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The heart is a hollow muscle that pumps blood throughout the blood vessels by repeated, rhythmic contractions. It is found in all animals with a circulatory system (including all vertebrates).[1]
The term cardiac (as in cardiology) means "related to the heart" and comes from the Greek """""", kardia, for "heart".
The vertebrate heart is principally composed of cardiac muscle and connective tissue. Cardiac muscle is an involuntary striated muscle tissue found only in this organ and responsible for the ability of the heart to pump blood.
The average human heart, beating at 72 beats per minute, will beat approximately 2.5 billion times during an average 66 year lifespan. It weighs approximately 250 to 300 grams (9 to 11 oz) in females and 300 to 350 grams (11 to 12 oz) in males.[2]
The structure of the heart can vary among the different branches of the animal kingdom. (See Circulatory system.) Cephalopods have two "gill hearts" and one "systemic heart". In vertebrates, the heart lies in the anterior part of the body cavity, dorsal to the gut. It is always surrounded by a pericardium, which is usually a distinct structure, but may be continuous with the peritoneum in jawless and cartilaginous fish. Hagfishes, uniquely among vertebrates, also possess a second heart-like structure in the tail.[3]
The adult human heart has a mass of between 250 and 350 grams and is about the size of a fist.[4] It is located anterior to the vertebral column and posterior to the sternum.[5]
It is enclosed in a double-walled sac called the pericardium. It has two leaflets, the superficial is called the parietal pericardium and the inner one is the visceral pericardium. Between them there is some pericardium fluid which function is to permit them the easy slide with the heart movements. Outside the parietal pericardium there is a fibrous layer which depends from the mediastinal fascia and is called the fibrous pericardium.[6] This sac protects the heart, anchors it to the surrounding structures, but has no effect on ventricular hemodynamics in a health person.[7]
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