Lab 1 Heart Structure and Function

Heart Structure & Blood Pressure Lab

Laboratory #1

Assigned reading

Vander – Chapter 12

OBJECTIVES
1) Dissect a calf heart and lungs to study its structure.
2) Learn to measure your blood pressure using a sphygmomanometer.
3) Record an electrocardiogram (ECG) and determine the correlation between the
electrical signals and the mechanical events during a cardiac cycle.
4) Test the effect of exercise on cardiac parameters including systolic and diastolic
pressures, pulse pressure, mean arterial pressure, partial pressure of oxygen in the
blood and heart rate.

Please bring a calculator to this lab. Wear closed-toe shoes and glasses
instead of contacts.

Your Teaching Fellow will instruct you to start either on the Anatomy or Physiology
portion of the lab

I: Heart Structure
During the first part of this lab you will dissect a calf pluck, a pluck is composed of the
organs of the thoracic cavity that have been removed as a unit (heart, lungs, thymus and
trachea). We use calf hearts because they are readily available, and are morphologically
and size similar to the human heart. Use this lab as well as pages 113-124 in your
anatomy lab manual to identify all the structures in today’s lab.

The heart is encased in a membranous, fluid-filled sac, the parietal pericardium, which
both anchors and protects it.

You will see three other types of tissue associated with the vessels at the top (superior
surface) of the heart:
a. Thymus tissue: which you can identify by its smooth, gleaming pink surface.
This gland is part of the lymphatic system. It houses lymphocytes and
phagocytic cells and also secretes hormones. It is prominent in young mammals
and atrophies with age.
b. Lung tissue: spongy texture, pink/gray surface.
c. Trachea and bronchii: whitish tubes (note the tracheal rings

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Lab 1 Heart Structure and Function

Identify the following structure of the pluck:

External Heart Anatomy:

Epicardium Superior vena cava

Myocardium Inferior vena cava
Right ventricle Pulmonary trunk
Right atrium Right pulmonary artery
Right auricle Left pulmonary artery
Left ventricle Right pulmonary veins
Left atrium Left pulmonary veins
Left auricle Aorta
Coronary sulcus Ascending aorta
Anterior interventricular sulcus Aortic arch
Posterior interventricular sulcus Descending thoracic aorta

Internal Heart Anatomy:

Right atrium Pulmonary semilunar valve

Right ventricle Aortic semilunar valve
Left atrium Bicuspid valve
Left ventricle Superior vena cava
Right auricle Inferior vena cava
Left auricle Pulmonary trunk
Coronary sinus Right pulmonary artery
Tricuspid valve Left pulmonary artery
Chordae tendinae Right pulmonary veins
Papillary muscles Left pulmonary veins
Interventricular septum Aorta

Fetal Structures
Ductus Arteriosis
Foramen Ovale

Lung and Associated Structure Anatomy

Trachea
Primary Bronchii (Left and Right)
Secondary Bronchii
Tracheal Cartilages
Lung Lobes
Thymus

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Fetal Circulatory Structures:

The foramen ovale (see #1 in Fig. 1 below) is an opening with a valve that shunts blood
from the right atrium to the left atrium. The organ of gas exchange in fetal mammals is
the placenta, not the lungs. Fetal lungs are collapsed and offer high resistance to blood
circulation. The right atrium receives well-oxygenated blood from the inferior vena cava
and deoxygenated blood (returning from the head and forearms) via the superior vena
cava. Much of this mixed blood is shunted from the right atrium to the left atrium via the
formen ovale to reduce blood flow to the lungs.

The ductus arteriosus (see #2 in Fig. 1 below) diverts blood from the fetal lungs by
shunting it from the pulmonary artery to the aorta. Thus oxygen-rich blood from the right
ventricle is mixed with oxygen-poor blood from the left ventricle and sent to systemic
circulation. This mixing occurs after the main supply to the head and forelimbs has
branched off the aorta, which assures that the brain receives blood high in oxygen.

At birth the lungs inflate. Pulmonary resistance decreases, and pulmonary blood flow
increases. The increase in pulmonary blood flow causes left atrial pressure to be greater
than right atrial pressure, which closes the foramen ovale. The vestige of the foramen
ovale is the fossa ovalis. Inflation of the lungs at birth also releases proteins that mediate
constriction of the ductus arteriosus. The ductus arteriosus normally closes a few months
after birth; it degenerates to form the ligamentum arteriosum (these remnant structures
of fetal cardiac circulation may be seen in the adult heart). Find the foramen ovale and
the ductus arteriosus in your specimen.
arteries to head

right
pulmonary
artery
2
left pulmonary
artery to collapsed
lungs
superior
vena cava, 1
deox. blood
from head

inferior vena cava,

from placenta with
oxygenated blood
umbilical arteries, to
placenta where
blood is oxygenated
Figure 1. Fetal circulation. Drawing by D.
Reich, modified by J. Nauen, both of Harvard University.

