Atria Physiology

Question 1

What are the two upper chambers of the heart called?

Answer 1

Right atrium and left atrium

The heart has four chambers total.

Question 2

What is the characteristic of the walls of the atria?

Answer 2

Thin walls

Atria differ from ventricles in structure.

Question 3

From which veins does the right atrium receive blood?

Answer 3

Superior vena cava, inferior vena cava, and coronary sinus

These veins bring deoxygenated blood to the right atrium.

Question 4

What is the function of the coronary sinus?

Answer 4

Collects blood from the great cardiac vein and smaller coronary veins, draining into the right atrium

It is located on the posterior side of the heart.

Question 5

Where does the left atrium receive blood from?

Answer 5

Lungs via the right and left pulmonary veins

This blood is oxygenated.

Question 6

What happens when the atria contract?

Answer 6

Pumping blood through the atrioventricular valve into the ventricles

This is a key part of the cardiac cycle.