Tuesday, our new Health Science teacher, Mrs. Jones led her classes to participate in dissecting pigs hearts. CTC Health Science students are studying the cardiovascular system which will help them strive towards obtaining EKG certification in early Spring on 2024.
Students dissected the heart individually, and identified the anatomical structure of the heart such as chambers, valves, arteries, and veins.
It was a really successful. and engaging lessons. Students were extremely focused, interested and cleaned up beautifully. They also worked as a group nicely, which was also a part of the leavening activity for this lab.
Concerning heart dissection, mammals have four-chambered hearts and double circulation. The heart of a bird or mammal has two atria and two completely separated ventricles. The double-loop circulation is similar to amphibians and reptiles, but the oxygen-rich blood is completely separated from oxygen-poor blood. The left side of the heart handles only oxygenated blood, and the right side receives and pumps only deoxygenated blood. With no mixing of the two kinds of blood, and with a double circulation that restores pressure after blood has passed through the lung capillaries, delivery of oxygen to all parts of the body for cellular respiration is enhanced. As endotherms, which use heat released from metabolism to warm the body, mammals require more oxygen per gram of body weight than other vertebrates of equal size.
For more information on the Health Science and Therapeutics pathway, please visit: Health Science and Therapeutic Pathway