Dissecting a sheep's heart!?

Aim: I want to look at dissecting a sheep's heart.

Equipment: 

• One sheep heart

• Scalpel

• Dissecting Tray

• Dissecting scissor

• Latex Gloves

Safety:

• Make sure to wear your gloves.
• DO NOT cut yourself.
• Keep your area clean.

Method:

1. Place the heart on the dissecting tray and rinse off the excess preservative with tap water. pat the heart dry.
2. Locate the thin membrane called the pericardium that still covers the heart.
3. Carefully remove the pericardium, under which you will find the muscle of your heart called the myocardium.
4. Locate the apex. Only the left ventricle extends all the way to the Apex.
5. Place the heart in the dissecting tray so that the front is towards you.
6. The heart is now the position it would be in a body as you face the body. Locate the following chambers of the heart from this surface:

• Left atrium - upper chamber to your right
• Left ventricle - lower chamber to your right
• Right atrium - upper chamber to your left
• Right ventricle - lower chamber to your left

1. Use scissors to cut through the side of the pulmonary artery and continue cutting down into the wall of the right ventricle.

2. Use your fingers to open up the cut and examine the internal structure of the heart. Rinse off any dried up blood.

3. Locate where the superior and inferior Vena Cava enter the right Atrium.

4. Locate the different valves between the Atriums and the Ventricles.

5. Feel the difference in the thickness of each chamber.

6. Once you're done with the examining, cut out the two Atriums and put it to the side. Make sure that you don't cut any of the main blood vessels.

7. With the Atriums gone, you can further examine the blood vessels.

8. Once you're done with the examination of all the different parts of the heart. Sort them nicely.

Result: 
I didn't really get much of a result however, I did get to see the left-right atrium, ventricle and the Aorta. Which was pretty interesting.

Discussion:
What is a heart?
The heart is a muscular organ in most animals, which pumps blood through the blood vessels of the circulatory system. In this blood there is oxygen and nutrients which is how it gets around the body, it also helps with the removal of waste products.

What is the circulatory system?
The circulatory system is made of blood vessels. These blood vessels carry blood to and from the heart. Arteries carry blood away from the heart whereas veins carry the blood back to the heart.

How do the valves work?
Valves are a one-way door, opening to let blood exit or enter a chamber, Then closing to keep blood from flowing backward. four heart valves control the flow of blood through the heart.

What is a hole in the heart?
A hole in the heart is a congenital defect in the heart septum, resulting in inadequate circulation of oxygenated blood (a cause of blue baby syndrome)

What is the purpose of the vena cava?
The inferior vena cava is a vein. It carries deoxygenated blood from the lower half of the body to the right atrium of the heart. The corresponding vein that carries deoxygenated blood from the upper half of the body is the superior vena cava.

How does blood flow through the heart?
After entering the heart through the superior and inferior vena cava, it empties the deoxygenated blood from the body into the right atrium of the heart. As the atrium contracts, blood flows from your right atrium into your right ventricle through the open tricuspid valve. When the right ventricle contracts, the muscular force pushes blood through the pulmonary semilunar valve into the pulmonary artery. from here the blood travels to your lungs to be oxygenated.

Heartbeat?
The SA node (sinoatrial node) is the natural pacemaker. The SA node consists of a cluster of cells that are situated in the upper part of the wall of the right atrium. The pulses are generated here.

Evaluation.
This is my blog post on dissecting a sheep's heart. I personally enjoyed this experiment it was fun learning about the heart. I learned about the different muscles and valves in the heart. If I were to redo this experiment I would definitely make sure to be more prepared. Also, I would like to take more photos because I didn't have many to show after I had finished. If you were to do this experiment I advise you to take your time and not rush it.