Understand the relationships of the heart in situ before removing it to dissect the vasculature and chambers.

Basic concepts:
You may wish to review the basic concepts for the thorax at this time. The link opens a new window which you will need to close to return to this page.

Specific Learning Objectives:

1. Demonstrate the relationships of structures in the middle mediastinum.
2. Describe the surface projections of the margins of the heart, and its valves. How do the auscultation points differ from the surface projections of the valves.
3. List the contents of the heart chambers, and flow of blood.
4. Define the innervation of the heart and the conduction system.
5. Identify anatomic structures in radiographic studies including X-ray, CT scans and MRI films.

Difficult parts of the dissection:

1. This is a straight-forward dissection.