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Lab 1 Blood Pressure & Effects of Exercise

PART II PHYSIOLOGY - OBJECTIVES

1) Learn to measure your blood pressure using a sphygomomanometer.

2) Test the effect of exercise and body position on cardiac parameters including systolic
and diastolic pressures, pulse pressure, mean arterial pressure, and heart rate.

Please bring a calculator to this lab. Wear closed-toe shoes and glasses
instead of contacts.

Heart Function

During this lab you will listen to heart sounds and correlate those sounds with the
mechanics of heart function. You will also record blood pressure and heart rate and test
the effect of exercise on the timing of various parameters of the blood pressure.

A. Heart Sounds
No doubt you have watched many times as a doctor listened to your heart. Most heart
sounds are low frequency (<100Hz) and are thus hard to hear with the equipment we are
using in lab today. There are, however, sounds associated with the opening and closing
of valves and the turbulent flow of blood that are relatively easy to hear, which you will
be able to listen to today.

It is traditional to mention four distinct sounds during the cardiac cycle, but without
sufficient training, one usually hears only the two major sounds:

1. “Lub”, the first in a series and the loudest sound, is caused by the closure
of the AV valves as ventricular pressure rises above atrial pressure.
2. “Dub”, the second in a series and less audible than the lub, is caused by
the closure of the aortic and pulmonary semilunar valves as ventricular
pressure falls below atrial pressure.

Use your stethoscope to listen to your heart or your lab partner’s heart sounds. If you
don’t hear anything, check that the toggle on the end of the stethoscope is flipped up
(towards you) and that you are using the flat round part of the device. If the lab is noisy,
do this in the hall.

B. Blood and Pulse Pressure

The rhythmic expulsion of blood from the left ventricle into the arterial system produces
a blood pressure in the aorta and large arteries. Blood pressure rises to a maximum
(systolic pressure) during the contraction of the left ventricle and then falls to a
minimum (diastolic pressure) when the left ventricle relaxes to fill for the next
contraction. The difference between systolic and diastolic pressures is called the pulse
pressure. Blood pressures are recorded as systolic/diastolic pressure (e.g., 120 mmHg /
70 mmHg). Note that the terms systole/systolic and diastole/diastolic are generally used

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to refer to ventricular state or pressure, although one can also refer to atrial
systole/diastole.

Stephen Hales was the first (in 1731) to measure blood pressure. He inserted a hollow
tube (cannula) into a large artery of a horse and measured the height to which the arterial
blood ascended. We use a less drastic method: balancing the unknown blood pressure
against a second, known pressure. The sphygmomanometer (a mouthful – so the term
‘blood pressure cuff’ is most often used) consists of a rubber bag surrounded by a stiff
cloth cuff that can be inflated and deflated to specific, measured pressures. Pressure in the
bag is measured by a manometer (pressure measuring device). When the bag and cuff
are placed around the arm and deflated, the pressure of gas within the bag is transmitted
to the arm tissues (including blood vessels). The cuff is inflated until its pressure cuts off
flow through the brachial artery. Then the cuff is slowly deflated while you use the
stethoscope to listen for turbulent blood flow through the artery, which makes the sounds
you hear.

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Lab 1 Blood Pressure & Effects of Exercise

To measure blood pressure:

1. Empty the cuff of all air and wrap it around the upper arm (just above the elbow)
of a seated subject.
2. Apply the stethoscope just below the cuff and a little above the crease of the
elbow.
3. Pump up the cuff to a pressure of 180 mmHg and then gradually release the
pressure, while listening for blood flow with the stethoscope. (If you are using the
automated pump, then just press the start button while listening with the
stethoscope).
4. Listen for two events:
a. When the maximum blood pressure during
systole is equal to cuff pressure, a little
blood will be pushed through the artery and
you will hear that blood flow as a “blrrp”
or a “tap”. Note the blood pressure when
you first hear the sound – this is the
systolic pressure. The sound will become
louder as cuff pressure continues to
decrease (and blood flow increases).
b. Cuff pressure will continue to decrease.
Continue listening – at some point the
sound will abruptly cease. Record that
pressure; this is the diastolic pressure.

Note: Do not leave the cuff pumped up for more than two
or three minutes, since the arm will become engorged or
ischemic and all subsequent measurements will be
inaccurate. If you have trouble hearing, do this in the hall.

Remember that the ear-holes of the stethoscope go

forward, toward your eyes. If you put them in backwards
you won’t be able to hear the heart sounds.

Also remember that your brachial artery is located lateral

to the vein where blood is commonly taken for blood
donations or hematology samples. You should be able to
feel a pulse before you put the cuff on.

C. Cardiac Function During Exercise:

In this lab we will measure blood pressure and heart rate when the body is in different
positions, directly after exercise and at two-minute intervals following exercise.

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Lab 1 Blood Pressure & Effects of Exercise

The amount of blood leaving the heart per minute is known as cardiac output (CO)
because it’s a volume per time which is equal to the product of stroke volume (the
volume ejected by the heart per beat) and heart rate.

