What prevents the blood from flowing in the wrong direction in the heart?
Answers
Answer:There are four valves within the heart which serve to prevent backflow of blood as it passes through the various chambers of the heart and out through the associated arteries.
The tricuspid valve and the mitral valve are known as ‘atrioventricular’ valves as they are situated between the atria and ventricles on both sides of the heart.
The tricuspid valve is positioned between the right atrium and ventricle, and the mitral valve sits between the left atrium and ventricle, as seen in the adjacent image.
As blood is pumped out of the ventricles through the aorta and the pulmonary arteries, these valves close to ensure the blood does not get pumped back into the respective atria it came from.
The other two valves are the pulmonary and aortic valves, which are collectively known as the ‘semilunar’ valves.
The pulmonary valve sits between the right ventricle and the pulmonary artery. Its role is to prevent the backflow of blood into the right ventricle after it contracts. The aortic valve sits between the left ventricle and the aorta and prevents backflow of blood into the left ventricle after it contracts.
Explanation: