cycle. During this cycle, the heart rests only for about four tenths of a second.