Cardiac Output (L/min) = Stroke Volume (L/beat)*Heart Rate (beats/min).

At rest CO is usually about 5-6 L/min, but changes during exercise. For an individual,
CO correlates linearly with their V˙O 2 over the scope of aerobic behavior. At the onset of
exercise, CO changes because of increases in both HR and SV. SV increases are
mediated by the “Frank-Starling law of the heart”, which ensures that “what comes in
must go out”, or more technically that the heart increases its contractile strength with
€ the end-diastolic volume of the heart determines SV. End-
increasing volume so that
diastolic volume can be increased by increasing the pressure in the venous system.
Venous pressure is usually relatively low (~5 mmHg), but can increase through several
factors, some of which are increased during exercise. Because the heart is only so big,
increases in CO during more demanding levels of exercise are mediated almost
exclusively through increases in HR (Figure 4). These increases in HR are caused
initially by decreases in parasympathetic stimulation and later by increases in
sympathetic stimulation of the SA node of the heart.

Heart Rate Heart Rate

Stroke (beats/min)
Volume
(L/beat)
Stroke Volume

5 10 15 20 25
Cardiac Output

Figure 2: This figure diagrams how stroke volume and heart change can be expected to
change as cardiac output increases.

Therefore, at upper levels of exercise we can assume that ΔHR is proportional to ΔCO.

In addition to measuring heart rate we will measure systolic and diastolic blood pressure
while the body is in different positions, directly after exercise and at five two-minute
intervals following exercise. Systolic pressure is the pressure generated by the heart
during contraction, while diastolic is the residual blood pressure during relaxation. We’ll
examine how these values, and the difference between them (Pulse Pressure), change
during exercise.

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Lab 1 Blood Pressure & Effects of Exercise

Mean arterial pressure (MAP) is the average pressure in the cardiovascular system.
We will calculate mean arterial pressure in this lab by calculating a weighted average
using the following formula:

1
MAP = PD + PP
3

Where PD is the diastolic pressure and PP is the pulse pressure (systolice pressure –
diastolic pressure). The pressure driving blood through capillaries acts like any fluid
€
moving through limited space. This pressure (MAP) depends on the resistance to fluid
movement (known as total peripheral resistance or TPR) through the circulatory
system and the amount of fluid attempting to pass through that resistive space (CO).

MAP = CO*TPR

We know that CO increases during exercise, but we also want to know what happens to
TPR. As muscles are used, they increase their perfusion by opening arterioles. This
vasodilation is due to both hormonal effects (such as circulating epinephrine) and local
responses to hypoxia (such as the release of nitric oxide). The amount of blood going
into exercising muscle can increase by as much as 20 times! As muscle arterioles open,
TPR is reduced, offsetting the effects of increased CO on MAP. In this lab we will
measure MAP and estimate CO, so that we can assess how exercise affects TPR.

Experimental set up

You should spend some time working with your partner and get familiar taking his or her
blood pressure. Once you are capable of relying taking blood pressure measurements on
the first try you should measure your partners blood pressure and heart rate under the
following conditions after laying down for two minutes, after sitting for two minutes,
after standing for two minutes, directly post-exercise (exercise should last for at least 10
minutes) and five measurements taken at two-minute intervals following exercise.

You’ll need the following data for analysis:

Heart Rate (beats/min) (HR)

Systolic Blood Pressure
Diastolic Blood Pressure

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Data Collection Tables:

Trial Heart Rate Systolic BP Diastolic BP Mean Arterial Pressure

(b/min) mmHg mmHg
(Ps) (PD)
Rest – Lying
Down
Rest - Sitting

Rest - Standing

Immediately
Post-Exercise
Two Minutes
Post-Exercise
Four Minutes
Post-Exercise
Six Minutes
Post-Exercise
Eight Minutes
Post-Exercise
Ten Minutes
Post-Exercise

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Lab 1 Blood Pressure & Effects of Exercise

Name:__________________________ TF___________________ Date:_____________

Laboratory Report

Due to your TF at the beginning of the next lab period (20pts):

1) Using Excel or another graphing program plot HR, MAP, and Systolic, Diastolic and
Pulse Pressures against measured time after exercise. Do not use the same set of
axes for two different variables. (5 points)

2) How are the cardiac responses that you observed mediated in response to exercise?
Discuss in terms of (1) local responses (responses at the level of tissue O2 demand)
and (2) autonomic nervous system control of the cardiovascular system, and (3)
baroreceptor mediated control of blood pressure. This is a chance for you to practice
explaining physiological processes, be economical but comprehensive. (6 points)

3) Why do people who are in shape tend to have lower resting heart rates than those who
aren’t in shape? (3 points)

4) Describe three aspects of your cardiovascular system that might increase in the long
term (due to genetic inheritance - i.e. breeding, or training) and would result in an
increase your capacity for oxidative exercise? (6 points)

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