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Heart Explorer

Follow Blood Flow

Heart and circulation: simplified cutawayThe right side of the person's heart appears on the left. Oxygen-poor blood returns from the body to the right atrium, passes the tricuspid valve into the right ventricle, and goes through the pulmonary valve and pulmonary arteries to the lungs. Oxygen-rich blood returns by pulmonary veins to the left atrium, passes the mitral valve into the left ventricle, then passes the aortic valve into the aorta and returns to the body. Heart & Circulation LUNGSGain oxygenRelease carbon dioxide Rightatrium Leftatrium Rightventricle Leftventricle Thicker left ventricular wall BODYUses oxygen & nutrients Tricuspid valve Mitral valve Pulmonaryvalve Aorticvalve Vena cavaReturn from bodyPulmonary arteriesTo lungsPulmonary veinsFrom lungsAortaTo body Person’s RIGHTPerson’s LEFT Simplified teaching diagram · Connections are shown schematically, not at exact anatomical positions
● Oxygen-poor● Oxygen-richBlood is always red; blue is a learning convention.

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Model & Learning Sources

3D model: Kristen Browne and Heidi Schlehlein (2022), 3D Reference Organ for Heart, Male v1.2, Human Reference Atlas / HuBMAP, derived from the National Library of Medicine Visible Human Male. Model reference · NIH 3D entry · CC BY 4.0. Original geometry retained; display colours, selection and transparency added. The preview is from the same NIH 3D entry. Not every heart structure is included in this model.

Teaching explanations prepared for Discaperio and checked against NHLBI heart anatomy, NHLBI blood flow, and OpenStax Anatomy and Physiology 2e: Heart Anatomy and Cardiac Cycle. OpenStax-derived explanations: CC BY-NC-SA 4.0. Three.js: MIT licence.