ABSTRACT
The heart has four valves that control the direction of blood flow through the heart, permitting forward flow and preventing back flow. On the right side of the heart, the tricuspid and pulmonic valves regulate the flow of blood that is returned from the body to the lungs for oxygenation. The mitral and aortic valves control the flow of oxygenated blood from the left side of the heart to the body. The aortic and pulmonic valves allow blood to be pumped from the ventricles into arteries on the left and right side of the heart, respectively. Similarly, the mitral and tricuspid valves lie between the atria and ventricles of the left and right sides of the heart, respectively. The aortic and pulmonic valves open during systole when the ventricles are contracting, and close during diastole when the ventricles are filling through the open mitral and tricuspid valves. During isovolumic contraction and relaxation, all four valves are closed (Figure 9.1).
