What is myocardium and where is it located?
The muscle layer of the heart is termed the myocardium and is made up of cardiomyocytes. The myocardium is found in the walls of all four chambers of the heart, though it is thicker in the ventricles and thinner in the atria.
What is a myocardial segment?
Myocardial segments should be named and localized with reference to both the long axes of the ventricle and the 360° circumferential locations on the short-axis views. Using basal, mid-cavity, and apical as part of the name defines the location along the long axis of the ventricle from the apex to base.
What is the function of the myocardium?
Cardiac muscle tissue, or myocardium, is a specialized type of muscle tissue that forms the heart. This muscle tissue, which contracts and releases involuntarily, is responsible for keeping the heart pumping blood around the body.
How is myocardium arranged?
The spatial arrangement of the muscle fascicles and intramyocardial connective tissue was examined in the ventricles of the heart of the Spanish fighting bull (Bos taurus). In both ventricles, the muscle fascicles of the myocardium are arranged in 3 main directions, forming 3 muscle layers within the ventricular wall.
Where is the myocardium the thickest?
left ventricle
The myocardium is thickest in the left ventricle, as the left ventricle must create a lot of pressure to pump blood into the aorta and throughout systemic circulation.
What is another name for myocardium?
cardiac muscle
The heart muscle, or cardiac muscle, is medically called the myocardium (“myo-” being the prefix denoting muscle).
What cells are in the myocardium?
The myocardium is mainly made up of two types of cells: cardiomyocytes and fibroblasts. Fibroblasts are distributed between cardiomyocytes, along with extracellular matrix (ECM), blood vessels, lymphatic vessels, and nerve endings.
How many layers does the myocardium have?
three layers
The walls of the heart are composed of three layers: Epicardium – the outer layer. Myocardium – the middle, muscular layer. Endocardium – the inner layer.
Why is myocardium thicker in left ventricle?
The left side of your heart The left ventricle of your heart is larger and thicker than the right ventricle. This is because it has to pump the blood further around the body, and against higher pressure, compared with the right ventricle.
Where is the myocardium located in the heart?
The myocardium is surrounded by the epicardium (outer layer of the wall of the heart) and the endocardium (inner layer of the heart). Myocardium stimulates heart contractions to pump blood from the ventricles and relaxes the heart to allow the atria to receive blood. These contractions produce what is known as a heart beat.
Is the myocardium part of the peripheral nervous system?
It is composed of spontaneously contracting cardiac muscle fibers which allow the heart to contract. Heart contraction is an autonomic (involuntary) function of the peripheral nervous system. The myocardium is surrounded by the epicardium (outer layer of the wall of the heart) and the endocardium (inner layer of the heart).
How does the myocardium provide oxygen to the body?
The contraction (heart beat) of the myocardium is responsible for pumping blood with oxygen to the body. The body requires oxygen for proper function. Like all body tissues, the myocardium itself requires a blood supply in order to function; the coronary arteries supply the heart muscle with blood.
What happens to the heart when the myocardium is enlarged?
Cardiomyopathy is a common disease of the heart in which the myocardium becomes enlarged. While this may seem like a good thing (muscles are meant to get larger, right?), the enlargement actually makes the heart function decrease and interferes with the conduction. The heart can simply stop working.