MPA 18 Heart Dissection

MPA 18. Dissect, display and identify an ox’s or a sheep’s heart.

As a safety precaution wear disposable gloves and wash the heart before beginning. Place the heart ventral (front) side facing up on a tray or dissecting board. Identify the front of the heart by the diagonal coronary artery. The left hand side of the heart feels firmer. 

Use a scalpel to cut through the left side of the heart to see the bicuspid valve and heart strings and the right side of the heart to see the tricuspid valve. Observe the septum that separates the left and right side of the heart.

Cut the Aorta and pulmonary artery to show the semilunar valves. The semilunar valves are found at the base of the aorta and pulmonary artery. 

Pin the heart with flag labels to mark structure identified. Dispose of the heart by burning it when finished to prevent contamination.

Multiple Choice

Why is the heart washed at the start?

• Remove any blood and to prevent infection.

• To prevent damage to the heart

• To keep the dissecting board clean

• To keep the lab coat clean

Multiple Choice

Name 3 pieces of equipment needed during the dissection.

• Beaker, test tube and scalpel

• Bunsen burner, dissecting board, safety glasses.

• Disposable gloves, mounted needle, graduated cylinder.

• Scalpel, dissecting board, disposable gloves.

Multiple Choice

Name the instrument used to cut the hear during dissection.

• Beaker

• Dissection board

• Scalpel

• Gloves

Multiple Choice

Name the part of the heart that is cut first during the dissection

• Bicuspid valve

• Semilunar valve

• Hepatic portal vein

• Ventricle wall

Multiple Choice

Where is the bicuspid valve visible in the dissected heart?

• At base of aorta

• Between left ventricle and right ventricle

• Between left atrium and right atrium

• Between left atrium and left ventricle

Multiple Choice

Name the artery visable on the surface of the heart that supplies oxygen to heart cells.

• Pulmonary artery

• Renal artery

• Coronary artery

• Hepatic artery

Multiple Choice

Where is the origin of the coronary artery located?

• Left atrium

• Septum

• Aorta

• Base of pulmonary artery

Multiple Choice

Students measured the thickness of 2 ventricle wall samples A and B. Which sample was from the left side of the heart?

• A Ventricle thickness 20 mm

• B Ventricle thickness 35 mm

Multiple Choice

How is the ventral surface of the heart identified?

• Right side is firmer than left

• Left side is firmer than right

• Front is firmer than back

• Ventral surface is softer than dorsal surface

Multiple Choice

Give the precise location of the semilunar valves

• Both Atria

• Both ventricles

• Base of vena cava and pulmonary vein.

• Base of aorta and pulmonary artery